Official says fraud loophole was a mistake
By EVAN LEHMANN, Reformer Washington Bureau
Wednesday, April 16
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration inadvertently exempted foreign contracts in Iraq from fraud oversight, a top administration official said Tuesday, resulting in a loophole that Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said could have protected private firms that steal taxpayer money.
The admission follows weeks of controversy surrounding the exemption's mysterious appearance in a new rule guiding contractors being paid billions for government work in the U.S. and in foreign countries around the globe.
The administration removed the single paragraph exemption on Monday, hours before a House panel convened a hearing to question officials about its origin and to debate legislation introduced by Welch to close the loophole and punish fraudulent contractors.
"We did not knowingly, thinkingly put in the exemption," said David Drabkin, the top acquisition officer at the General Services Administration. "The exemption language was a drafting error."
That didn't comfort Welch.
"What you're saying is this wasn't a conspiracy," Welch told Drabkin. "It was a mistake. Well, that's not reassuring to taxpayers."
more:
http://www.reformer.com/headlines/ci_8941224Administration says contracting fraud loophole was mistakeBy LARA JAKES JORDAN – 1 day ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bush administration officials acknowledged Tuesday they mistakenly added a multibillion-dollar loophole to a planned crackdown on contract fraud, then urged Congress not to get involved in fixing it.
Instead, the officials said, they have removed the loophole — an exemption for overseas projects — from proposed rules that would force contractors to report misuse of taxpayer dollars to the Justice Department.
The loophole "was a drafting error, and we now have a draft proposed rule without that language in it," said David Drabkin, acting chief acquisition officer for the General Services Administration.
Testifying before a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee, Drabkin added: "We did not knowingly, thinkingly put in the exception. We have taken that exception out in the proposed rule. It got no real thought, it wasn't examined, it wasn't raised and it never went anywhere."
Democrats on the panel sounded dubious that the administration could ensure similar mistakes aren't made in the future.
more:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ieXNQKlfOClbz6jEKYziPZBJ-fVgD902IFAO1