Pentagon approves disputed Iraq costs

[sabra]

Source: USA Today

Almost two-thirds of contracts questioned by auditors allowed

The Pentagon approves disputed costs on Iraq contracts at a much higher rate than on military contracts as a whole, Defense Department records show.

Through last October, almost two-thirds of costs challenged by Pentagon auditors as inflated, erroneous or otherwise improper — more than $1 billion — were eventually approved by project managers. That compares with 44% for all defense contracts in 2005.

The low rate of withholding payments to Iraq contractors is evidence the Pentagon is turning a blind eye to waste and fraud, says Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who has chaired several hearings into Iraq reconstruction problems for the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.

"I would have thought they would be apoplectic and furious about how they've been taken to the cleaners by some of these contractors," Dorgan said of Pentagon officials. "Some areas of the Pentagon seem to think, 'We're at war. What's a little waste?' "

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070717/1a_lede17.art.htm

[L0oniX]

1. Lets give them our social security money to help them out....

oh wait ....uhm ...we already did that! I think part of it is the more than $400,000,000,000 that we've spent on the Iraq war. Oh wait... wasn't that supposed to be the seed money for national health care?

:sarcasm:

[Barrett808]

2. k & r