Contractors resist US disclosure effort, aka Defense Contractors Don't Want You To Know About Their

[unhappycamper]

Crap.


August 30, 2010 — Forseti

Bryan Bender, Globe Staff - August 30, 2010 – WASHINGTON — Defense companies and other major industries are hoping to block disclosure of their own fraudulent or substandard performance in federal contracts, despite a mandate this year by Congress that such potentially embarrassing information be released to the public.

~snip~

But Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont, an independent who managed this summer to win a disclosure provision in a war spending bill that was signed by President Obama, said the public has a right to know when taxpayer dollars are improperly used or criminally misspent.

“We hand out over $500 billion a year to federal contractors, many of which have well-established histories of systemic illegal, fraudulent, and incompetent behavior,’’ Sanders said in a statement. “We cannot let these corporations continue to rip off American taxpayers. I strongly expect that this new public awareness will go a long way toward putting an end to handing out taxpayer-financed contracts to corporations with a history of fraud.’’

The disclosure requirement marks a major victory for government watchdog groups, which have long maintained that billions are lost to fraud or shoddy work. One group, the Project on Government Oversight, identified $12 billion paid in fines by federal contractors between 1995 and 2006, an indication of serious problems with many contracts.

More than a dozen groups, in a letter to congressional committees, hailed the provision “as a major advance in contractor accountability and transparency.’’ The groups have also lauded Sanders, who identifies himself as the only socialist in Congress and often has difficulty getting congressional backing for his proposals.



unhappycamper comment: Read the whole thing at --> http://mssparky.com/2010/08/contractors-resist-us-disclosure-effort/

[Hannah Bell]

1. accountability for all! put it in the newspaper!

[dipsydoodle]

2. And lamp posts

and milk cartons. :(

[AndyA]

3. You have to wonder why these companies still get business.

If you have someone work on your house and they do crappy work, you don't call them back the next time you need something done.

Why does the government not manage the business of the people responsibly?

[dkf]

4. Teachers dont want to release test scores and public workers don't want to release their salaries

Banks don't want the Fed to release how much they are borrowing from the fed. All public disclosure is protested. Its typical behavior