On September 21, 2011, Chairman McCaskill and Ranking Member Portman invited witnesses to testify before the Subcommittee at a hearing on October 5, 2011.  The hearing will examine whether contractors who supply food and manage cafeterias are overcharging the government.

Charles Tiefer Invitation

John Carroll Invitation

USDA IG Invitation

Today Chairman McCaskill questioned why the State Department had not yet acted on its own Inspector General’s recommendation to recover $132 million in questionable costs from First Kuwaiti for construction the new Embassy in Baghdad.  Despite the fact that IG provided all necessary supporting documentation to the State Department, the Department has yet to take steps to recover this money from First Kuwaiti.

Letter to Under Secretary Kennedy

Today Chairman McCaskill asked the GAO to review whether the Defense Department has yet complied with a January 2011 Memorandum issued by then-Secretary Robert Gates which instructed various branches of the military and offices at the Pentagon to review the appropriate level of contractor dependence by the military in contingency operations like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Letter to the Comptroller General

Today Chairman McCaskill sent letters to nine companies all registered at an address which is home to more than 2,000 businesses, many of which are plainly shell companies. McCaskill asked the companies to provide information regarding their principal place of business, their domestic and foreign locations, and the names of all individuals and companies with actual or effective ownership or control of each company.

Letter to ABA Solutions

Letter to Automatic Sync Technologies

Letter to CTAM

Letter to MARS Bio-Med

Letter to SQL Power Tools

Letter to The Harbinger Group

Letter to Ultrareach Internet Group

Letter to Value Pacifica

Letter to H&R Management Support Services

Letter to Takanoya Company Limited

Today Chairman McCaskill and Ranking Member Portman invited three witnesses to testify before the Subcommittee hearing entitled “Food Service Management Contracts: Are Contractors Overcharging the Government?” The hearing is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, October 5 and will examine whether food service management contractors are withholding millions of dollars in rebates, discounts, and credits which should be passed through to the federal government.

Charles Tiefer Invitation

John Carroll Invitation

USDA IG Invitation

Chairman McCaskill sent a letter to NASA Inspector General that requests a formal review of a noncompetitive letter contract with Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Research and Technical Solutions, which is subsidiary of an Alaska Native Corporation.

Letter to NASA Inspector General

Today Chairman McCaskill requested a briefing from Defense Department officials regarding the contract for an Enterprise Email Service at the Defense Information Systems Agency.

Letter to Secretary Panetta

Chairman McCaskill followed-up on her previous request to the Under Secretary of Management at the State Department seeking information and documents regarding the contract for the Justice Service Support Program (JSSP) in Afghanistan.

Letter to Under Secretary Kennedy

A top official at the U.S. Department of Labor has resigned after an Inspector General investigation, requested by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, found that the official, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training Services (VETS) Raymond Jefferson, circumvented rules and regulations to secure government contracts for friends and colleagues.

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Today Chairman Claire McCaskill asked NASA to provide a briefing regarding NASA’s recent award of a $46 million noncompetitive contract to Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation.

McCaskill Letter to NASA re: ASRC

Today Chairman Claire McCaskill asked the State Department, Defense Department, and Ambassador to Afghanistan to provide information regarding their response to a recent report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) which found significant problems with the oversight of taxpayer dollars spent to support the Afghan financial sector.

Letter to Kabul Embassy regarding SIGAR Financial Sector Audit Report

Letter to DOD regarding SIGAR Financial Sector Audit Report

Letter to State regarding SIGAR Fiancial Sector Audit Report

According to a new Subcommittee report, federal agencies do not have systems in place to adequately track money spent on more than $3 billion in counternarcotics contracts or evaluate whether those contracts are achieving their goals.

Counternarcots Report

On June 1, 2011, the Defense Department responded to Chairman McCaskill’s request for information regarding the Defense Department’s efforts to ensure that the contractor KGL is in compliance with the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010. The Defense Department stated that it found no substantiated information that would preclude KGL from being awarded contracts.

Defense Department Response to Questions about Contractor’s Compliance with Iran Sanctions Laws

Today Chairman Claire McCaskill and Ranking Member Rob Portman, joined by Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman and Ranking Member Collins, sent a letter to President Obama raising concerns about the potential impact on the contracting process of a draft Executive Order that would require contractors to disclose their political expenditures.

Letter to President Obama on Draft Executive Order

Following the March 1, 2011 hearing, Chairman McCaskill requested additional information from the General Services Administration (GSA) after the Inspector General provided a supplemental statement raising several concerns with the accuracy and completeness of testimony provided by GSA officials at the hearing.

Letter to GSA Administrator Martha Johnson

On April 13, 2011, the Army responded to Chairman McCaskill’s request for interim information regarding the Army’s progress towards accounting for the gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery, including whether gravesites are correctly identified, labeled, and occupied.  The Army provided a written response with the requested information and also provided information regarding new procedures which have been implemented at the Cemetery.

Letter from Army to Chairman McCaskill re Arlington National Cemetery

Army Enclosure re Arlington National Cemetery

Today Chairman Claire McCaskill asked the Defense Department to provide information about the Department’s efforts to ensure that the contractor KGL has complied with the Iran Sanctions Act.  Chairman McCaskill has also asked the Government Accountability Office to assess compliance with the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA), which requires prospective government contractors to certify that they are not engaged in sanctioned activity.

Letter from Represenatives Brad Sherman and Ron Klein to Sec. Gates

Letter from KGL Holding to US Army Legal Services Agency

Chairman McCaskill letter to Gene Dodaro regarding CISADA

Chairman McCaskill letter to Secretary Gates regarding KGL

Spurred by recent reports of continued management and oversight failures at Arlington National Cemetery, Chairman McCaskill today asked the Army to provide an interim report on the Army's progress towards identifying graves that are unmarked, improperly marked, or mislabeled on the Cemetery's maps.

Letter from Chairman McCaskill to Secretary McHugh regarding Arlington National Cemetery

Today Chairman McCaskill and Ranking Member Brown invited Martha Johnson, Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), and other GSA officials to provide testimony at a hearing that will examine public relations contracts awarded by GSA. Chairman McCaskill and Ranking Member Brown also invited GSA Inspector General Brian Miller to testify regarding his forthcoming report regarding public relations contracts awarded to assist GSA with responding to government investigations of the Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City.

Invitation to Martha Johnson, Administrator, General Services Administration

Invitation to Inspector General Brian Miller