Dollars, Not Sense - Privatization and Oversight

[suffragette]

It's time for oversight and Rep. Waxman is finally able as Chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to demand answers. Like Rep. Conyers, Waxman has been investigating, compiling information and fighting for us for a long time.
In issues like the Walter Reed situation, we are just beginning to hear how decisions such as the Bush Administration's push to privatize our government functions have undermined the basic functions and services of these entities, to the great detriment of us all. If you haven't read it yet, be sure to read http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x328133

After reading the above thread, I went looking around a bit more and found that Rep. Waxman has a great deal of info at http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1071 that delves more deeply into where Bush's "competitive sourcing" push has taken us. Here's some info from it:

"Dollars, Not Sense: Government Contracting Under the Bush Administration"

Procurement Spending Is Accelerating Rapidly. Between 2000 and 2005, procurement spending rose by 86% to $377.5 billion annually. Spending on federal contracts grew over twice as fast as other discretionary federal spending. Under President Bush, the federal government is now spending nearly 40 cents of every discretionary dollar on contracts with private companies, a record level.


Contract Mismanagement Is Widespread. The growth in federal contracts has been accompanied by pervasive mismanagement. Mistakes have been made in virtually every step of the contracting process: from pre-contract planning through contract award and oversight to recovery of contract overcharges.


The Costs to the Taxpayer Are Enormous. The report identifies 118 federal contracts worth $745.5 billion that have been found by government officials to include significant waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement. Each of the Bush Administration’s three signature initiatives — homeland security, the war and reconstruction in Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina recovery — has been characterized by wasteful contract spending.


Oversight on these issues and more is finally and definitely coming. Rep. Waxman has done his homework and is shining a light into the darkness and for this I am profoundly grateful.

Edited post title to clarify subject

[Karenina]

1. Kick!

:kick:

[suffragette]

2. kickin in case anyone might find this interesting