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Towns Launches Investigation into Allegations of CECOM Contracting Abuse PDF Print

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Contact: Oversight and Government Reform Press Office, (202) 225-5051

Chairman Towns Launches Investigation into
Allegations of CECOM Contracting Abuse


Washington, DC – Chairman Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) announced today that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee launched an investigation into possible violations of federal contracting laws and regulations by a former employee of the United States Army’s Communications-Electronic Command (CECOM).  A recent Washington Post article, “A $191 Million Question” (August 7, 2009), raised serious questions about the relationships between a former Army CECOM employee with executives of Federal contractors that were awarded contracts for work at CECOM.

In a letter to Secretary of the Army John McHugh, Chairman Towns wrote that the Washington Post article “raises serious questions” as to whether a former Army CECOM employee, George Raymond, violated Federal contracting laws and regulations by providing confidential and sensitive information to a favored contractor; whether the former employee illegally steered a $183 million contract to Bearing Point LLC; and whether the former employee benefited personally from the award of one or more contracts. 

The Washington Post article also raised questions about the Army’s review of Mr. Raymond’s actions, including whether Mr. Raymond violated any regulations under the Procurement Integrity Act.  According to the news report, Mr. Raymond retired shortly before he was to be fired, and shortly thereafter began working for a Federal contractor. The Committee is reviewing whether Mr. Raymond’s subsequent employment with a Federal contractor is consistent with regulations under the Procurement Integrity Act.

Additionally, the Committee is investigating the Department of Defense’s handling of Mr. Raymond's security clearance, which he may have retained after retiring from the Army.

“Unfortunately, I think this case is an example of the failed accountability process within DOD that is in desperate need of reform,” said Chairman Towns.

Text of the letter to Secretary McHugh is below.

###


November 23, 2009


The Honorable John McHugh
Secretary
Department of the Army
1400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1400


Dear Secretary McHugh:

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, with jurisdiction over “any matter.”  Under Rules X and XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee is conducting an investigation into certain contracts involving the U.S. Army’s Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM).

A recent article in the Washington Post raises serious questions as to whether a CECOM employee violated Federal contracting laws and regulations by providing confidential and sensitive information to a favored contractor, illegally steered contracts to a particular company, and benefited personally from the award of one or more contracts.  In addition, the Committee is investigating the Defense Department’s handling of the security clearance for former CECOM employee Mr. George Raymond in connections with the foregoing.

More specifically, we are interested in the circumstances surrounding the issuance of a task order by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on behalf of the Department of the Army, to BearingPoint, LLC for $183 million (contract number HHSN263NJC95992).  In addition, we are interested in the findings of an Army Regulation 15-6 (AR 15-6) investigation into the personal relationships of former CECOM, Supervisory Operations Research Analyst with the Software Engineering Center at Fort Belvoir (SEC-B), George Raymond, with executives of Federal contractors that were awarded contracts for work at CECOM, SEC-B.  Finally, the Committee is also interested in learning whether Mr. Raymond’s subsequent employment with a Federal contractor is consistent with regulations under the Procurement Integrity Act.

To aid in our investigation, please provide the Committee with the following information:

1.         The May 2006 Notice of Contract Termination and/or Stop Work Order issued by the Army to Enterprise Integration Inc. for work being performed at SEC-B.

2.         All records relating to the above mentioned BearingPoint, LLC Task Order award including:

  • All records relating to the Army’s decision to use the NIH contract vehicle;
  • The Task Order Requirements Package (TORP) submitted by the Army to the NIH for the CIO-SP2i task order that was eventually awarded to BearingPoint, LLC in December of 2006;
  • The Solution Recommendation Document Package (SRDP) submitted to NIH for the CIO-SP2i task order.  In addition, please provide the names of the individuals involved in making the recommendation, as well as the name of the Accountable Management Official (AMO);
  • All records relating to bid solicitations received from bidders for the NIH CIO-SP2i contract; and
  • All subsequent contracts, task orders, or modifications related to contract number HHSN263NJC95992, or for similar work being performed by BearingPoint, LLC at SEC-B.

3.         The complete, unredacted, AR 15-6 investigation report, including all drafts, prepared by Dr. Herman Spitzer, Director of the Joint UXO Coordination Office, for the investigation that commenced on June 29, 2007.

  • The complete, unredacted, AR 15-6 investigation report, including all drafts, prepared by Lynn M. Lovell, Chief, CECOM Life Cycle Management Command Acquisition Center, for the investigation that commenced on March 24, 2008.
  • All email correspondence to and from George Raymond from March 22, 2006 to January 1, 2007.
  • A copy of Mr. George Raymond’s letter of resignation from the Department of the Army.
  • All records relating to the suspension and/or termination of any security clearances held by Mr. George Raymond, as well as Mr. Raymond’s current security clearance status.
  • A listing of all contract numbers, award dates, and award amounts for contracts awarded by CECOM to Computer Sciences Corporation in which George Raymond was involved in any capacity.  This information should be limited to contracts, awarded or ongoing, one year prior to Mr. Raymond’s resignation.

Please note that, for the purpose of responding to this request, the terms “records” and “relating to” should be interpreted in accordance with the attachment to this letter.

Please deliver the requested records to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, room 2157 Rayburn House Office Building, no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, December 4, 2009.

 

Committee On Oversight and Government Reform

U.S. House of Representatives | 2157 Rayburn House Office Building | Washington, D.C. 20515 | (202) 225-5051