"Contracting in Combat Zones: Who Are Our Subcontractors?"

On Tuesday June 29, 2010 the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs continued its examination of contracting in combat zones.  This hearing examined the current state of U.S. contracting and subcontracting in contingency environments and explored ways in which this system could be strengthened. At the hearing, witnesses discussed problems with our current contracts and oversight mechanisms and suggested ways in which the U.S. government could achieve greater visibility, accountability, and control over contractors and subcontractors.

The hearing followed the Subcommittee’s recent Majority staff report, Warlord, Inc. Extortion and Corruption Along the U.S Supply Chain in Afghanistan which found that the contractors on the $2.16 billion Host Nation Trucking (HNT) contract in Afghanistan are paying warlords and militia commanders to provide supply chain security, and that the Department of Defense had little visibility into how these subcontractors actually operate. Those specific findings were discussed at a June 22 Subcommittee hearing.

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WITNESSES

• William Solis, Director, Defense Capabilities and Management, Government Accountability Office
  
• Mary Ugone, Deputy Inspector General for Auditing, Department of Defense Inspector General;
  
• Stuart Bowen, Jr., Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction; and
  
• Richard Fontaine, Senior Fellow, Center for a New American Security.

DOCUMENTS AND LINKS