Sticker Shock and Awe at the Pentagon

[groovedaddy]

A lot more spending and far too little oversight, those are the bottom lines of two disturbing new reports on the Pentagon’s flawed-to-broken budgeting process. The Pentagon’s inspector general plaintively reported this week that his staff is overwhelmed. For good reason. The Pentagon’s budget has doubled since 2000, while the number of auditors has remained static.

An auditor previously responsible for vetting $642 million in defense contracts must now somehow deal with more than $2 billion worth. That’s proving impossible in practice. According to the inspector general, of $316 billion spent last year on costly weapons acquisitions, a mere half received “sufficient” auditing.

And for those who believe the private sector can do it better, another daunting report to Congress — disclosed by the private Project on Government Oversight — laid bare the shoddy accounting procedures practiced by far too many private contractors who are the real beneficiaries of the Iraq war. The Pentagon concluded that boondoggling companies often ignore the government’s reporting rules — and still get paid.

According to the study, the words “Iraqi Salary Payment” were the cryptic explanation for a $320.8 million contract for “1,000” anonymous workers — an incredible $320,000 per laborer. And then there was the United States Treasury check for $5,674,075.00 paid to the Al Kasid Specialized Vehicles Trading Company in Baghdad for services the company didn’t bother to describe.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/opinion/30fri2.html?th&emc=th

[DCKit]

1. Aside from "DUH" I can't imagine what else to say. n/t