Paper urges tougher controls on contractors
The federal government should require federal contractors to provide
notice if they were significantly overpaid and proof that they have
internal ethics programs, according to a report on reducing procurement
fraud.
The white paper, produced by the National Procurement
Fraud Task Force Legislation Committee, is being made available by the
Project on Government Oversight (POGO), which posted the report on its
Web site on Jan. 12.
The proposals include:
*
Preventing a contract award unless a contractor has an internal
compliance program as well as measures of corrective actions.
* Providing subpoena authority to compel interviews and receive
electronic evidence for fraud prosecutions, defining "economic loss" in
federal sentencing guidelines, and assigning officials from the
inspectors general to the Justice Department to help prosecutions.
* Requiring contractors to notify the government of "significant
overpayments," extending conflict-of-interest laws to contractors,
extending the General Service Administration's audit rights and
establishing a "National Procurement Fraud Database."
The
committee finished its work in June 2008, but this is the first time
the report has been released, POGO said. Its authors are Brian Miller,
IG for the General Services Administration, and Richard Skinner, IG for
the Homeland Security Department.
About the Author
Alice Lipowicz is a staff writer covering government 2.0, homeland security and other IT policies for Federal Computer Week. Follow her on Twitter: @AliceLipowicz.