Editorial: Wasted time and money

Monday, Feb. 19, 2007 | 7:29 a.m.

Three federal auditors who oversee Iraq war and reconstruction contracts say the United States already has wasted or been overcharged $10 billion in the effort and is poised to lose more if policies for hiring contractors go unchanged.

David Walker, comptroller of the Government Accountability Office - the auditing arm of Congress - told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday that Defense Department officials have condoned or turned a blind eye to project delays, poor accounting methods and overcharges or payments for shoddy work.

Walker said Bush administration officials have largely ignored the GAO's repeated warnings about such behavior.

Stuart Brown, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, and William Reed, director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency, joined Walker in testifying about the $10 billion in waste and overcharges that included $2.7 billion paid to Halliburton Co. - an oil-field services company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney - for overpriced or undocumented contracts.

In addition to a widespread lack of accountability and no-bid contracts with such companies as Halliburton, the Pentagon has relied too heavily on layers of subcontractors, the auditors said. And, as sectarian violence grows, Iraqi officials should be taking the lead on reconstruction efforts.

Senate Democrats, citing the squandering of taxpayer dollars, have introduced legislation calling for prison penalties, fines of up to $1 million and a prohibition on agreements with contractors who have broken the law or otherwise cheated the government. President Clinton had imposed such a rule, but President Bush lifted it when he took office.

Some of these contracts were awarded at a time when American military troops in Iraq were fighting without adequate protective gear. American families were taking up collections to equip soldiers with body armor while the Bush administration was lining the pockets of its business cronies for work that was done poorly or not at all.

President Bush is about to ask Congress for another $100 billion to increase U.S. troops in Iraq. Before handing over the money, however, lawmakers must demand that accountability be returned to the process and that contracts are properly documented and fulfilled before contractors are paid.

This incredible waste of taxpayers' money must stop.