GAO: CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING - DOD, State, and USAID Are Taking Actions to Track Contracts and Contractor Personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan

GAO: CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING - DOD, State, and USAID Are Taking Actions to Track Contracts and Contractor Personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan

April 1, 2009
Highlights of GAO-09-538T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives

The Departments of Defense (DOD) and State (State) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have relied extensively on contractors to support troops and civilian personnel and carry out reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. While recognizing the benefits of using contactors, GAO and others have noted the risks and challenges associated with relying on contractors.

To help increase contractor oversight, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 directed DOD, State, and USAID to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan that identified a database to track information on contractor personnel and contracts performed in the two countries. In their July 2008 MOU, the agencies designated the Synchronized Pre-Deployment and Operational Tracker database (SPOT) as their system for tracking the required information.
GAO’s testimony addresses how contractor personnel and contract information can aid agencies in managing contracts and the status of SPOT’s implementation. It is drawn from GAO’s ongoing and prior contingency contracting work. This work involved meeting with agency officials, including those in Iraq, and reviewing agency documents. GAO obtained agency views on previously unreported information, which the agencies generally agreed with.

Technorati Tags:
Acquisition, Afghanistan, GAO (Government Accountability Office), Iraq, US DoD (Department of Defense)