Ms Sparky

Following new report from federal watchdog, Senator calls again for suspending federal work with bad contractors

Rocky is laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetary in Washington, DC

PoliticalNews.me – WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 17,2011 – Citing the case of a private contractor that was never held accountable for negligence in the death of a U.S. servicemember, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill used a Senate hearing to renew her call for the federal government to stop doing business with contractors responsible for wrongdoing.

McCaskill quizzed a panel of experts in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing about how to strengthen accountability for private contractors by expanding the government’s use of suspension and debarment for bad contractors—something McCaskill has championed during her time in the Senate.

“Shouldn’t we just, as a matter of character of our nation, say that if you’re indicted like Halliburton was for bribery in Africa—if you’re indicted for criminal activity in connection with your government contracting activities—that you’re done with us,” asked McCaskill, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight. “Shouldn’t we just make that a rule? Isn’t that a good standard for us to have?”

McCaskill specifically cited the case of Lieutenant Colonel Dominic “Rocky” Baragona, who was killed in Iraq in 2003 when his Humvee was struck by a supply truck driven by an employee of the contractor Kuwait Gulf & Link Transport Company (KGL). At the time of Baragona’s death, KGL was under contract with the U.S. Army to deliver supplies into Iraq.

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