Quigley Introduces Bill to Reform Oversight of Federal Contracts

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL) introduced a bill to overhaul the federal contracting system by drastically improving oversight procedures. The Federal Contracting Oversight and Reform Act of 2010 aims to repair an ineffective contracting system that allows millions of taxpayer dollars to go to companies with histories of poor performance and misconduct.

"It is inexcusable to waste millions of taxpayer dollars on companies that at the very least aren't doing a good job, and at the very worst are undermining our national security," said Quigley. "As local governments, individuals, and families make sacrifices during a difficult time, the federal government owes it to all Americans to scrutinize each dollar we spend and be fully aware of who we're working with."

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), millions of taxpayer dollars have gone to businesses that have poor track records and even some that were suspended or banned from receiving contracts. For example, GAO found that a company that had been debarred for attempting to ship nuclear bomb parts to North Korea continued to receive millions of dollars on an Army contract.

Quigley's bill will empower contracting officers and members of Congress by providing them with new oversight tools. Through the utilization of new technologies and a consolidation of performance data, they will be better equipped to thoroughly review and analyze past contracts so tax dollars are spent more efficiently and federal contracting becomes more effective. Highlights include:

• Making the main contractor performance database available to all members of Congress - instead of a select few - so members can properly vet contractors

• Expanding the scope of the contractor database to include all performance information for the last ten years

• Integrating the nine most important databases into a single database to give contracting officials a one-stop shop where they can see all relevant data

• Investigating and creating a new contractor identification system that will allow better tracking of contactors and will stop suspended and debarred companies from creating shell companies.

• Requiring an annual review and report to make sure companies that are on the suspended or debarred list are not receiving contracts

Government contracts exceeded $500 billion dollars in 2009 and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners found government agencies lose approximately seven percent of their annual revenues to fraud. For a section-by-section summary of the bill, click here .

The bill has been endorsed by four watch-dog groups: the Project on Government Oversight, Office of Management Watch, Taxpayers for Common Sense and the Center for American Progress. A bipartisan companion bill, S.3323, has been introduced by Sens. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) in the Senate.

Since his election to Congress last spring and for the decade prior as a Cook County Commissioner, Rep. Quigley has made reform, transparency, and fiscal responsibility the cornerstones of his legislative agenda. He co-founded the bipartisan Transparency Caucus in March and introduced the Transparency in Government Act, landmark legislation that would bring about unprecedented access and accountability to the federal government including new lobbying restrictions and creating the first searchable and sortable earmark database.