Clinton Measure to Bar Bonuses for Underperforming Homeland Security Contractors Included in Omnibus Appropriations Bill

December 17, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that she has secured inclusion of a measure in the Omnibus Appropriations bill that will bar the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from giving award fees or bonuses to contractors without regard to performance. Senator Clinton’s amendment requires DHS to give award fees, or bonuses, to contractors only if the contractor meets specific outlined stipulations in their contract. The Omnibus Appropriations bill is expected to be considered this week by the House and Senate.

“The Department of Homeland Security should be holding their contractors accountable and not rewarding bad behavior. With high risk areas like New York fighting for precious homeland security funds, it is outrageous that DHS is awarding bonuses to contractors that they haven’t even earned,” said Senator Clinton.

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A number of reports have revealed that the Department of Homeland Security has been giving private contractors award fees without proper justification. In 2005, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) awarded a contract to Boeing initially estimated to be worth $508 million. The Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security found that the TSA gave Boeing at least $44 million in award fees without evaluating the company’s performance. Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that despite documented problems in schedule, performance, cost control, and contract administration throughout the first year of the Coast Guard Deepwater contract, a DHS contractor had received a rating of 87 percent, which fell in the “very good” range and resulted in an award fee of $4 million.

Senator Clinton’s amendment requires DHS to give award fees or bonuses to contractors only if the contractor meets the stipulations related to cost, schedule, and performance outlined in the contract. If a contractor receives a poor performance evaluation, exceeds costs specified in the contract, or does not meet the deadlines specified in the contract, then the contractor will not receive an award fee or bonus from DHS.

Just recently HRC wrote to the DHS Inspector General calling for an investigation into the contracting practices by DHS. Click here to view Senator Clinton’s letter..

Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton