Contractors

January 10, 2008 -- INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter encourages Hoosiers in North Central Indiana to be on guard against unscrupulous contractors following the recent flooding in the area. Con artists may come out of the woodwork to prey on those who have seen damage to their homes by offering assistance at outrageous prices or taking money and failing to complete the work.    » read more »

Parliament Approval Key to Ending Culture of Impunity for Serious Abuses

(New York, January 9, 2008) – Iraq’s parliament should approve legislation to end immunity for foreign private security contractors, Human Rights Watch said today. The legislation would effectively rescind Order 17 of the now-defunct, US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), which grants foreign contractors and their non-Iraqi employees immunity from Iraqi criminal prosecution.    » read more »

December 19, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced final Senate approval of a measure that will bar the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from giving award fees or bonuses to contractors without regard to performance. The legislation, which Senator Clinton authored, requires DHS to give award fees, or bonuses, to contractors only if the contractor meets specific outlined stipulations in their contract.    » read more »

December 19, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Representative Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) today praised Congress’ passage of their proposal to withhold federal contracts from companies and grantees that have not paid their federal taxes. This provision was included in the Omnibus Appropriations package (H.R. 2764), which the President is expected to sign into law. According to studies by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), thousands of federal agency contractors owe billions of dollars in unpaid taxes.    » read more »

Reminds Consumers to Make Informed Decisions When Choosing Contractors

December 19, 2007 -- Chicago - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed lawsuits this week against nine separate home repair businesses operating around the state, alleging that they defrauded Illinois consumers of more than $625,453 in down payments by performing substandard work or no work at all. In filing the suits, Attorney General Madigan today reminded consumers to be careful when choosing home repair and remodeling contractors.    » read more »

December 18, 2007 -- DES MOINES – Today, Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge and Attorney General Tom Miller urged Iowans who have been affected by last week’s ice storms to use caution when selecting a contractor to help repair damages. The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division (HSEMD) has received reports that some vendors are going door-to-door offering services or goods to help residents recover from the severe winter storm of last weekend while promising government reimbursement. Vendors are also approaching county and city governments with the same type of promises.    » read more »

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.    » read more »

Legislation Includes Wounded Warrior Provisions, Contracting Reforms, and Improved Mental Health Support for Veterans

December 17, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) lauded the Senate's passage of the Conference Report to the Defense Authorization bill (H.R.1585), which makes important investments in the nation’s defense and improves support for our uniformed service personnel, veterans and their families.    » read more »

December 14, 2007 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Barack Obama (D-IL), and Jon Tester (D-MT) today sent letters to the Attorney General, and the Inspector Generals of the Defense and State Departments, seeking information about their apparent failure to investigate allegations made by former Halliburton/KBR administrative assistant Jamie Leigh Jones that she was drugged and raped by several co-workers while employed at Camp Hope in Baghdad, Iraq.    » read more »

December 12, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called for an investigation of allegations by Jamie Leigh Jones that she was brutally raped and forcibly detained while serving as a contractor in Iraq. According to news reports, more than two years later, no United States government agency or department has undertaken a proper investigation of the incident.    » read more »

Bipartisan Commission to Investigate Wartime Support Contracting and Reconstruction in Iraq & Afghanistan

December 7, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Late Thursday, the Senate and the House negotiators agreed on a landmark provision to improve wartime contracting and accountability sponsored by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO). The measure is expected to receive final approval when both chambers of Congress vote on final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act later this month.    » read more »

05 December 2007 -- The U.S. Departments of State and Defense have agreed to a new system of rules designed to increase control over private security contractors working in Iraq.

The move to tighten oversight of private contractors follows an incident last September in which guards from the Blackwater company providing security for a U.S. diplomatic convoy fired on Iraqi civilians killing 17 people.

Company officials say the guards were protecting diplomats when they came under fire, but Iraqi investigators concluded the shooting spree was unprovoked.    » read more »

November 26, 2007 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on the Inspector General of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand an investigation of federal contracting practices to investigate the practice of award fees by DHS, especially when it comes to no-bid contracts.    » read more »

Tierra Linda Gardens developer must remedy lack of utilities on 26 lots

November 26, 2007 -- AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced that he has obtained a temporary injunction against the developer of Tierra Linda Gardens, a residential subdivision in Cameron County that lacks basic utilities.    » read more »

Nov. 20, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – A civilian contractor from Georgia has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia for allegedly soliciting bribes while working at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today.

The indictment returned this morning charges Terry Hall, 41, of Rex, Georgia, with one count of bribery.    » read more »