Commission on Wartime Contracting

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Reports

Final Report

Transforming Wartime Contracting: Controlling costs, reducing risks
Issued August 31, 2011


Final Report cover

PDF downloads low res high res
Full report 5,200 KB 75,600 KB
Contents & Executive summary 370 KB --
Ch 1. Reliance on contractors 1,000 KB 10,700 KB
Ch 2. 'Inherently governmental' rules 951 KB 8,300 KB
Ch 3. Waste, fraud, and abuse 1,200 KB 9,300 KB
Ch 4. Sustainability 903 KB 10,200 KB
Ch 5. Acquisition as a core function 733 KB 5,900 KB
Ch 6. Interagency coordination 866 KB 6,300 KB
Ch 7. Competition, management, & enforcement 747 KB 5,400 KB
Ch 8. The way forward 685 KB 6,300 KB
Appendixes 1,600 KB --

Interim Report 2

At what risk? Correcting over-reliance on contractors in contingency operations
Issued February 24, 2011

Interim Report 2 cover

Date: Title: Download:
2/24/2011 "At what risk? Correcting over-reliance on contractors in contingency operations" PDF link, low res: 1 MB
2/24/2011 "At what risk? Correcting over-reliance on contractors in contingency operations" PDF link, high res: 20 MB

Special Reports

Special Report 5: Sustainability: hidden costs risk new waste
issued June 3, 2011

Special Report 5 Cover

Date: Title: Download:
6/3/2011 "Sustainability: hidden costs risk new waste" PDF Link: 812 KB

Special Report 4: Iraq — a forgotten mission?
The United States needs to sustain a diplomatic presence to preserve gains and avoid waste as the U.S. military leaves Iraq
issued March 1, 2011

Special Report 4 Cover

Date: Title: Download:
3/1/2011 "Iraq — a forgotten mission? The United States needs to sustain a diplomatic presence to preserve gains and avoid waste as the U.S. military leaves Iraq" PDF Link: 1.7 MB

Special Report 3: Better planning for Defense-to-State transition in Iraq needed to avoid mistakes and waste
issued July 12, 2010

Special Report 3 Cover

Date: Title: Download:
7/12/2010 "Better planning for Defense-to-State transition in Iraq needed to avoid mistakes and waste" PDF Link: 1.9 MB

Special Report 2: Lowest-priced security not good enough for war-zone embassies
issued October 1, 2009

Special Report 2 Cover The Commission issued its second Special Report, "Lowest-priced security not good enough for war-zone embassies," to urge that Congress change a statutory restriction on the State Department's ability to choose security contractors for its Foreign Service buildings based on any considerations other than lowest price and technical acceptability. The Commission believes that the unintended consequences of the mandate were illustrated in poor contract performance and widely publicized misconduct by guards for the embassy in Kabul. The State Department is on record saying contractor performance endangered the embassy and its personnel. The report urges allowing use of the "best-value" standard for evaluating contract offers.

Date: Title: Download:
10/01/09 "Lowest-priced security not good enough for war-zone embassies" PDF Link: 1.5MB

Special Report 1: Defense agencies must improve their oversight of contractor business systems to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse
Issued September 21, 2009

Special Report 1 Cover - Front On August 11, 2009, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan conducted a hearing to obtain testimony from government officials and contractors on the adequacy of contractor business systems. The Commission learned that unreliable data from business systems produced billions of dollars in contingency-contract costs that government auditors often could not verify. The government’s ability to detect contract cost errors and material misstatements is seriously impeded by contractors’ inadequate internal controls over their business systems. Further, the two primary government agencies involved, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), are not effectively working together to protect government interests.

The Commission recommends: (1) Department of Defense (DoD) needs to ensure that government speaks with one voice to contractors; (2) DoD needs to improve government accountability by rapidly resolving agency conflicts on business systems; (3) DCAA needs to expand its audit reports to go beyond rendering a pass/fail opinion; (4) DCMA needs to develop an effective process that includes aggressive compliance enforcement; and (5) DCAA and DCMA need to request additional resources and prioritize contingency-contractor oversight workload.

Date: Title: Download:
9/21/09 "Defense agencies must improve their oversight of contractor business systems to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse" PDF Link: 2.7MB

Interim Report

At What Cost? Contingency Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan
Issued June 10, 2009

Interim Report cover The Commission submitted "At What Cost? Contingency Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan" to Congress on June 10, 2009, describing its operations to that date, identifying areas for research, and flagging eight "issues of immediate concern" for lawmakers to consider. Current law requires the Commission to submit a Final Report in 2010 with findings, lessons learned, and specific recommendations to improve wartime contracting.

Date: Title: Download:
6/10/09 "At What Cost? Contingency Contracting In Iraq and Afghanistan" PDF Link: 5.9MB
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