The U.S. government’s inability to count contractors on the battlefield risks the security of U.S. troops, the Wartime Contracting Commission said November 2 Without knowing who and how many contractors are on the battlefield, the government runs the risk that contractors hire foreign nationals without proper background checks.

The lack of an accurate count “makes the jobs of federal contract managers and auditors very difficult and invites waste, fraud, and abuse,” a co-chairman of the commission said.

“How can we assure taxpayers that they aren’t paying for ‘ghost’ employees?” Contractor employees embedded with troops are required to have background checks and biometric-based access cards.

The danger to troops and U.S. civilian employees overseeing projects comes from contractors working off base, who are not required to have the biometric cards, he said. State reported nearly 9,000 contractor employees supporting contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but SPOT only showed 7,000, according to an October GAO report. Similarly AID told GAO the contractor headcount was 16,700 contractor employees, but the number was 445.

The report recommended that the three agencies agree on uniform reporting requirements. The agencies already operate under a memorandum of understanding, but that kind of arrangement lacks the teeth to force the players to take the actions agreed on. And if the government wants to get combat contractor management right, every department in theater should report, he said. Although some agencies, like the Justice Department, voluntarily report, there is no legal requirement outside of Defense, State and AID to collect the information.

Source: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4355966&c=AME&s=TOP