This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 16, 2009 - U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. and chairman of the newly created Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, released late Monday a copy of a letter that she had sent to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
McCaskill is seeking information and documentation on defense contracts "that were awarded as a result of Congressional earmarks. The letter initiated an investigation into whether contracts for Congressional earmarks have been awarded competitively," her office said.
Also Monday, McCaskill sent a letter to the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in which she lauded the Obama administration's "move to change the status quo on earmark spending." But she also pressed to find out how OMB"will work to ensure that earmarks that are required to be competitively bid are allocated based on merit...."
Here's the text of her letter to Gates, dated Monday:
Dear Mr. Secretary:
I am writing today to request information and documents related to the Defense Department’s award of contracts for Congressional earmarks.
For each item listed in compliance with clause 9 of Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and Rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate in the Defense Appropriations Acts for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009, the Subcommittee requests the following information and documents:
(1 The number, value, and recipient of any contract or grant awarded;
(2 Information regarding the type and extent of competition conducted, including the number and identity of competing offerors; and
(3 Communications related to the award of any contract or grant to the recipient identified by the requesting member of Congress.
I request that you provide this information as soon as possible, but in no case later than Monday, April 6, 2009. If you determine that you will be unable to make a complete production by this date, please contact Subcommittee staff to discuss possible modifications to this schedule.
The jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight is set forth in Senate Rule XXV clause 1(k); Senate Resolution 445 section 101 (108th Congress); and Senate Resolution 50 (109th Congress). An attachment to this letter provides additional information on how to respond to the Subcommittee’s request.
Please contact me or ask your staff to contact Margaret Daum at (202) 224-6154with any questions regarding this request.
Sincerely,
Claire McCaskill
Chairman
Subcommittee on Contracting
