(Host) Congressman Peter Welch’s effort to crack down on what he describes as abuses by overseas contractors has passed the U.S. House.
The Justice Department drafted rules that require contractors to conduct internal audits and reviews to detect fraud and abuse.
But Welch objected because the rules specifically exempted contractors that worked overseas for the federal government. He says there hasn’t been enough oversight of spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(Welch) "The bottom line is will we, as a Congress, Republicans and Democrats, be vigilant in protecting taxpayer dollars. We have to do that, especially when there is documented evidence of rip-offs, wicked rip-offs, that have occurred with taxpayer dollars in Afghanistan and in Iraq.”
(Host) The Bush administration now says it will require fraud and abuse prevention rules to apply to all contracts.
Welch says that isn’t enough. So he pushed through the House a bill that would write the requirement into law.