What Can be Done About War Profiteering?
• Establish a permanent independent investigative subcommittee (modeled after the Truman Committee) responsible for investigating waste, fraud and abuses associated with any war-related contracts.11 • Create genuine congressional oversight over moneys appropriated and spent, as well as contractor performance. Congress should conduct actual oversight, rather than leave it to the Inspector General. • Force greater competition in contracting. No-bid contracts should be banned and huge mega-contracts should be broken up so that large task orders can be competitively bid, better services can be delivered to the troops, and improved value returned to the taxpayers. • Establish a clear definition and stiff penalties for “war profiteering.” “The Honest Leadership and Accountability in Contracting Act of 2006” (S. 2361) basically defines war profiteering as executing or attempting to execute a scheme to defraud the U.S. government in connection with a war or military contract or overvaluing any
