Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) is forcing the Army’s acquisition workforce to answer some tough questions.
The ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations requested that the Government Accountability Office assess the Army’s contracting process, including accountability and oversight.
“Given these ongoing concerns,” McCaskill said in the April 11 letter, citing a series of reports from the GAO dating back to 2008 regarding the Defense Department’s acquisition workforce, “I believe it is necessary for GAO to assess how the Army is currently managing and overseeing its contracting process.”
Included in this assessment, McCaskill wants to know details on how the Army is organized to manage its contracting process, how accountability is maintained, how is workflow and oversight managed, and what metrics are used to assess the outcomes.
The most recent GAO report cited in the senator’s letter, published Jan. 28, revolved around Army contracting officials improperly invoking certain clauses. The report pointed to an “inexperienced and overwhelmed acquisition workforce” as one of the main factors. GAO recommended that the Army provide training and issue a formal reminder to all relevant personnel about the proper use of the contracts in question. DoD concurred with those suggestions.
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