misconduct | The Contracting Education Academy

July 24, 2020 By cs

Two firms renew legal challenges to DoD’s $7 billion moving contract

A Pentagon contract meant to completely overhaul the military’s system for moving service members’ belongings around the world is once again under protest.

The same two companies who had initially challenged the $7.2 billion Global Household Goods Contract (GHC) in May filed new bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week, meaning the contract could continue to be tied up until Oct. 21, the due date for GAO to rule on the latest round of challenges.

GAO dismissed protests by Connected Global Alliance LLC, and HomeSafe Alliance LLC late last month after U.S. Transportation Command pledged to take corrective action on at least one of the issues they raised in their complaints. But less than two weeks later, TRANSCOM announced it wouldn’t be taking any corrective action after all, and re-awarded the contract to the same vendor it initially picked for the award, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC).

“The decision to re-award GHC in light of the serious issues raised is extremely disappointing,” Al Thompson, HomeSafe’s CEO said in a statement. “We are confident GAO will agree that errors have been made on a major contract that touches every member of the armed forces and their families.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2020/07/two-firms-renew-legal-challenges-to-dods-7b-moving-contract/

See earlier article about this subject at: https://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/2020/07/09/transcom-allegations-unsubstantiated-awards-7-2-billion-contract-to-privatize-household-goods-moves/

July 9, 2020 By cs

TRANSCOM: Allegations ‘unsubstantiated,’ awards $7.2 billion contract to privatize household goods moves

U.S. Transportation Command officials have confirmed their award to a New Jersey company of a $7.2 billion contract to outsource management of service members’ household goods, according to a statement from the command.

Allegations made against the company, American Roll On Roll Off Carrier Group, of Parsippany, N.J., were “unsubstantiated,” TRANSCOM officials said, resulting in the confirmation of the award Monday.

The $7.2 billion contract covers a nine-month transition period and three-year base period. But if all the options are exercised, the contract will be worth about $20 billion over nine years. The contract doesn’t affect service members’ moves currently under way; all household goods moves will continue under the current system, managed by TRANSCOM, until February, 2021.

“Team ARC remains committed to our proposal to provide exceptional customer service to TRANSCOM and the service members,” said ARC CEO Eric Ebeling, in a statement. “We look forward to getting started on the [Global Household Goods Contract.]”

TRANSCOM had previously pulled back the contract for the review, and notified the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of its intent to review the allegations on June 9.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.militarytimes.com/pay-benefits/2020/06/29/transcom-allegations-unsubstantiated-awards-72b-contract-to-privatize-household-goods-moves/

Also see: TRANSCOM offers explanation for reversal on corrective action, but it’s difficult to square with publicly-available evidence at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/dod-reporters-notebook-jared-serbu/2020/07/dods-7b-household-goods-contract-takes-an-even-stranger-turn/

May 8, 2014 By AMK

DoD shows contractor personnel fired for misconduct as eligible for security clearance, IG says

When contractor employees accused of misconduct are fired or quit before DoD makes judgement, the system that records the adjudication still shows them as eligible for security clearance, a DoD inspector general report says.

In all the cases the auditors reviewed, as soon as employee misconduct was discovered, the contracting company either fired the employee or the employee resigned, the report (pdf) says. Once that occurred, the employee no longer had a need for access to classified information and no further personnel security action was taken to adjudicate the misconduct.

Since the case was not adjudicated for revocation of security clearance, it wasn’t reported to the Joint Personnel Adjudicative System – the database that holds information on contractors who’ve lost security clearance due to misconduct, the IG says.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/dod-system-still-showing-contractors-fired-misconduct-elegible-security-cle/2014-04-21

December 27, 2013 By AMK

Navy Secretary Mabus expects bribery scandal to widen

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said Friday that he bluntly told criminal investigators to pursue a widening bribery scandal “wherever it leads” and that he expects more people to get swept up in a case that has already tarred several senior officers and exposed an international, multimillion-dollar fraud scheme.

“I certainly don’t think we’ve seen the end of it,” Mabus told reporters at the Pentagon in his first public comments on the scandal since it came to light in September. “I would rather get bad headlines than let bad people get away.”

Mabus, the Navy’s top civilian official since 2009, spoke a day after he held an unusual video conference with the Navy’s fleet commanders and other admirals around the world to emphasize the need to uphold ethical standards and prevent contracting fraud. With the scandal showing no sign of abating, he also has ordered several reviews and an audit into how the Navy pays for port services.

The Navy has been tarnished by a succession of embarrassing revelations over the past three months about its relationship with a major foreign defense contractor, Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia, that has provided port services to U.S. ships and submarines in the Pacific for a quarter-century.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/navy-secretary-mabus-expects-bribery-scandal-to-widen/2013/12/20/c85f8ece-6990-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html

July 3, 2013 By AMK

Agencies need governmentwide guidance on suspension and debarment process, GAO official says

Though the suspension and debarment system has been around for many years, there is little guidance for it, Government Accountability Office Acting Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management John Neumann said at a June 12 House Government and Oversight Committee hearing.

“You won’t find anywhere in the U.S. code other than a note in the financial chapter,” Neumann said. “That’s part of the problem. We created a system, but did not supply guidance on how it should operate.”

The Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee, established in 1986, monitors and coordinates the governmentwide system of suspension and debarment, but agencies aren’t required to work with the ISDC, Neumann noted.

ISDC relies on voluntary agency participation in its informal coordination process, which works well when used, he said. However, Neumann found that not all agencies coordinated through ISDC, and agencies without active suspension and debarment programs generally were not represented at monthly coordination meetings.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/agencies-need-governmentwide-guidance-suspense-and-debarment-process-gao-of/2013-06-13?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

A Pentagon contract meant to completely overhaul the military’s system for moving service members’ belongings around the world is once again under protest.

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