[Texgreen] U.S. government 'outsourcing its brain'

[Roger Baker]

...The number of private federal contractors has now risen to 7.5  
million, which is four times greater than the federal workforce  
itself, the report indicates. Such a trend is leading the government  
to what Wysocki calls the "outsourcing [of] its brain."...

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<http://rawstory.com/news/2007/ 
U.S._Government_outsourcing_its_brain_0330.html>

U.S. government 'outsourcing its brain'
RAW STORY
Published: Friday March 30, 2007 	

Due to its increasing practice of contracting out to private firms  
and agencies, the U.S. government is quickly losing its expertise and  
competence in vital national security and defense programs, according  
to a Wall Street Journal report.

"Since the 2001 terrorist attacks and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,  
the federal government's demand for complex technology has soared,"  
writes by Bernard Wysocki, Jr. for the Journal. "But Washington often  
doesn't have the expertise to take on new high-tech projects, or the  
staff to oversee them.

"As a result," he continues, "officials are increasingly turning to  
contractors, in particular the hundreds of companies in Tysons Corner  
and the surrounding Fairfax County that operate some of the  
government's most sensitive and important undertakings."

The number of private federal contractors has now risen to 7.5  
million, which is four times greater than the federal workforce  
itself, the report indicates. Such a trend is leading the government  
to what Wysocki calls the "outsourcing [of] its brain."

The shift to private firms has not been without its problems,  
however, with faulty work and government waste becoming rampant.

"Today, the potential pitfalls are legion," writes Wysocki. "Big  
contracts are notorious for cost overruns and designs that don't  
work, much of which takes place under loose or ineffective government  
scrutiny." The outsourcing of these government programs "can be a  
prescription for enormous fraud, waste and abuse," Rep. Henry Waxman  
(D-CA), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform  
Committee, is quoted as saying during a hearing.

The trend in outsourcing has particularly favored large, established  
contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Booz  
Allen. Among Booz Allen's most notable contracts is the Total  
Information Awareness program, a Defense Department database intended  
to detect terrorists. That program has received criticism over  
concerns of privacy invasion.

Excerpts from the Wall Street Journal report follow...
#

One flashpoint today is whether contractors hire other contractors  
without enough controls or competition. In March, Rep. Waxman  
introduced a bill that would put limits on contracts awarded without  
competitive bidding. It passed the House by a wide margin and is  
raising fears among contractors that it could dent their growth.  
Federal procurement is already expected to slow because of budget  
constraints and the slowing of the post-9/11 spending boom.

Rep. Waxman's staff, in a Feb. 8 memo, said that "at least one  
contractor hired to engage in contract oversight on the border  
project, Booz Allen Hamilton, may have a conflict of interest with  
Boeing Co.," the prime contractor. Booz Allen has done consulting  
work for Boeing and has been a member of the Boeing team on other  
contracts.

Ralph Shrader, chief executive at Booz Allen, flatly denies the  
charge. "I take the greatest exception to the idea of conflict of  
interest," Dr. Shrader says, adding that Booz Allen is doing  
"support" and "coordination" work on behalf of the government, and  
doesn't "oversee" Boeing. He adds that Booz Allen has for decades  
taken pains to avoid conflicts of interest, and has a rigorous  
process to avoid such conflicts. (Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The  
Wall Street Journal, has hired Booz Allen to help the company with  
its news strategy.)