Transparency And Resources Needed To Combat Waste, Fraud And Abuse Among Contractors, Say Officials

By Alexa Gitler-Talk Radio News Service

A number of government officials tasked with overseeing contractors told the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan Monday that additional transparency and resources are needed to help combat waste, fraud and abuse.

James Burch, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations with the Department of Defense, claimed that “different cases take different lengths of time” and that the money allocated to the Inspector General's office in order to efficiently prosecute every case necessary would need to be more.

Agreeing with him was Deputy Inspector General Ginger Cruz of the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), who stated that, "the amount of resources given are not going to be equal to those of larger agencies and that because of this, smaller agencies have to come up with more creative ways of dealing with their problems.”

While witness Raymond DiNunzio, Assistant Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), felt that “[SIGAR has] the adequate resources, personnel, and budget to fulfill our mission,” but that the challenge of identifying and punishing fraud was with the foreign contractors and subcontractors not being held accountable for their actions.

“Oversight is the biggest issue that we have in contract fraud and abuse, lack of oversight,” said DiNunzio.

Republicans Will Stand Alongside Legislation To Reduce Spending

By Alexa Gitler
Talk Radio News Service

The Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010, legislation that will give the White House broad authority to help reduce wasteful federal spending and block earmarks, will have GOP support according to a leading House Republican.

“Republicans will stand alongside President Obama for reduced spending,” Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), who chairs the House Republican Conference, told reporters Monday.

Republicans have been critical of the amount of spending done by the Obama administration since he was elected into office. with Pence claiming an 84 percent spike since Obama took office.

However with regards to the new piece of legislation, Pence stated that “[Republican] welcome strengthening the hand of this or any other President to reduce spending and we [as a party] have called for enhanced precision of exactly how this is going to be done.”

The Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act will allow the President to submit suggested spending cuts, or rescissions, to spending bills within 45 congressional working days of their passage. The House and Senate would then be required to submit the package to an up or down vote and would not be allowed to add amendments.

U.S. Should Continue Drilling Despite Recent Spill, Says Senate Republican

By Alexa Gitler
Talk Radio News Service

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Friday that she hoped the nationwide anger and frustration caused by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last month would not have any negative impact on efforts to drill off her state's coast.

Speaking at a luncheon held by the National Press Club in Downtown, Washington, D.C., Murkowski's message was clear: Congress should not use the Gulf spill as a mechanism for obstructing any future plans to drill offshore.

“We are going to need oil for decades to come, and [the] technology is advancing because oil and natural gas are still the most economically viable energy sources in the world," she said.

If anything, Murkowski suggested that Congress ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), a UN agreement that was signed in 1982, and has since been ratified by 160 nations -- including the European Union (EU). The document requires nations to adopt regulations to control pollution of the marine environment, and invest heavily in technology that makes drilling safer.

“The spill in the gulf has shown us that there are certainly risks, and there will always be risks and impacts associated with producing energy but we must take every appropriate step to minimize the risks in the future,” Murkowski said.

Though she spoke at length, Murkowski did not address a bill introduced last week by New Jersey Senators Bob Menendez (D) and Frank Lautenberg (D), which proposes raising the damage liability cap on oil companies from the current $75 million, to $10 billion. Murkowski was one of two Senators to object to moving the bill to the floor.

House Republicans Object To Proposed Bailout Of Greece

By Alexa Gitler
Talk Radio News Service

House Republicans on Wednesday criticized the Obama administration for supporting a financial bailout of debt-laden Greece, and touted legislation they've drawn up that would prevent U.S. dollars from being used to fund such a maneuver.

"The European Bailout Protection Act [was] designed to pull back from this administration’s head rush to take the bad ideas of the Wall Street bailout and take them global,” House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (D-Ind.) argued.

According to the Pence, the bill does not permanently prohibit the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from lending to these nations; it simply prohibits the United States from participating in the proposed European bailout.

Other members present, including Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) shared Pence’s views, explaining that the bailout would merely be a temporary solution and that they hoped there could be bipartisan effort to reconsider the terms of the bailout before moving forward.

“There is an element of simply forestalling the pain for one generation and transferring even greater pain to the next generation,” Hensarling said. “All bets are off, all taxpayer commitments have to be re-examined.”

Added Tiahrt, “This is a good opportunity for America to wake-up and to become sober when it comes to spending.”

Monday Sports Roundup

By Alexa Gitler
Talk Radio News Service

After starting the NBA playoffs 8-0, ‘Superman’ Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic were defeated Sunday night by the Boston Celtics 92-88 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The loss was the Magic's first since April 2. Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rasheed Wallace combined to score 60 points for the Celtics, while forward Kevin Garnett held the MVP candidate Howard to just 13 points. Game 2 of the best-of-7 series takes place on Tuesday night in Orlando.

Locally, Washington Capitals (NHL) star center Nicklas Backstrom has agreed to renew his contract with the team. Backstrom, 22, set a career-high last season -- his third with the Capitals -- with 33 goals and 101 points. His 68 assists were good for third in the league. Details of the contract are not immediately available, but it's believed to be long term with an annual salary that could exceed $6 million. The Caps will most likely make an official announcement Monday morning at 10:30 am.