With the army facing ridiculous contracting budgets, higher-ups in the force decided that something had to be done to stop the financial bleeding of the military branch. Coming up with ideas to stop the no-bid contracts, fraud, waste and organizational structure that has been depriving the troops sounds like a plan. Though when it comes to waste, the White House is the expert on making sure it doesn't stop, so they forced the Army to not do anything.
From The Huffington Post:
The Office of Management and Budget, President Bush's administrative arm, has shot down a service plan to add five active-duty generals who would oversee purchasing and monitor contractor performance.
The boost in brass was a key recommendation from a blue-ribbon panel that last fall criticized the Army for contracting failures that undermined the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan, wasted U.S. tax dollars, and sparked dozens of procurement fraud investigations.
As the Army's contracting budget ballooned _ from $46 billion in 2002 to $112 billion in 2007 _ it had too few experienced people negotiating and buying equipment and supplies, according to the panel. Worse still, there wasn't a single Army general in a job with contracting responsibilities. That meant the profession had little clout at a critical time.
An approximate 200% increase in costs over five years is astronomical and the army is right to do something about it. Unfortunately the OMB rejected their proposal without even giving a reason. Perhaps they might find something not quite legit? Uncovering no-bid contracts and what prompted them maybe? Though honestly at this point they might as well let it be unearthed, because no one is courageous enough to prosecute anyone in the Administration for all the high crimes we know about already. Everybody knows Congress has given up their duty and right to be a co-equal branch, so why not just let it all hang out.
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