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Revolving door between Pentagon and defense contractors continues to spin

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Almost two years after Donald Trump came to Washington pledging to “drain the swamp” of special interests and clear waste from the Pentagon’s supply chain, a steady stream of retired generals, admirals and government procurement officers are still accepting lucrative positions with companies that do business with the military.

A report released Nov. 4th by the advocacy group Project on Government Oversight (POGO) found that major U.S. defense contractors have hired hundreds of former high-level government officials in recent years, including at least 50 since Trump became president. The report lends new visibility to long-standing concerns about a revolving door between the government agencies that award massive contracts for military supplies and services and the businesses that profit from those contracts.

Corporate influence in Washington was a campaign trail rallying point for Trump, who said soon after the 2016 election that there should be a “lifetime restriction” on top defense officials going to work for defense contractors. “The people that are making these deals for the government, they should never be allowed to go work for those companies,” he said on Fox News.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.stripes.com/news/us/revolving-door-between-pentagon-and-defense-contractors-continues-to-spin-1.555340

DoD reports spike in contractors in Iraq

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The number of civilian contractors supporting U.S. and coalition operations in Iraq against the Islamic State is on the rise, even as major military operations there have ceased, according to new figures released by U.S. Central Command,

From January 2017 to January 2018 the number of Defense Department contractors in Iraq rose 37 percent, from 3,592 to 4,927, according to statistics CENTCOM released last week.

The numbers are reported quarterly and have risen steadily over the last year. For example, contractors supporting base operations rose from 564 contractors in January 2017 to 827 contractors in January 2018. The number of contracted translators rose from 377 in 2017 to 805 in 2018 and the number of contractors supporting logistics and maintenance rose from 1,156 to 1,480.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/flashpoints/2018/01/16/dod-reports-spike-in-contractors-in-iraq/

Obama pushes contractors to be greener, more worker-friendly

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Dept. of LaborThe Obama administration has finalized plans to bring more scrutiny to potential federal contractors’ histories of violating labor laws, releasing twin final regulations that will publish Thursday to implement a 2014 executive order.

A final rule from the Defense Department, General Services Administration and NASA, and final guidance from the Labor Department, will implement President Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces order to boost transparency of contractors’ compliance with labor laws. It will require agencies’ contracting officers to give greater consideration to such violations.

The rule will go into effect Oct. 25 with its provisions phased in over the next two years. Labor estimated in 2014 the order would affect 24,000 businesses employing 28 million workers. In its final rule, the administration estimated contractors would spend $458 million complying with the new regulations in its first year, while the government would spend an additional $16 million.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2016/08/obama-pushes-contractors-be-greener-more-worker-friendly/131020/

Bipartisan letter suggests Pentagon include contractors in staff cuts

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A bipartisan pair of lawmakers has asked the Defense Department to rethink its plan to cut staff by 20 percent at top headquarters offices, asking for the Pentagon to exhaust all other options before taking negative personnel actions.

Reps. Bill Young, R-Fla., and Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., chairman and ranking member of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, said in a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that department cuts should be made after careful analysis, and not based on “arbitrary goals.” Hagel announced the planned workforce reductions in July.

The appropriators called for an organizational review that “considers recommendations to eliminate certain functions and certain contracts entirely, rather than across-the-board cuts to all functions.”

Young and Visclosky emphasized the Pentagon’s legal obligation to conduct a cost comparison before replacing any civilian employees with contract workers.  In trimming the workforce, they said the “total workforce should be considered,” including contractors, and that the review should identify any contractors that are “illegally performing inherently governmental functions.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2013/09/bipartisan-proposal-suggests-pentagon-include-contractors-staff-cuts/70336/?oref=govexec_today_nl 

Defense contractors fear blowback in wake of leak about NSA snooping

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Defense  contractors with top-secret clearances are bracing for blowback from the  explosive National Security Agency (NSA) leaks scandal.

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations about two National  Security Agency programs has shaken the military-industrial complex, raising  questions about whether the government has lost control over who is cleared to  see sensitive information.

Experts said the new leaks, which follow massive disclosures to WikiLeaks by  Bradley Manning, a military intel analyst now on trial, could intensify pressure  on Washington to restrict access more tightly, as well as tighten the vetting of  those given clearances.

But it will be difficult — if not impossible — to impose control on a system  in which 1.4 million people now have some kind of clearance to see classified  information.

Keep reading this article at: http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/304633-defense-contractors-fear-blowback-in-wake-of-leak-about-nsa-snooping 

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