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Autocratic forces are ascendant in America. But truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against the unrestrained exercise of power. At a time when billionaire owners of corporate media are making accommodations to political leaders, our nonprofit newsroom cannot be bought or broken. Please stand with us.

Politics

June 27, 2007

Waste in Federal Contracts Now More Than $1 Trillion

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Last year California Rep. Henry Waxman released an in-depth report on government-contract spending under the Bush Administration. It found that:

Between 2000 and 2005, federal procurement spending rose by over 80%.

No-bid and other contracts awarded without full and open competition increased by more than 100%.

Contract mismanagement led to rising waste, fraud, and abuse in federal contracting.

Today Waxman released this year’s analysis, which shows that what was already bad has actually gotten much worse.

For the first time EVER the federal government has passed $400 billion threshold in contracts for the year.

More than half of this spending — more than $200 billion in new contracts — was awarded without full and open competition.

The total value of wasteful federal contracts now exceeds $1 trillion.

Get the full rundown, and have a look at specific contracts, here.

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