A report released July 23 by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) charges that auditors at the Defense Contract Audit Agency were pressured by their supervisors to favor certain major contractors, including Boeing and Northrop Grumman. The Audit Agency, which is responsible for oversight of Pentagon contracts, has about 3,500 auditors, down from 6,000 in 1989.
Reports were skewed to make more favorable assessments of the companies’ work while downplaying wrongdoing and charges of overbilling. The report cited an atmosphere of intimidation, with supervisors attempting to prevent auditors from speaking to GAO investigators, and “verbal admonishments, reassignments and threats of disciplinary action” against workers who raised questions.
Inflated billing and backroom deals are common practice in the military-industrial complex, where a small number of military technology contractors have the government as their guaranteed market.
