Rep. Tierney Says Contracting Corruption in Afghanistan Still Rampant. What Now?

A major U.S. trucking contract in Afghanistan fueled a widespread extortion scheme where warlords and criminals extracted payment for safe passage—but the military still hasn't adequately addressed the problem, according to a House Democrat's hearing today.

Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) questioned Department of Defense (DoD) officials today during a hearing for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on contracting corruption in Afghanistan. The hearing was intended to follow-up on the investigation Tierney spearheaded in 2010, which showed the U.S. Army’s $2.16 billion Afghanistan host nation trucking contract was actually funding criminal networks.

The results of that investigation pressured the DoD to establish two task forces intended to address the problem. However, in a recent letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Tierney criticized the DOD’s response, writing: “This summer, in a stunning reversal of course, Army officials inexplicably stopped the debarment proceedings and settled…for nothing more than a slap on the wrist.” (For an analysis of this, check out the AP report.)

Today's heated hearing was a look at how effectively DOD is holding contractors in Afghanistan accountable for fraud, bribery and corruption. For example, Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) took the opportunity to question officials about specific failures in transporting supplies.

“I recognize in the theater of war, there’s an added degree of pressure. But one of our reports said often [shipping] containers were never counted or reopened when they got to their destination. How are you solving this problem?” Chaffetz asked.

A witness for DOD responded that while the vast majority of containers are opened, there is bound to be a percentage that doesn’t get received or inspected, by virtue of the sheer number of shipments.

Tierney said that according to his investigation, 1,100 trucks delivering oil in Afghanistan had been pilfered. He also pointed out the penalty for failing to deliver a full load of supplies is $25,000—but the value of a load is $40,000 on the street.

“We cannot afford to fail at getting a handle on contracting corruption in Afghanistan. It is utterly unacceptable for any U.S. taxpayer dollars to ever make their way into the hands of those who would use them as a means to harm our brave men and women in uniform” said Tierney in his opening statement.