Rep. Davis and committee ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., issued a report at the hearing detailing waste and mismanagement at the department stemming in part from a nearly 750 percent increase in non-competitive contracts over three years, and 32 contracts worth $34.3 billion that GAO, Pentagon auditors, agency inspectors general, or other government investigators have linked to administration or performance problems.
Procurement spending has increased 189 percent since DHS was formed in 2003, from $3.5 billion to $10 billion in fiscal 2005, their report said.
It said the department awarded $5.5 billion –55 percent — of that through contracts without full or open competition in fiscal 2005, up from $655 million in fiscal 2003.
The report said DHS has failed to plan contracts responsibly, and determine government needs and program requirements — and that the department lacks trained contract officials and the management structure needed to oversee its spending.
