Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
The Future of Contractor Accountability: Immunity or Impunity?
As everybody knows, a law's effectiveness is undermined if it contains loopholes. So it is worth looking at a report released last month by the advocacy group Human Rights First. It offers a strategy for creating a comprehensive system of accountability for U.S. government contractors working abroad.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Iraqis to take charge of Green Zone January 1st
When the calendar flips to 2009 on Thursday, Iraq's government will gain control over the Green Zone and its own airspace and some jurisdiction over security contractors under the terms of a deal that will fundamentally change how the United States operates here. Adnan al-Asadi, a senior deputy in Iraq's Ministry of Interior, said Iraqi police will be able to search the offices and vehicles of private security contractors, confiscate illegal weapons and expel companies operating without a license.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Kerry, Casey Urge State Department to Drop Blackwater
U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-MA), incoming Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and Bob Casey (D-PA), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, today again urged the State Department to drop Blackwater Worldwide as a private security contractor for American diplomats in Iraq. An internal State Department report released today raised the concern that the Iraqi government may remove Blackwater's license to operate inside Iraq.
Thursday, December 18, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Don't sideline contractors
The indictment of five Blackwater Worldwide guards has renewed the call for legislation that bans armed contractors from the battlefield. That legislation would be an unnecessary overcorrection and a grave mistake. Now is not the time to kick contractors off the battlefield.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Self-reporting rule for contractors takes effect
The controversial new Federal Acquisition Regulation rule requiring contractors to disclose government overpayments and their own criminal contracting violations went into effect Dec. 12 at 9 a.m.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
American Contractors in Iraq Worry About Their Future
The thousands of American contractors in Iraq who have been above Iraqi law since the war began are suddenly facing a new era in which their United States passports will no longer protect them from arrest and imprisonment.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
No Court Order Needed to Spy on Americans Overseas, Appeals Court Rules
The Fourth Amendment’s shield against invasive searches reaches only partially across the border, a federal appeals court ruled this week, finding that the nation’s spies don't need a court order to wiretap an American overseas, though there has to be a good reason for listening in.
Monday, December 1, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Iraq-U.S. Accord Wipes Out Contractor Immunity
U.S. government contractors in Iraq are balking at a new agreement that eliminates their immunity from local laws, saying thousands of Americans would be subject to a legal system that still fails international standards. The Defense Department and State Department briefed their private contractors today on a provision of the so-called status-of-forces accord that eliminates contractors' immunity from prosecution under Iraqi law.
Friday, November 21, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Iraq Pact Forces Security Contractors to Confront Work Without Immunity
The new agreement covering the U.S. military presence in Iraq, which appears to end immunity from local law for private security contractors, could affect companies the U.S. is likely to rely on as it reduces its forces there.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Court strikes down DOD's minority contractor rule
A federal appeals court has ruled that a law calling for minority-owned companies to receive 5 percent of defense contracting dollars is unconstitutional because there wasn't enough proof the Pentagon discriminates against those firms in awarding contracts.
Friday, November 7, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Report: DoD canceled 1,262 Iraq reconstruction contracts
The Defense Department terminated 1,262 Iraq reconstruction contracts since 2003 — worth a combined $1 billion — before those projects were completed, according to a new report from the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Private Iraq Investigators Out: Agency Cancels Contract After Senator Raises Questions
The State Department suddenly canceled a contract for eight private investigators to assist U.S. officials in Iraq in "extremely complex and sensitive investigations," after a senator raised questions about whether the department had outsourced oversight of security contractors.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Who watches the watchers?
The State Department has outsourced henhouse security to a fox, giving a U.S. security contractor the job of investigating possible crimes committed by other security contractors working for the United States in Iraq.
Monday, October 20, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
IG: Army is lax in overseeing issuance of contractor ID cards
An Army contractor - KBR - conducted only cursory background checks on personnel in the Middle East before issuing electronic identification cards that allow access to Defense Department computer networks and facilities, auditors said in a recent report.
Friday, October 17, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Defense bill includes major contracting reforms
The House and Senate have approved a sweeping set of contracting reforms. The House passed the bill on Sept. 24 and the Senate approved it over the weekend, sending it to the White House. President Bush is expected to sign it soon.
Thursday, October 2, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
DOD tests contractors’ ID cards
The Army is testing a program that allows contractors to use an identification card approved by the Defense Department to gain access to the service’s facilities and computers. “The ultimate goal is to give us visibility to the contractors in the battlefield,” said Col. Archie Davis.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Where McCain, Obama stand on key federal issues including contracting
When it comes to government reform, the agendas of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and GOP rival John McCain have a few things in common.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
17 countries agree on recommendations to control private military and security companies.
State experts representing 17 countries have agreed on a new set of recommendations to enhance State control over private military and security companies. The document was finalized today by governmental and other experts who had been meeting since 15 September in Montreux, Switzerland, at the invitation of the Swiss government.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Acquittal of Former Marine in Landmark Case Expected to Cause Change in Legislation that affects Contractors
The recent landmark case of United States of America vs. Jose Luis Nazario, Jr. tested the power and scope of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 (MEJA), and the swift acquittal underscores flaws in the law that could lead to legislative changes to the Act, said the team of lawyers who represented the former Marine. MEJA was designed to permit the prosecution, in U.S. district court, of Department of Defense contractors, subcontractors, and the civilian dependants of active-duty military personnel who commit crimes on foreign soil.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Industry News : Regs, Laws, Oversight
Contractor accountability gains ground
New reports show that oversight and accountability over contractors are much improved. And, considering how much money is being spent on them, one would expect nothing less.
Sunday, August 31, 2008