When Do You Ban a Stimulus Contractor?
by Michael Grabell, ProPublica - January 15, 2010 11:45 am EST
The Kentucky transportation department has awarded $24 million in stimulus contracts to companies associated with a road contractor who is accused of bribing the previous state transportation secretary, according to an audit by the federal Department of Transportation (PDF).
The DOT’s internal watchdog used the case to highlight the significant delays in the time it takes for the Federal Highway Administration to suspend or bar someone from receiving government contracts. Though the agency is supposed to make such a decision within 45 days, federal highway officials waited 10 months after the indictment to put the men accused of bribery onto the list of banned contractors.
The combination of lengthy delays in the contractor suspension process and the rapid disbursement of billions of stimulus dollars “creates a ‘perfect storm’ for contractors intent on defrauding the government,” the inspector general audit said.