“Each day that passes without taking action results in continued overstaffing and inefficiency,’’ the report from the Defense Contract Audit Agency says.
The Oct. 26 audit, obtained by the Associated Press, opens a window into a behind-the-scenes battle over KBR’s billing and management practices. The company provides crucial battlefield services under a $33.8 billion, 10-year deal signed in 2001.
There have been serious disagreements between KBR and defense auditors, who have challenged billions of dollars in charges as questionable. And KBR’s critics, many of them Democrats on Capitol Hill, have accused the company of gouging the government during a time of war instead of being a responsible steward of public money.
The report from the audit agency, the military’s first line against waste and fraud, is sure to reinvigorate KBR’s detractors. The audit also reveals a confrontational approach that a congressional oversight committee has said the agency uses too sparingly when dealing with contractors.
Last week, audit agency director April Stephenson was forced out of her job after unflattering reviews of the agency’s performance. Stephenson, whose last day as director is Friday, will testify Monday at a hearing held by the independent Commission on Wartime Contracting on the management of contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
KBR officials reviewed the audit before it was finalized and their responses are included in the 26-page report. They disagree with many conclusions, saying the company has planned to cut employee levels in Iraq. But these efforts have been slowed while KBR waited for formal guidance from the military on the drawdown, they said.
In an e-mailed statement, KBR spokeswoman Heather Browne said the company is reviewing the final audit and is closely engaged in the military’s drawdown planning. She said the company’s work in Iraq “is being conducted in the ever-changing environment of a war-zone which brings its own daily challenges and priority tasks.’’
