Watchdog: Transportation stimulus money at risk (AP)

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Department is at risk of awarding economic stimulus aid to contractors who have defrauded the government, a government watchdog warned Wednesday.

The department's inspector general, Calvin Scovel, issued an advisory that said the agency doesn't process or report in a timely manner those contractors who have been suspended or barred from participation in transportation programs because of fraud.

Scovel said this creates the risk that transportation funds could go to ineligible contractors. The advisory said that includes the $48 billion in transportation-related economic stimulus money the department is trying to get quickly out the door, as well as money not part of the stimulus plan.

The concerns arose during the inspector general's ongoing auditing of the department's suspension and debarment program, the advisory said.

The audits identified "vulnerabilities that increase the risk that the department's (stimulus) funds will not be spent effectively," the advisory said. "The tight time frames and significant funds awarded under (the stimulus law) heighten this risk."

Deputy Transportation Secretary Thomas Barrett noted that the audit didn't uncover any instance in which money had gone to a suspended or debarred contractor. He also said in a statement posted the department's Web site that steps have been taken to improve the reporting of ineligible contractors.

Nevertheless, Barrett said, "we recognize a need for improvements in internal processes to ensure the success of this program."

___

On the Net:

Transportation Department inspector general: http://www.oig.dot.gov

Item Resource