Homeland Pork

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8454-2005Mar4.html
Probe of Security Contracts Sought
Some Post-9/11 Awards Given Without Bids to Native Alaskans

By Scott Higham and Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, March 5, 2005; Page A04

Federal lawmakers yesterday called for a congressional investigation into a
flurry of homeland-security-related contracts that were awarded after the
2001 terrorist attacks to Alaska Native Corporations, many of them without
competitive bidding.

Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform
Committee, and the panel's ranking Democrat, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Calif.),
also requested contract documents from the Department of Homeland Security,
the Pentagon and the State Department.

The lawmakers asked the Government Accountability Office, the investigative
arm of Congress, to examine the reliance on Alaska Native Corporations for
homeland security and military contracts worth as much as $2.2 billion.

"This could be turning into a scam because of the sole-source nature of
these contracts," Davis said. "The purpose of federal procurement is to make
sure taxpayers are getting their dollars' worth."

William K. Walker, a Washington lawyer who advises several of the Alaska
Native Corporations, said he welcomed the investigation.

"Let the light shine," he said. "If there's dirt, clean it up. If there's
not, acknowledge that."

Chris McNeil Jr., chairman of the Native American Contractors Association
and chief executive of one of the largest Alaska Native Corporations,
Sealaska Corp., said in a statement that the contract program "is working as
Congress intended -- finally building tribal, sustainable economies that
train our people, return a profit to our tribal members (numbering in the
tens of thousands), educate Native American children and raise our
communities out of poverty."

Alaska Native Corporations have won contracts to provide security at
military installations, maintain sophisticated scanning machines at ports
and borders, build U.S. military bases and provide information technology
assistance for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Established in 1971 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to resolve
historical land disputes, the corporations have been granted special
contracting privileges because of provisions in federal law sponsored by
members of Congress, particularly Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

The privately held corporations, for example, are treated as small
disadvantaged businesses as part of government efforts to encourage Native
Americans to participate in federal contracting. The corporations are exempt
from a $3 million federal cap on no-bid service contracts that apply to
other minority small businesses. They do not have to be run by Native
Alaskans, and they can subcontract much of their work, although they must
perform at least 50 percent of the work.

Long-established contractors, many of whom say they never had a chance to
bid on work that went to Alaska Native Corporations, have said in interviews
that taxpayers are not benefiting from the system.

Government watchdog groups also question whether the practice is in the
public interest. "This is exactly the kind of inquiry that should be taking
place," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government
Oversight.

Davis and Waxman asked the GAO to determine why federal agencies are relying
so heavily on Alaska Native Corporations, how frequently the firms enter
into joint ventures with non-native-run corporations, how federal officials
ensure they are receiving the best deal and what impact the money from the
contracts is having on jobs, education and economic development for Native
Alaskans.

"Large, no-bid federal contracts leave the taxpayer vulnerable to
overcharges and poor performance," Waxman said.