House Panel Probes Army Contract

The Washington Post reports on a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation of Army contracting practices. The Committee Chair announced that he will use one incident to kick off a broader probe of Pentagon procurement practices:

The [immediate] investigation focuses on a technology program that Raymond ran at Fort Belvoir as part of the Communications-Electronics Command.

In 2004, Raymond attended a technology conference in Hawaii, where he met Catherine Campbell, a contractor. The two became close friends and frequently sailed and walked together, documents and interviews show. They also traveled to conferences and frequently exchanged e-mail.

Last year, after an Army lawyer questioned the relationship, an internal Army inquiry found evidence that Raymond had allegedly violated several federal contracting regulations and laws, including passing on confidential government cost estimates to Campbell, according to an Army investigative report.

In the interview with The Post, Raymond acknowledged sharing the information, but he said he did so only to help teach Campbell how the procurement system works.

via www.washingtonpost.com