A hearing yesterday held by Senator Thomas Carper's Financial Management Subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee took procurement officials of NASA, and the Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Defense and Energy Departments to task for "rolling over" incentive awards under federal contracts, allowing contractors to be paid bonuses for performance goals they did not meet. Pushing the performance bonuses from one month to the next permits contractors to collect bonuses for months of poor performance if they "catch up" later on in fulfilling their contracts.
Jeffrey Zients of OMB and John Hutton of GAO agreed that "rolling over" bonus fees should only be permitted in the most extraordinary of situations, while Carper and Senator Tom Coburn wondered why the practice should ever be permitted. No wonder our government is going broke!
Jeffrey Zients of OMB and John Hutton of GAO agreed that "rolling over" bonus fees should only be permitted in the most extraordinary of situations, while Carper and Senator Tom Coburn wondered why the practice should ever be permitted. No wonder our government is going broke!
