McCaskill pledges more Iraq oversight

WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- Sen. Claire McCaskill will seek legal changes to limit the U.S. military's use of so-called cost-plus contracts and other abuse-prone acquisition vehicles.

McCaskill, D-Mo., spoke to reporters Monday from Iraq, where she has been assessing shortcomings of oversight and other aspects of the U.S. military's use of private contractors.

"I think contractors that aren't supervised are a big problem," she said, adding that so-called cost-plus contracts, where the contractor is reimbursed their costs plus a fixed percentage, were a particular problem, especially when combined with imprecise or lax requirements.

"Contractors who have the kind of contracts that let them ... say what they need and how much you're going to pay them as it goes along is a huge mistake and one that we've got to never make again," she said.

She also called for better oversight of the contractors. "There was a lack of contract oversight, a lack of tools being in place to make sure that it was difficult to get away with any kind of kickbacks or any kind of under-the-table embezzlement of any kind of money," she said.

McCaskill said she would discuss her findings with senior Pentagon officials when she returned and looked forward to proposing amendments to the Defense Authorization bill to deal with the issue.