WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. government is concerned about quality control at the Missile Defense Agency but encouraged by a push toward reform, lawmakers said in Washington.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in his opening statement Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, blasted the MDA for "inadequate" quality control over contractor performance. He added, however, that he was encouraged by a recent decision by the agency to withhold funds from subpar contractors, Defense News reports.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, the top official at the MDA, told lawmakers his agency would scale back reward fees for underperforming contractors.
He noted that the MDA needed to stress its high-quality expectations to its contractors. The MDA, he added, aims to have more competition to the contracting process and include top U.S. military officials in the decision-making process.
Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said O'Reilly's testimony was "good news" for the agency.
