WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Department is improving oversight for Iraqi and Afghan service contracts, though U.S. officials complain the action is too slow.
The Defense Department is under fire for a lack of oversight in wartime contracts for the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Shay Assad, policy director for procurement and acquisition at the Pentagon, told lawmakers the Defense Department was making swift reforms.
"There is no doubt within the Department of Defense that we are moving forward with significant change in not just how we do contracting, but our acquisition workforce in general," he told a congressional panel. "It's going to take some time but we are making significant improvement."
Lawmakers complained that oversight was taking far too long, however, as the U.S. military struggles with the logistics of two war fronts, Defense News reports.
Assad agreed, saying there were certain "shortcomings" that the Defense Department was assessing.
Edward Harrington, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for procurement, added that workloads and "editorial aspects" were cause for delays.
