03.13.18

Enzi Pushes DEA for Information After Audit Shows Contract Mismanagement

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, is pressing the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for additional information after an internal audit revealed repeated mismanagement that may have wasted taxpayer funds and compromised criminal investigations. Enzi’s letter is pushing the DEA to provide answers to how this happened, and how to prevent this mismanagement from occurring again.  He said it is essential to make federal agencies more accountable for the monies they receive and spend and ensure it is being spent appropriately. 

In January the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued an audit report of DEA’s contract with Conduit Language Specialists, Incorporated. The report highlighted that DEA was not properly overseeing the contract, and several of the contract’s provisions were not met. This report followed OIG audits in 2010 and 2012 that revealed similar contract management problems.  

In the letter to Acting Administrator Robert Patterson, Enzi wrote, “The report includes many troubling findings about oversight and administration of the contract, which was one of eight such regional contracts awarded in 2012 with a combined total contract ceiling of approximately $1.8 billion. Although corrective actions related to this contract were explained, I remain concerned that DEA and other Justice Department agencies are not properly vetting contractors.”

Enzi wrote seeking information on additional steps the DEA is taking to improve its contracting oversight following the 2010 and 2012 OIG reports and why it failed to prevent the problems identified in the 2018 report. Additionally, Enzi wants to know how the DEA will implement a training program to ensure that contract oversight remains a priority and how DEA has improved its procedures to ensure compliance with relevant security requirements. 

“Taxpayers expect responsible stewardship of their hard-earned dollars, and proper management and oversight of these contracts is essential to ensure they can have confidence that their money is being spent wisely and appropriately,” wrote Enzi.

Read the full letter here.

 

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