The lack of productivity that accompanies the onset of diseases and other health conditions may deprive the U.S. economy of $1.4 trillion annually, a new report sponsored by the Advanced Medical Technology Association concludes.

“It’s obvious that disease and productivity are intrinsically linked,” report contributor Bryan Luce of the United BioSource Corporation (UBC) said during a presentation Monday marking the reports’ release. “[Disease is] obviously important to GDP if it’s important to productivity.”

The report estimates that cancer is responsible for the loss of $306 billion in productivity with substance abuse detracting an additional $225 billion. The study also highlighted billions in losses from hypertension, heart disease, and mental problems.

The report’s contributors explained that the data shows the need for further investment in preventative treatment, arguing that an aggressive prevention program is needed.

“There is a rationale for a national program on the order of putting a man on the moon,” report contributor Greg de Lissovoy of UBC said. “Certainly health care reform and better access to care…will make a great contribution to this.”

By Laura Woodhead – Talk Radio News Service

Federal agencies are still not using awards fees as intended despite new guidelines said a group of Senators Monday. Speaking at the Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security’s hearing on “Eliminating Wasteful Contractor Bonuses”, Chairman Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) said that he was disappointed that federal agencies are still paying billions in awards fees to contractors that provide less than satisfactory work.

“This situation has caused many of us to question how, during a time when households around the country are tightening their budgets, federal agencies can continue to award extra profit to companies as if it is expected and earned,” Carper said.

Though he is a “strong believer” that appropriate incentives lead to better performances, Carper said it simply did not make sense to award bonuses for below standard work.

“It’s as if you were at a restaurant and your waiter or waitress forgot your order, spilled your food on you and charged you for items you didn’t get. Most of us wouldn’t give that person a very big tip. But agencies are giving contractors who perform just as poorly everything they want,” he said.

Monday’s hearing took place two months before the Office of Management and Budget publishes its final guidelines for awards fees. During his testimony before the subcommittee, Deputy Director for Management at the OMB Jeffrey Zients said that 95% of all awards fees handed out by federal agencies were given by the Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Energy (DoE) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Zients added that although some of these agencies, especially the DoD, had made progress, there is still a long way to go.

“I think by DoD’s leadership on this, we know that change can happen and happen quickly,” Zients said. “By having those five agencies work closely together to share best practices, best processes, I believe we can quickly improve the situation.”

John Hutton, Sourcing Manager at the Government Accountability Office, testified that the method being used to apply award fees is still the biggest concern.

“We have seen the cost plus award fee contracts applied in a way that’s not in best interest of tax payers. We found that even in cases were they performed “satisfactorily,” one could get 85-90% of award fees. In those situations, what’s left to really incentive contractors’ performances?” asked Hutton.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said that the whole system of awards fees needed to be reassessed rather than just regulated. He said he could not understand how agencies could justify giving “roll overs” in awards fees to contractors even if their previous work had been substandard.

“That’s like saying my dog ate my homework but I come back tomorrow and get an A even though i didn’t perform the first day,” Coburn said.

By: Courtney Costello- Talk Radio News Service

The House has proposed new legislation that would close improperly facilitated burn pits used by U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. The legislation would also mandate health screenings for veterans who were exposed to toxins released from the pits, which are large ditches used to dispose of garbage and waste.

The Military Personnel War Zone Toxic Exposure Prevention Act would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical surveillance system that would pinpoint troops that have been exposed to hazardous chemicals burned in the pits. The act would also prohibit the military from discarding waste that omits dangerous levels of toxins.

“We believe it is premature to dismiss concern raised about burn pits after only a few years. Our country’s difficult experiences with agent orange and Gulf War illness taught us we must be vigilant in monitoring and treating our veterans long after they have returned from the battlefield,” said Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.).

 Despite the fact that the military has purchased incinerators, the burn pits have become an indefinite solution to get rid of waste.
 
“[The burn pits are producing] 250 tons of waste everyday. Some of our troops are working directly inside of these pits with no protection,” said Kerry Baker, the Assistant National Legislative Director of the Disabled American Veterans.

Medical concerns that have been raised include chronic bronchitis, asthma, sleep apnea, allergy-like symptoms, lung problems and lymphoma.

“Where all of the trash from the base and from the base hospital was burned just over the wall…we lived under a cloud of smoke from that continuous fire, and everyone was affected on some level,” said Tom Tarantino, an Iraq War veteran and a policy associate for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

According to Rep. Bishop, the Department of Defense currently maintains that there are no long term health issues related to troops being exposed to burn pits.

By Justin Duckham-Talk Radio News Service

A dilapidated U.S. compound in Kabul plagued with broken pipes and an unusable sewage system is only one of many examples that U.S. reconstruction efforts in the Middle East continue to be susceptible to incompetence, wasteful spending, and fraud at the hands of contractors, according to the Commission on War Time Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We don’t have enough people watching the contractors. Seventy percent of our contracts go to sub-contractors…we have to get the information second hand. We need to reexamine that,” said Christopher Shays, the current co-Chairman of the Commission on War Time Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, during a hearing held today with the House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs.

Shay, and fellow co-Chairman Michael J. Thibault’s testimony coincides with the release of their Committee’s interim report detailing the extent of the mismanagement in the two countries. The report highlighted several key issues including the presence of an insufficient amount staff for supervision, technological limitations within the contractors’ companies including out-of-date billing and labor systems, and an overall lack of accountability.

KBR, a Texas based construction and engineering company that acted as the military’s sole contractor for the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, was named as one of the company’s responsible for losing billions of dollars in wasteful spending.

“I don’t think we’re aware of another program, contrac, or contractor that has had this number of suspensions or referrals,” said Defense Contract Audit Agency Director April Stephenson during a May hearing with the Commission on War Time Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are 240,000 contractor employees aiding the U.S. in Iraq, Afghanistan, and surrounding areas. Since 2001 1,360 contractor employees have been killed in the two countries.

Christopher Shays, the co-Chairman of the Commission on War Time Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, says that there is a significant lack of oversight for the reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sub-contractors, which make up 70% of the reconstruction effort, are not subjected to direct oversight from the U.S. (0:23)

 

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Senator Frank Lautenber (D-N.J.) discusses how Americans need to understand where their tax dollars are being spent, and praises the work of governmental audit agencies. But he is upset that KBR needlessly wasted American taxpayer dollars as well as endangered the lives of American soldiers. (0:38)

 

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Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) chaired a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing addressing wasted money, fraud, and the abuse of American tax money in the reconstruction of Iraq.

The Committee interrogated a panel of leaders knowledgeable about the wasted funds spent by the Bush Administration. Leahy described the carefree spending as “shameful.” Leahy and the Committee criticized Bush’s funding and close relationship with the controversial Halliburton Energy Corporation, and a lack of responsible oversight for government spending over the course of the war and during rebuilding efforts.

Panel members explained that America has had some success in Iraq, urging that sustaining the improvements we have made in the war-ravished nation is necessary to ensuring our success remains permanent. Leahy and the Committee each agreed that spending accountability should be held for the sake of both taxpayers and U.S. soldiers.

The hearing also featured a number of protestors in the audience, as well as photographs of American’s in Iraq holding bags of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money.