Jim Webb, Modern Day Truman

HOUSE-SENATE APPOINTMENTS NAMED TO COMMISSION ON WARTIME CONTRACTING

Independent Oversight Body Will Tackle Systemic Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

Washington, DC – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have named a co-chair and three additional commissioners to the Commission on Wartime Contracting.  Established as the result of legislation introduced by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) last spring and signed into law January 28, 2008, the Commission is charged with addressing the systemic problems associated with the federal government’s wartime-support, reconstruction, and private security contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This Commission was inspired by the work of the “Truman Committee,” which conducted hundreds of hearings and investigations into government waste during and after World War II at an estimated savings of more than $178 billion (in today’s dollars) to the American taxpayer.