Yesterday President Bush signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 which includes a provision to establish a government-wide database with information on the integrity and performance of federal contractors and grantees. But get this! The government’s version will not be made available to the public. This is an outrage.

So thank heavens for POGO, The Project on Government Oversight, which has just released an updated and expanded version of their Federal Contractor Misconduct Database (FCMD), which includes information on the misconduct history of the top 100 federal contractors.  POGO will continue to maintain their database as a free public resource with updated information on the misconduct of the top federal contractors. Here’s a link to a helpful fact sheet regarding myths about the federal database.

POGO has made several format changes and added new search and sort functions that will make the database easier to use. They built the FCMD as a way to help separate responsible contractors from shady and corrupt ones. Here’s a link to POGO’s press release announcing the updated database.

POGO’s site goes back to 1995, and currently lists over 750 instances of contractor misconduct, such as fraud and violations of environmental, securities, and labor laws. Topping the list is Lockheed Martin, with 47 instances of misconduct.

And here’s the ultimate irony.  The Fed’s database will be modeled after POGO’s FCMD.

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Two new reports shine light on waste, corruption and the buying of influence in Washington.

Earlier this week, U.S. PIRG released a report showing how the federal government continues to waste tens of billions in the process of outsourcing work to private companies. "Forgiving Fraud And Failure: Profiles In Federal Contracting" reports on how the feds continue to work with companies that did shoddy work and or were found to have committed fraud.

Last year, the federal government spent $422 billion outsourcing work to private companies, a 100 percent increase since 2000, all with precious little oversight. U.S. PIRG reports that loose rules, lack of competition, and limited accountability are the problems. PIRG’s suggestions: increase the disclosure of contract information; increasing competition among multiple bidders; and strengthening the screening of bad actors.

Our friends at POGO have been refining their "Federal Contractor Misconduct Database", a valuable tool for investigative journalists and citizens who want to see the rap sheets on companies our government hires. The fact that these contractors are also large campaign donors just rounds out the equation.

Public Citizen’s Watchdog Blog reports on how industry shills are attempting to buy their way into positions of power bundling cash for presidential candidates. WhiteHouseForSale.org is the place to go to find out who is bundling cash for whom. CBS looked into the bundlers for Bush, and shows how they were rewarded with ambassadorships and other positions within government. At the regulatory agencies, Public Citizen reports, this cronyism has resulted in relaxed enforcement, big tax breaks and special earmarks for big business.

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