WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) today asked American Management Systems, Inc. (AMS), a global business and IT consulting firm, to provide her committee with documents related to a failed government contract that ended up costing federal employees nearly $40 million.
Specifically, Collins has requested documents associated with a four-year contract between the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) and AMS to develop a record-keeping system for participants and beneficiaries of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). But the system that was developed proved to be useless, forcing the FRTIB to enter into a new contract with another company in 2001. Last week, Collins made a similar request of the FRTIB, which has agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
Thousands of federal employees who participate in the TSP were affected by this contract, including nearly 20,000 workers who reside in Maine. Plan participants are being charged 30 cents per $1,000 they have invested in TSP to cover the costs of the failed project.
“Millions of dollars were wasted on a project that went nowhere,” said Collins. “I want to know where and why the contracting process broke down so that this kind of wasteful spending can be avoided in the future.”
In her letter to AMS, Collins asked for records relating to delays and staffing decisions as well as communications between AMS personnel and former Executive Director Roger Mehle and FRTIB.
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