As revelation after revelation of contractor waste, fraud and abuse has come to light, I have fought to hold the Bush Administration accountable.  

To make needed changes, I introduced the Oversight of the Performance and Effectiveness of National (OPEN) Contracting Act, legislation that would require accountability for government contractors, restore competition and transparency in contracting, and ban federal contracts for companies that organize in offshore tax havens to avoid paying taxes.  I also secured an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2008 Homeland Security Appropriations Act to stop the administration from downsizing the Federal Protective Service, the agency tasked with securing federal buildings.   The proposed downsizing plan would have affected the security at government buildings in New York State, many of which are considered high-risk facilities. The facility locations include Lower Manhattan, Upper Manhattan, Queens, Long Island, Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Champlain, Plattsburgh, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, and Syracuse.

Corruption and waste continues to be a major problem in Iraq. That is why I introduced a measure to place a one-year moratorium on the unchecked and wasteful no-bid and limited competition federal contracts which cost taxpayers more than $200 billion in 2006.

I also secured an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2008 Homeland Security Appropriations Act to put a stop to the disgraceful practice of giving bonuses to Homeland Security contractors for shoddy work or even work never performed, which has been allowed to happen throughout the Department of Homeland Security and the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast.