$60B waste found in wartime contracts

Panel member Katherine Schinasi says the group's calculation of daily waste -- $12 million -- might catch people's attentions.

• Commission on Wartime Contracting issues a final report to Congress
• U.S. has wasted as much as $60B in Iraq, Afghanistan, report says
• Cuts in auditing government contracts have cost more than they saved
• Ex-defense comptroller: Questioning particular projects' value is key

• Commission on Wartime Contracting
• Afghanistan
• Iraq
• War and Conflict

Washington (CNN) -- A nonpartisan panel reporting to Congress says the United States is wasting $12 million a day among contracts issued in support of American efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Commission on Wartime Contracting spent the past three years documenting whether American funding went where it was supposed to. The findings show misdirected money totals between $31 billion and $60 billion, and that both the government and the contractors are to blame for fraud and waste.

Commissioner Katherine Schinasi told a Wednesday news conference the numbers don't seem to have an impact on people concerned about spending.

"In the report we've broken it down to $12 million a day. We are wasting $12 million a day," she said, "maybe that will make a difference."

The study looked at contracts from 2001 through the projected end of fiscal year 2011.

Without contract reform and better oversight, future prospects look just as ominous, the panel members warned, as the U.S. considers a role rebuilding Libya in a post-Gadhafi time frame.

Dov Zakheim, a former comptroller at the Defense Department, said he believes the misdirected money is closer to $60 billion, not the low end of the range the panel itself has estimated.

"We also have to think about projects that we start, but are not sure can be finished or sustained," he said. "What is the point of spending hundreds of millions on projects that will then fall into disuse?" he asked, saying the choice then becomes writing off the investment, or "spending taxpayer money for God knows how long, in order to keep the projects going."

The panel issued 15 recommendations for contract reform, including hiring more auditors and analysts to make sure the U.S. gets what was paid for.

The commission was a provision in the 2008 Defense Department budget, mandating an investigation of relying on contractors for security, logistics, and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the three-year probe, the panel held 25 formal hearings, published two interim reports and five special reports to Congress.

Their 240-page final report is online at www.wartimecontracting.gov.

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