In which I laud Kurt Schrader

Carla Axtman

Lord knows I've put some heat on Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-05) in the last year. So it's only fair to take note when he does something good.

From Schrader's press release:

Today Congressman Kurt Schrader offered an amendment on H.R. 5013, the IMPROVE Acquisition Act. The legislation passed the House by a vote of 417 – 3.

“My amendment ensures that the Pentagon will be able to continue using the expertise and wisdom of retired senior officers, while adhering to the high standards of transparency the American people deserve,” said Schrader. “They win, we win, and the taxpayers win.”

The Department of Defense (DOD) has been contracting retired senior officers to mentor and advise the current officer corps at rates of pay higher than their military pay. Many of the retired senior officers are considered to be independent contractors and are not required to file financial disclosure forms or conflicts of interest even though many work for defense contractors as well as DOD.

Schrader’s amendment will require senior mentors to be hired with defined rates of pay, file financial disclosure forms, and comply with the same conflict of interest laws as other Federal employees in similar fields of service.

The Department of Defense has not had a uniform policy regarding contracting for senior mentors and does not fully disclose the number of contracts or names of contractors.

I'm all for disclosure and transparency, and this amendment appears to add to that. In that spirit, nicely done Congressman Schrader.

By Carla Axtman April 28, 2010