Lawmakers seek Justice probe of Deepwater problems
Committee has called nearly 20 industry and government officials to testify at a hearing to examine missteps in fleet upgrade program.
Key House Democrats want the Justice Department to open a federal investigation into problems with the Coast Guard's massive fleet modernization program, and have scheduled an extensive hearing Wednesday to put government and industry officials under oath.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar, D-Minn., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., say a civil and criminal investigation is needed to examine problems in producing boats under the Coast Guard's Deepwater program, a 25-year, $24 billion contract to modernize aging vessels, aircraft and communications systems.
"It is time for the Department of Justice to step up and hold those who perpetuated this fraud accountable," Oberstar and Cummings said in a statement.
The committee has called nearly 20 industry and government officials to Wednesday's hearing, which will have four panels.
Government investigators reported last year that eight converted 123-foot patrol boats were unusable and unsafe. The boats have since been taken out of commission and indefinitely docked.
Perhaps trying to get out in front of Capitol Hill, Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen on Tuesday announced that the agency will take over management of the Deepwater program.
The Coast Guard awarded Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp., a contract in 2002 to manage the fleet replacement program.
"Our expectations for Deepwater are really very straightforward," Cummings said. "We expect Deepwater to produce boats that float, ships that sail and information technology systems that are fully functional and that protect classified information."
Wednesday's hearing will examine what went wrong with acquisition and construction of the boats, and whether national security was compromised through the use of an electronics system that was not certified, an aide said.
"This will be a case study on what happened," the aide said. "In the testimony you'll hear the timeline of things; who knew what when."
A Coast Guard spokeswoman said several steps to improve management and oversight of the program have been taken over the last two years.
She added that the Coast Guard decided last year to allow the Lockheed-Northrop team to have first shot at bidding on new task orders through 2010, but there is no guarantee of future contracts. "It's possible [the team] could get a lot of the work, it could get none of it, it could get some of it," she said.
In response to calls for a federal investigation into program problems, she said the Coast Guard has already established a team of lawyers, contracting officers and technical experts to examine acquisition of the 123-foot patrol boats, and has increased contract oversight staff for other aspects of Deepwater.
Oberstar and Cummings said they have confidence Allen will turn the program around. "We believe that in six months, the Deepwater program will not be the same program that has been mismanaged over the past several years," the lawmakers said.