Contracting: Front-Page News

The Wall Street Journal's all over the federal contracting beat today, with a front-page piece on problems with the Marine One helicopter contract (a classic case of mission creep is dragging it out), and another story on the inside about the breakdown of the lead systems integrator concept. (Full versions of both pieces are only available to subscribers.) Neither story breaks a lot of new ground, but taken together, they provide more evidence that the government's inability to effectively manage the astronomical amount of money spent on contracts (more than $425 billion in fiscal 2006, as we'll be reporting in the Aug. 15 special Top 200 Federal Contractors issue of Government Executive) is more than just an inside-the-beltway issue.