The watchdog overseeing contracting in Afghanistan said the amount of waste and fraud is "significant" in that country. "Contingency contracting is an area that is susceptible to waste, fraud and abuse, more so, certainly, than domestic government contracting," said Steven Trent, acting Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, in an interview with The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp. 

 

Last year, the Commission Wartime Contracting found that the United States lost between $31 billion and $60 billion to waste, fraud and abuse in wartime contracts during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Last month, Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.), both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced legislation to overhaul the government's planning, management and oversight of wartime-support contracting. The proposal includes a provision that would automatically suspend a contractor charged with in a civil or criminal proceeding.