By Jared A. Favole and Alicia Mundy Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The criminal investigations division of the Food and Drug Administration is under fire from a key Republican lawmaker for $250,000 in contracts it made to outsource personnel-misconduct investigations and employee-relations issues.
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, is questioning why the FDA hired a Delaware-based consulting firm to investigate agency personnel, and wants the FDA to justify why one of the contracts was awarded without competitive bidding, according to a letter Barton sent to the FDA Monday.
Barton has complained that the budget for the FDA's criminal division has ballooned in recent years, and he is investigating its spending priorities.
Most federal contracts are competitively bid.
Barton's letter comes amid lingering concerns by Senate and House lawmakers over the FDA division, formally known as the Office of Criminal Investigations. Barton and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, separately, have raised questions about the handling of misconduct investigations against FDA employees by the agency's Office of Criminal Investigations. The agency has previously said it investigates personnel matters according to regulations.
The contracts to Vengazo Consulting, based in Delaware, were awarded in 2007, and include providing support for ongoing investigations and "all phases of employee relations," according to Barton's letter. Vengazo Consulting is run by Kathryn Vengazo, a former official within the FDA's human-resources department.
Vengazo and the FDA weren't immediately available to comment.
Details of the contract require that the person hold an active National Security Clearance. One of the deals, which wasn't competitively bid, was part of a special contracting program for women-owned businesses.
Rep. Barton wants the FDA to list all services performed under the contracts, and all related documents.
-By Jared A. Favole and Alicia Mundy, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9207; jared.favole@dowjones.com
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Publié le 22 Décembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones