“We are actually going and modifying all our contracts -- at some cost to the government, I might add -- and requiring they [contractors] provide that data. So you will have more accurate information, but at some cost.”
— Pentagon comptroller Robert Hale on Wednesday, explaining why the number of contractors working for the Defense Department (ranging from 300,000 to 700,000) is so squishy. On fixed-price contracts, he explained to the Senate Budget Committee, the contractor does the job for a set price and was under no obligation to tell the government how many workers were doing that job. That has now changed, and as Hale made clear, the taxpayers will be billed for that information. The best estimate, he added, is 700,000.
