The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved by voice vote legislation that is intended to bring all U.S. government contractors who commit crimes abroad within the reach of prosecutors.
Under current law, the United States only has criminal jurisdiction over contractors who do work supporting Defense Department operations. The Justice Department cannot prosecute individuals who do contract jobs for the State Department and other agencies unless officials can find a Defense Department nexus.
But Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top committee Republican, expressed concerns that the bill did not go far enough to protect intelligence operations. He offered an amendment to address his worries, but it wasn’t adopted.
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said members of the intelligence community reviewed the legislation and were supportive of the measure.
“I understand some of the concerns you’re raising,” Leahy said. “But I think that the concerns raised are unnecessary concerns.”
Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the DOJ Criminal Division told senators in May that the Department needs more tools from Congress to more effectively combat crime committed by U.S. government contractors abroad.
The Assistant Attorney General said many cases are not referred for prosecution because a Defense Department connection can’t be located. He added that the DOJ can spend “thousands of hours” trying to produce a Defense Department nexus to a case referred for prosecution.
Leahy said a case involving Blackwater (now called XE Services LLC), a State Department contractor, shows why tougher laws are needed to govern U.S. contractors abroad.
The security operations company faced intense scrutiny from the DOJ and Congress after its employees were accused of killing 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.
A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the case against the guards, citing prosecutorial errors. But a federal appeals court reinstated the case in April.
Leahy and Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) in the last Congress introduced bills designed to ensure the United States has criminal jurisdiction over federal contractors and employees abroad. But the bills died in committee.
Earlier this month, Price introduced another overseas contractor bill. The measure has yet to receive a vote in the House Judiciary Committee.
As a Government IT Contractor, I fully support creating a government contractor registry to keep track of the crimes/criminals.
Than Nguyen
GSA IT Schedule 70
http://www.insourcegroupfederal.com