Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Gen. Arnold Fields has come under fire in the Senate. Members of a Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee raised questions at a Nov. 18 hearing about the SIGAR office’s oversight of contract and anti-corruption investigations in the $52-billion reconstruction effort. The reconstruction program includes billions of dollars in construction work.
At the subcommittee for contracting oversight hearing, the panel’s chairman, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), contended the IG’s office has “fallen short of the mark.” She said that, for example, although SIGAR became fully funded in June 2009, it had completed only one contract audit before December 2009. Since then, SIGAR has completed three additional contract audits.