WASHINGTON - Congressman Marcy Kaptur will ask the U.S. Department of Defense today to investigate the private company managing the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the government hospital recently discovered to give veterans substandard care.
IAP Worldwide Services has a 5-year, $120 million contract to manage the hospital's infrastructure. The contract went into effect in February after a prolonged bidding process, during which Walter Reed's staff shrank because the Army chose not to hire replacements for retirees.
"The problem is there was no staff," Miss Kaptur (D., Toledo) said.
"A mind like mine says this is not right. Something is fouled up here."
In a letter to the Defense Department's inspector general, Miss Kaptur asked for further explanation of why the Army rejected a bid from government employees in favor of IAP, which is controlled by a politically connected hedge fund.
The government employees won in an initial round of bidding in 2004, according to Miss Kaptur's letter, but a government board altered the employees' bid and IAP won the contract.Arlene Mellinger, an IAP spokesman, said the company won the contract "after a fair and open competitive bidding."
The award followed a protest by IAP that the Government Accountability Office said was "meritorious," Ms. Mellinger said.
The majority owner of IAP is Cerberus Capital Management, whose leadership includes former Vice President Dan Quayle and John Snow, a former secretary of the Treasury and Toledo native.
Miss Kaptur said the Defense Department should check to see whether any executive branch agencies interfered in the bidding process by contacting the individuals responsible for deciding the contract.
The Washington Post's recent series about neglect at Walter Reed has led to congressional hearings and the resignation of three top Army officials.
As a member of the House of Representatives' defense appropriations subcommittee, Miss Kaptur has participated in the hearings and requested the investigation in response to disclosures made by Army officers.
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