Byron Dorgan Is A Government Waste Hypocrite

A blogger friend of mine forwards along this email about a blogger conference gathering to hear Senator Byron Dorgan talk about waste and corruption among government contractors.

Greetings folks:
I am hosting a blog-o-wonk session Friday morning — and hope you can join me for an informal discussion with SENATOR BYRON DORGAN (D-N.D.), Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee.
Senator Dorgan has been the lead in Harry Truman-like hearings on contracting abuse and violations in America’s current military engagements.
He has chaired 20 congressional oversight hearings on waste, corruption and contractor misconduct in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. The DPC’s hearings have exposed billions of dollars in wasteful spending, lax military oversight of contractors, and contractor incompetence that has put U.S. soldiers’ health and lives at greater risk.
As part of a new series of new media/blogger/oldish-newish media encounters with leading political figures that we are organizing at the New America Foundation, I’d like to invite you to join us for this meeting with Senator Dorgan.
Hope you can join us. Let me know ASAP if you can. This meeting will be in the Dirksen Senate Office Building…
Friday, 30 October 2009
Blogger Breakfast meeting with the Honorable Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND)
Hosted by Steve Clemons
9:00 am – 10:30 am
562 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC
All the best,
Steve
Steve Clemons
Director, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation
and Publisher, www.TheWashingtonNote.com

Dorgan is an interesting choice to talk to about corruption and waste on government contracts given how much of it goes on in his back yard.
For instance, what about Senator Dorgan directing an $8 million defense contract to the parents of his former staffer (and past Democrat candidate for North Dakota Secretary of State) Kristin Hedger?
Or how about the ugliness surrounding Sioux Manufacturing? Senator Dorgan directed millions of dollars of government grants and defense contracts to that company over the years. But then Sioux Manufacturing (SMC) got caught cheating on quality assurance tests for Kevlar helmets made for troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, something that resulted in helmets prone to the sort of failure that could have resulted in severe injury or death for those soldiers.
The federal government sued SMC, and the company was forced to pay $2 million in damages. But then got another $74 million contract to manufacture replacements for the bad helmets they’d been paid to produce previously.
So just to be clear, Dorgan is all for attacking corruption and waste in government contracts. As long as its not corruption and waste that involves him or his political allies.