Unisys receives large TSA IT contract despite steep overbilling on early version of contract
Overbilling is not exactly unknown among government contractors, but Unisys “overbilling on a large (nearly $1 billion) TSA IT contract” the company charged three times per-hour than what it said it would surprised even jaded Washington veterans; still, TSA has just given Unisys another contract to complete the work it did not finish on the first contract (the work was not completed because the money allocated to it ran out; the money ran out because the company overbilled, etc.)
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) two weeks ago awarded Unisys a contract worth up to $750 million to keep a key technology services program going. The Information Technology Managed Services program aims to link the agency’s headquarters, operations center, and staff at airports across the country through a high-speed computer network. Unisys was originally contracted to manage the program in August 2002. The original contract was expected to reach its cost ceiling of $1 billion this month, so TSA had to award a new contract to the company. You may recall that Unisys came under scrutiny by the Defense Contract Audit Agency in 2004 for overbilling TSA on the program. Now, overbilling is not exactly the exception when it comes to large government contacts, but Unisys’ case was especially galling, as two audits found that the company had charged up to three times more per hour for work than was justified. TSA had requested the audits. TSA and the DHS inspector general have ongoing reviews of Unisys’ work.
-read more in this Govexec.com report
