Waxman: Blackwater ‘misled’ officials to get contracts

Blackwater Worldwide “misled” government officials to obtain several lucrative contracts the company was not eligible for, said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) following the release of a new report.

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Inspector General on Monday released a report saying that “Blackwater or its affiliates obtained … a total of 39 contracts that were set aside for small businesses even though the bidder may not have met SBA’s criteria to be considered a small business.”

{mosads}Waxman, who chairs the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said the report shows that the security company “was not eligible for dozens of lucrative federal contracts.”

“It appears the company misled contracting officials who in turn ignored blatant warning signs,” added the lawmaker, whose committee requested an SBA investigation into Blackwater in March to determine whether the company improperly received contracts reserved for small businesses.

The report concluded that Blackwater classified 1,000 security personnel as “independent contractors” when they should have been classified as “employees.”

But company officials stood by their classifications, saying that the report “draws no conclusions” and “is unnecessarily speculative.”

“Over the past several years, expert accounting and outside legal counsel have determined that Blackwater’s classification of security personnel as independent contractors is reasonable, correct and legally protected,” said Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell.

The company has received hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts from the government for work during the Iraq war.

“It is deplorable that no one ever looked out for the interests of the federal taxpayer,” Waxman said.