Shelley Kais, a Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM), and candidate for the Legislative District 2 Senate seat is questioning the federal government’s failure to vet government contractors in the aftermath of the massacre of club-goers in Orlando, Florida this week by a man pledging allegiance to ISIS.
In the past six months $8,406,400 of contracts have been awarded to G4S by United States federal agencies, according to Kais. G4S employees are working on government programs, providing government services, and protecting government assets without the on-going vetting and extensive background checks required. Allegations of inadequate training and screening of workers have been made against G4S in the past.
“Monitoring the performance of government contracts is a requirement of the organization that awards the contract. This includes ensuring the people hired to do the work of the contract are properly vetted. The shooting at the Navy Yard brought to light the vulnerability of the vetting process” Kais said. “As a result of this most recent tragedy in Florida, it is time to take a very serious look at our acquisition process in federal government.”
“G4S’s footprint across our federal agencies is vast” Kais said, “and our federal government and Congress need to re-evaluate how we monitor the work and workers of federal contracts” Kais said.
Agencies that have awarded contracts to G4S since January 2016 include: Veterans Affairs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Marshalls Service, Federal Prison System, Railroad Retirement Board, Federal Acquisition Services, Department of State, Department of the Army, Department of the Air Force, Department of the Navy, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Energy, and Federal Emergency Management Agency.