The agency that oversees the Washington D.C.'s two major airports
said it is making progress combating waste and abuse after a government
investigation and a Washington Guardian report found rampant cronyism and poor spending practices that put tax dollars at risk.
A recent U.S. Transportation Department investigation found that officials at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority accepted Super Bowl tickets from contractors, gave large salary bonuses, engaged in nepotism by hiring relatives of officials, failed to fully compete two-thirds of contracts to ensure the best price and provided such little spending oversight that one contract alone ballooned in price by 1,700 percent.
The poor performance led MWAA to be awarded last week's Golden Hammer, the Washington Guardian's weekly citation for wasteful spending practices.
The authority, which oversees Dulles International and Reagan National airports, responded Wednesday with a pledge to improve its ethical practices and spending oversight.
MWAA is "making certain that everything we do going forward reflects the best practices of government and industry," said Michael Curto, chairman of the organization's board of directors.
“Let me strongly emphasize, as I have throughout this process, that we take all the issues and concerns cited in these reports very seriously,” Curto said. “Our primary focus in responding to the report is rebuilding public trust, assuring accountability and instituting best practices across the Airports Authority. I want to make it very clear that the Board of Directors and senior leadership are fully committed to taking the measures that are appropriate and necessary to address these issues and concerns.”
Read more: http://www.washingtonguardian.com/responding-airport-criticism
A recent U.S. Transportation Department investigation found that officials at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority accepted Super Bowl tickets from contractors, gave large salary bonuses, engaged in nepotism by hiring relatives of officials, failed to fully compete two-thirds of contracts to ensure the best price and provided such little spending oversight that one contract alone ballooned in price by 1,700 percent.
The poor performance led MWAA to be awarded last week's Golden Hammer, the Washington Guardian's weekly citation for wasteful spending practices.
The authority, which oversees Dulles International and Reagan National airports, responded Wednesday with a pledge to improve its ethical practices and spending oversight.
MWAA is "making certain that everything we do going forward reflects the best practices of government and industry," said Michael Curto, chairman of the organization's board of directors.
“Let me strongly emphasize, as I have throughout this process, that we take all the issues and concerns cited in these reports very seriously,” Curto said. “Our primary focus in responding to the report is rebuilding public trust, assuring accountability and instituting best practices across the Airports Authority. I want to make it very clear that the Board of Directors and senior leadership are fully committed to taking the measures that are appropriate and necessary to address these issues and concerns.”
Read more: http://www.washingtonguardian.com/responding-airport-criticism
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