Ineligible firms got $25M in stimulus work

Six companies received $24.8 million in economic stimulus work under federal programs set aside for disadvantaged businesses even though government investigators had found them ineligible, federal records show. The companies got contracts meant for those based in poor neighborhoods or owned by minorities or disabled veterans, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal contracting records and reports on ineligible companies. The Air Force awarded $21.2 million of the work, and the Department of Veterans Affairs awarded $2.8 million, among others. Watchdogs including the Government Accountability Office have criticized oversight of the programs. In the past two years, the GAO has singled out 39 businesses, including five that got stimulus work, as improperly getting $235 million in set-aside contracts since 2003...read more