VA Security Contract: 'Open Checkbook'

The news is just not getting any better on Veterans Affairs data security. AP reports that an inspector general audit shows that the VA can't account for more than $35 million spent on equipment and supplies under a security contract awarded in 2002 to VAST, a Texas joint venture. VA officials increased the scope of the contract several times, boosting its value from about $100 million to a potential $250 million -- turning it into an "open checkbook," the IG reported. Click here to see the full audit, which was issued in February and first reported by McClatchy newspapers this week.