Furor over agency deal dismays lawmakers

Lawmakers readying to investigate Virginia's hiring of Northrop Grumman to run its computer systems say controversy surrounding the deal is an embarrassment.

New Feature

Sign up for our Daily Newsletter e-mailed to your computer at 8 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Click here

Stewart lost his $189,280-a-year job as head of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency after telling its oversight board that Northrop Grumman is not meeting its obligation under a 10-year, $2.3 billion contract -- the state's richest privatization deal ever.

"The contract with Northrop Grumman is huge by any standard," Colgan said. "Especially in these tough financial times, we must diligently exercise our responsibilities as stewards of the public's resources."

Secretary of Technology Leonard M. "Len" Pomata, who is Stewart's interim replacement, did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

But according to minutes released Thursday of the June 10 meeting at which Stewart was ousted, Pomata appears to challenge Stewart's contention that Northrop Grumman is falling short.

Colgan outlined his concerns -- they were echoed by other members of the influential budget committee -- as the panel's government-operations subcommittee, under Sen. Yvonne B. Miller, D-Norfolk, prepares to open an investigation June 29 of the VITA-Northrop Grumman pact.

Colgan Thursday also asked the panel's House counterpart, the Appropriations Committee, to join the inquiry.

A spokeswoman for the company, Christy Whitman, said in an e-mail that Northrop Grumman welcomes "the opportunity to address questions about our partnership with VITA."

Whitman acknowledged difficulties, saying, "Managing these changes and gaining stakeholder buy-in is a challenge, as expected with an effort of this magnitude."

No members of the Finance Committee recommended junking the arrangement -- that could cost taxpayers millions of dollars in termination fees -- but they did insist the inquiry determine, among other things, why Northrop Grumman has failed to meet deadlines.

That includes completing an inventory of the state's computer equipment -- an important first step toward determining software and service needs for which Northrop Grumman also is obligated.

"We have not been able to determine the cause of the delay," said Ashley Colvin, who is monitoring implementation of the Northrop Grumman contract for the General Assembly's investigative arm, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, said the subcommittee should focus on cost. Stolle has attacked the Northrop Grumman-VITA pact as expensive and inefficient.

And Sen. Janet D. Howell, D-Fairfax, wants a fuller explanation of dissatisfaction among state agencies with Northrop Grumman, which relies on service fees criticized as too high to erase a continuing deficit, now estimated at $6 million.