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I am ripping mad about this! They bypassed two US corporations to give the massive contract to a FOREIGN CORPORATION. Do you want foreigners monitoring who gets into our country and who doesn't???

LOU DOBBS TONIGHT

Bermuda Based Accenture Wins Department of Homeland Security Contract

Aired June 1, 2004 - 18:00 ET

DOBBS: A foreign company wins a huge border security contract. It could be worth $10 billion. My guest tonight is the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Congressman Christopher Cox.

DOBBS: As we reported, the department of homeland security today awarded a border security contract worth as much as $10 billion over a ten-year period to Bermuda-based Accenture. Announcing that decision, Homeland Security Undersecretary for Border Security, Asa Hutchinson said, quote, "I really don't think you could overstate the importance of this responsibilty in terms of the security of this nation." And yet, the department of homeland security chose to award this critically important contract to a foreign company. Congressman Christopher Cox is the chairman of the select committee on homeland security and joining us tonight from Capitol Hill. Mr. Chairman, good to have you here.

Accenture, as you know, is a partnership incorporated in Bermuda through its level of organization. Operates in 40 countries. Are you concerned about the U.S. government awarding something so critical to national security to a foreign-based company?

REP. CHRISTOPHER COX (R-CA), SELECT CMTE. ON HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, it's a fair question. As you might imagine with a contract so significant and a competition for this contract so fierce, that question has been turned over and analyzed very, very carefully. The award of the contract makes it very clear that all this work is going to be done in the United States. It is true that Accenture's parent company is incorporated in Bermuda but Accenture in the United States with its 25,000 employees here in the U.S. is going to do this work along with a broader alliance, the smart border alliance, which, in total, has 330,000 employees in the United States. There is an assurance that all this work will be done here and, of course, all the taxes will be paid here as well. In its second quarter filing, Accenture, I should note, paid 35 percent of its earnings in taxes to the United States from its United States operations.

DOBBS: Mr. Chairman, 35 percent. Our research reveals that they don't say what percentage of that 35 percent tax level went to the U.S. in the form of taxes.

COX: No, no. What I said is that 35 percent of their earnings went to the United States in taxes.

DOBBS: Of Accenture in Bermuda?

COX: From Accenture, right. No, no. Accenture is incorporated in Bermuda. This is Accenture in the United States paying taxes here in the United States of America with 25,000 employees. But I think it is a fair question. We want to make sure on something that is of vital importance to our country who comes in and out of the borders, that we have technology that works, that we have system that works. And we want to make sure the U.S. contractor is in charge of that. DOBBS: A U.S. contractor in charge of it. I guess by some stretch of imagination one could consider a subsidiary a U.S. contractor, but they're also a subsidiary of a foreign-based company set up precisely to avoid taxes to the U.S. government and to the states in which they operate.

Is that really the message that you want to send to corporate America and to the rest of the country?

COX: Lou, as I just said, all the work is going to be done here in the United States with 330,000 employees, not just from Accenture, but several companies. All of the Accenture companies will be U.S. employees. It is going to be a U.S.- based operation, paying taxes here in the United States. So the U.S. Economy benefits directly this, the U.S. national security benefits directly from this. I think it is a fair point to raise it, that's why it was important we got the assurances.

DOBBS: Let's turn to the issue of the assurances and the visit program itself. Critics are saying, point blank, that they think this is going to be a very difficult contract to execute under any circumstance.

How confident are you that it can be the -- that deadlines can be met and this consortium executed?

COX: Count me in the camp that will cast a weary eye on all of this. This is enormously difficult what we're trying to do, with or without technology. The sheer numbers of people we have to look at, number one. And number two, the importance of accuracy, both in capturing the biometric information and matching it against other data bases. I want to make sure it works. This contract, I should note, which lasts for a decade, potentially, is worth up to $10 billion. It's also worth as little as $10 million. There are milestones along the way to make sure it works on issues of which technology to use, facial recognition, finger prints, retina scan, photography, even voice. All of these things are open questions that are subject to proof and experimentation as we go down the road. And we know that technology will change and move on us during this period. We want to use the very best technology available to us.

DOBBS: Congressman Cox, how satisfied are you with the progress being made by Homeland Security and the other agencies responsible for port security, for border security, along with the visit program and a host of other screening operations that were to have been in place that are not?

COX: As you know, first starting with U.S. Visit, it's operating on time. This contract, incidentally, was awarded on time. The program began in January of this year. We've just taken this container security initiative to further countries now as a result of our agreement with Europe, but we are seeing a great deal of progress there. The container security initiative for those who aren't fully aware of what that's about is screening cargo before it gets on the ship in foreign ports, before they come here. We're screening 100 percent of the high-risk cargo that enters the United States of America. There is no question that we have a lot more to do, but when you take a look at how much we've done in barely over a year it's absolutely extraordinary to move from a standing start to what is now being accomplished. Both my Democratic colleagues and Republican colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee, dedicated as we are to the oversight of the Homeland Security Department, a, want to see it succeed and, b, want to make sure we have constructive oversight to achieve these fundamentally difficult but important tasks.

DOBBS: Oversight is one of the roles of Congress which we're hearing increasingly from both Republicans and Democrats, some lament that Congress has not more rigorous in other areas, in terms of your committee's charter.

How concerned are you about not having sufficient oversight and engagement on these issues, particularly in the case of border security watching as many as a million illegal aliens cross our border every year?

COX: U.S. Visit, of course, is designed to deal with this problem. It is an entry/exit program. For the first time to begin keeping track of who's coming across the border, what their stay is, and when they leave. That's not been done before. And it's fund mentally necessary if you're going to claim to have control of your borders. I think the merger of this function into the Department of Homeland Security gives us an opportunity to get serious about border control in a way we never have before. I think the oversight and attention we can give to this is enhanced in the house of representatives because we, just like the executive branch which reorganized itself, have created the Homeland Security Committee expressly for this purpose.

DOBBS: Congressman Christopher Cox, chairman of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, we thank you for being with us.

COX: Happy to join you.

DOBBS: A reminder to vote in our poll tonight.

Do you believe the federal government should be outsourcing its border security?

Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results coming up for you later in the broadcast.

I have a friend who says that Accenture plays in hisindustry: IT Consulting. They are known as scumbags. They play sloppy with the rules, pay low, and are bottom of the barrel players anymore. They get large contracts, but many of those fail.