CBP terminates controversial $297 million contract amid continued staffing struggles

Customs and Border Protection on Thursday ended its controversial $297 million hiring contract with Accenture, according to two senior DHS officials and an Accenture representative. As of December, when CBP terminated part of its contract, the company had only completed processing 58 applicants and only 22 had made it onto the payroll about a year after the company was hired. At the time, the 3,500 applicants that remained in the Accenture hiring pipeline were transferred to CBP's own hiring center to complete the process. CBP cut ties with Accenture on processing applicants a few months ago, it retained some services, including marketing, advertising and applicant support. This week, the entire contract was terminated for "convenience," government speak for agreeing to part ways without placing blame on Accenture. While government hiring is "slow and onerous, it's also part of being in the government" and that's "something we have to accept and deal with as we go forward," said one of the officials. For its efforts, CBP paid Accenture around $19 million in start-up costs, and around $2 million for 58 people who got job offers, according to the officials...MORE 

$21 million spent to hire 22 people. No wonder they can't obtain operational control of the border. "Convenience" certainly doesn't apply to the taxpayer and heads should roll over this.