WASHINGTON—Today Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) pressed the Bush Administration for more information about how size determinations were made before awarding Blackwater USA federal contracts. Last week, Senator Kerry inquired about a Small Business Administration (SBA) size ruling referenced in a Blackwater press release defending its classification of workers as independent contractors, not employees. The SBA provided some information on the size determination, but Senator Kerry says details on how the determination was made are still needed.

“There are plenty of unanswered questions about how Blackwater may have abused contracting loopholes, and whether the SBA made the appropriate decision on the size of the firm,” said Kerry, Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “The Bush Administration has outsourced much of our national security to private contractors. I want to know how we got to this point, hold people accountable, and make sure we’re not sitting here again next year.”

In a letter to SBA head Steven Preston, Kerry asked for a detailed accounting of the Administration’s worker classification ruling and any information not yet provided to the Committee about size determinations made for any of Blackwater’s affiliates.

To read the letter that Senator Kerry sent to Administrator Preston, please click here.