{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-raises-concerns-over-border-patrol-uniform-contract", "McCaskill Raises Concerns Over Border Patrol Uniform Contract", "2017-11-21", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Claire McCaskill", "M001170", "www.mccaskill.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "McCaskill Raises Concerns Over Border Patrol Uniform Contract \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Border Patrol agents are required to purchase uniforms from a company that marks up gear by up to 1035% \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, November 21, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is calling for answers about the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s contract with uniform supplier VF Imagewear after reports that Border Patrol and U.S. taxpayers could be on the hook for over a million dollars in wasteful spending. Currently, Border Patrol agents are required to purchase uniforms and gear from the company, even though price comparisons of similar products show that VF Imagewear items can cost up to 1000 percent more than commercially available alternatives.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt seems pretty simple to me \u2013 the government shouldn\u2019t be forcing Border Patrol agents to purchase uniforms and gear that\u2019s highly marked-up,\u201d said McCaskill, a former Missouri State Auditor. \u201cThis potentially wastes more than a million taxpayer dollars, and I look forward to getting answers on why this contract was awarded in the first place.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen Senator McCaskill became the Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Committee she asked me to bring her issues that impede the ability of the men and women of the US Border Patrol to secure our border or endanger Agent safety,\u201d said Brandon Judd, National President of the National Border Patrol Council. \u201cWe have brought several issues to her attention and every time she has acted swiftly to hold DHS and CBP accountable. I want\u00a0to thank Senator McCaskill for looking\u00a0into this issue and providing oversight that CBP should have been doing for years.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn 2014, the Department of Homeland Secured awarded VF Imagewear an exclusive contract under which Border Patrol agents can only purchase uniforms and gear from the company with their $800 annual allotment for uniforms and equipment. In a comparison of VF Imagewear items to comparable items on Amazon, McCaskill staff found that markups ranged from $6-$133, and a percentage increase ranging from 9%-1035%. \u201cThe federal government could be wasting more than $1.3 million annually\u2026for Border Patrol uniforms,\u201d wrote McCaskill to Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan. \u201cGiven that VF Imagewear is the primary uniform supplier for all components of DHS, the federal government could be wasting many more millions of dollars.\u201d McCaskill is requesting details on what led to the contract being awarded, the stipend that Border Patrol agents have for uniforms and gear, and what equipment VF Imagewear provides to the government.\r\n\r\nSince her time as Missouri State Auditor, McCaskill has been a leading voice in Missouri and Washington for cutting wasteful government spending, and she has repeatedly held agencies accountable for contracts rife with waste, fraud, and abuse. Since becoming the top-ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this past January, McCaskill has called for answers on questionable government contracts, such as one that left taxpayers on the hook for over $50 million in questionable costs, including seven luxury vehicles and $400,000 average salaries for significant others of corporate officers to serve as \u201cexecutive assistants.\u201d Last year, McCaskill expanded\u00a0whistleblower protections\u00a0to federal grantees, subgrantees, and others who the federal government directly or indirectly hires through bipartisan bills that have been signed into law. During her first term in the Senate, McCaskill\u00a0waged a successful six-year effort\u00a0to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse in wartime contracting.\r\n\r\nRead McCaskill\u2019s letter to Customs and Border Protection HERE.\r\n\r\nVisit\u00a0mccaskill.senate.gov/spending\u00a0to learn more about McCaskill's fight to cut wasteful spending in Washington.\u00a0\r\n\u00a0###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/media-center/news-releases/mccaskill-raises-concerns-over-border-patrol-uniform-contract"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5782909467816353, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}