Navy Must Reopen Contract Bidding

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Navy improperly relied on information from an Internet site in awarding an emergency construction contract to a subsidiary of a company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, a government arbitrator ruled.

The ruling recommends that the Navy reopen bidding on the contract, awarded in 2000 to Brown & Root Services. The Perini/Jones construction company, which had held the contract, protested the award to Congress' General Accounting Office, which decides on such disputes.

The contract was to provide construction services for the Navy to respond to natural and manmade disasters and humanitarian relief projects.

Anthony Gamboa, GAO's acting general counsel, ruled that Navy officials mistakenly relied on information from an Internet site in judging how much construction experience Brown & Root Services had.