Unallowable Costs: The Government Does Not Reimburse Contractor Contributions

In response to a congressional request, GAO examined whether eight defense contractors charged campaign contributions either directly or indirectly to federal government contracts, focusing on: (1) the allowable cost categories the contractors charged the contributions to if they did claim the contributions as contract costs; (2) whether the federal government is reimbursing the contractors for the contributions through progress payments; and (3) whether the contractors are receiving profits based on allowable costs.