A Senate hearing this week scrutinizing a government contract awarded by the General Services Administration should serve as a red flag to the PR industry that there is more examination of contracts to come.

The issues relate to a contract awarded to Jane Mobley Associates in 2010 for media relations support around health risks with the Bannister Federal Complex, a partly government-owned facility in Kansas City.

The alarm bells started ringing because it was a non-bid contract awarded to Jane Mobley just ...