FEMA to reassess Katrina contracts

[Algorem]

FEMA to reassess Katrina contracts

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/topstories/index.ssf?/base/politics-7/1128605341189080.xml&storylist=

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal contracts for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts that were handed out with little or no competition will be rebid to prevent any waste or abuse, FEMA chief R. David Paulison said Thursday.

"I've been a public servant for a long time, and I've never been a fan of no-bid contracts," Paulison told a Senate panel investigating the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response to the hurricane. "Sometimes you have to do them because of the expediency of getting things done. And I can assure that you we are going to look at all of those contracts very carefully."

"All of those no-bid contracts, we are going to go back and rebid," he said of pacts that were worth millions of dollars.

In the weeks after the storm, more than 80 percent of at least $1.5 billion in FEMA contracts were awarded with little or no competition, or had open-ended or vague terms that previous audits have cited as being highly prone to abuse...

[The Roux Comes First]

1. Rebid? Say What??

If only we could hope this would set a precedent for, say, contracts let in Iraq!

Of course that might eventually lead to re-thinking, and that could be a pretty slippery slope . . .

[meganmonkey]

2. Right, we woudn't want to start thinking, that could be dangerous!

:P

Welcome to DU, Roux!

:toast:

[The Roux Comes First]

3. De-lurked

Thanks! I decided my lurking days were over.

[cybildisobedience]

4. Watch what they do, not what they say.

This sounds good, but watch them go out to the same firms under the cover of darkness.

[AZBlue]

5. MSNBC: Companies to rebid for Katrina recovery efforts

FEMA to reassess contracts handed out with little or no competition

Federal contracts for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts that were handed out with little or no competition will be rebid to prevent any waste or abuse, FEMA chief R. David Paulison said Thursday.

“I’ve been a public servant for a long time, and I’ve never been a fan of no-bid contracts,” Paulison told a Senate panel investigating the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the hurricane. “Sometimes you have to do them because of the expediency of getting things done. And I can assure that you we are going to look at all of those contracts very carefully.”

“All of those no-bid contracts, we are going to go back and rebid,” he said of pacts that were worth millions of dollars.

Full Story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9612060/

[melissinha]

6. OMG!

At first glance this appears to be a very competent statement, anyone know anything about Paulison?

it appears as if some republican senators are getting really frustrated with the administration, namely Snowe and Grassley.... Sometimes I am not ashamed of MR. Grassley, and here's an example:

“Unfortunately, the White House is working against me behind the scenes, and I resent that considering how I’ve delivered for the White House so much over the last five years,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa."

[SoCalDem]

11. Key words: "re-bid"... there was NO bid to "re"bid

They must do an assessment of work already done. pay the ones who did it a fair payment.. TERMINATE ALL CONTRACTS..

and then call for LOCAL companies to step up and offer their services..

They must also make arrangements to round up all the able bodied men who were shipped off to 48 states.. Pay them to return, house THEM on the cruise ships, and get busy ..

there should be an oversight committee to scrutinize the expenses..

This should not turn into a boondoggle for some rich folks to get richer...at the expense of the ones they are claiming to help..

[melissinha]

13. absolutely

Work that has already commenced should be paid at the rate of the newer contracts' rates or at least at a rate commensurate with local work of that nature.

Yeah, you can't re-bid something that was never bid, but you can introduce a bidding process that is competitive. I am quite certain that introducing a competitive bidding process will save enough money so that we can reinstate Davis Bacon and pay people with pervailing wages.

I am hoping that Grassley gets mad enough at the Chimp and introduces a bill or whetever to reinstate it, of course you never know with Grassley, we was still cheap as hell back when Iowa flooded in '93.

[ewagner]

7. I'm impressed!

He sounds like a good, reasonable, responsible public administrator.

He probably will be (good, reasonable, responsible) until he gets the phone call from Dick H. Cheney (note: "H" can stand for either "head" or Halliburton)

[Debi]

12. I hope you are not talking about Grassley

He's a sycophant to the administration.

Check out his voting record:
http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=S0291103

[Missy M]

8. That's just great. They are going to REBID the NO-BID contracts...

I don't think Paulison realized what he said.

[merwin]

9. Duplicate thread

[MADem]

14. MSNBC did a bit to make this happen, simply by covering the

egregious story in the first place. The interviews with local folk who were shut out of the process were quite compelling. They also showed school buildings that were double the cost coming from a company in Alaska, and some clown who was making the equivalent of the cost to reshingle a roof for simply putting blue tarp marked FEMA over the holes.

[katinmn]

10. Keith Olberman did a peice on this last night

In one case the govt passed over a local company that provides temp school housing units and awarded the no-bid contract to a firm in ALASKA and paid 1/3 more than they would have to the economically hit LA firm.

I hope the legislators continue to get an earful. Bush sure turned FEMA into a fine peice of work.:sarcasm: