Pierce: FEMA Gave a 1-Person Company $156 Million to Deliver Meals in Puerto Rico

[babylonsister]

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a16641861/fema-puerto-rico-meals-30-million/

FEMA Gave a 1-Person Company $156 Million to Deliver Meals in Puerto Rico
What could go wrong? Everything.
By Charles P. Pierce
Feb 6, 2018


Seventy years ago this coming June, in an effort to get the Western allies to abandon entirely the city of Berlin, the occupying forces of the Soviet Union embarked upon a rigid blockade of the city, cutting off the city’s water supply and blocking all deliveries of food from the outside. They also cut off the city’s electric power. A million and a half Soviet troops surrounded the city.

It was decided by the allied powers that the city would be supplied by air. Led by the United States, the air forces of Canada, France, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa all combined to deliver nearly $2.5 million worth of supplies—including coal—to Berlin over the next year. This was the Berlin Airlift. This is what we used to be able to do. This is what we used to be proud of being able to do. Now, almost 70 years on, we get this, from CNN.

US Rep. Elijah Cummings and Stacey Plaskett, the congressional delegate from the US Virgin Islands, signed a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy on Tuesday morning, calling into question a $156 million contract awarded to a small Atlanta-based company, Tribute Contracting LLC. The company delivered 50,000 of the 30 million meals promised in a contract signed October 3, less than 0.25 percent, according to Tribute Contracting owner Tiffany Brown.

According to documents that Brown provided to CNN, FEMA terminated the agreement -- the largest direct meals contract during the 2017 hurricane season -- "due to late delivery of the approved heater meals." The contract was terminated October 23, 20 days after it was signed. "One of the primary reasons FEMA failed to deliver these meals is because it inexplicably awarded a contract worth approximately $156 million to deliver 30 million emergency meals to a tiny, one-person company with a history of struggling with much smaller contracts," Cummings and Plaskett said in the letter.

So far, the explanation for why this tiny company got such a big contract is…unsatisfying.

Brown said Tuesday that she has been overwhelmed and plans to sue the government for $70 million. "Here is what I can say, I've had challenges with government contracts in the past. The primary reason is financial resources, and lack of support," she said. Tribute Contracting LLC is registered as a one-employee company with an annual revenue of $1,000 on the government's Federal Procurement Data System. Brown, however, said the profile is out of date. Brown admits she did not have sufficient funds to finance the project fully but insists her company was not awarded the contract through any "hookups" with FEMA. "I got it because I had a very good proposal and understanding of what was needed," she told CNN.

If this reminds you of that tiny Montana company that got the really big contract to restore power in Puerto Rico, that’s only because it should. Seventy years ago, 70 airmen lost their lives in the effort that saved Berlin. Today, we have substituted profiteering and ineptitude for sacrifice and creativity. Running the country like a business, as it were.

[Cha]

1. :(

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. Trump and friends, like this one, are stealing billions from us.

If Obama or Hillary stole a couch out of the WH, they would be hunted down and destroyed by trumpers.

But trump and friends can steal billions.

[TheDebbieDee]

3. This is what PRIVATIZATION of goverment services

gets us for our tax dollars. PRIVATIZATION DOESN'T WORK! It costs more money than it saves...

[AtheistCrusader]

10. And yet, SpaceX just proved a rocket that costs $90M compared to Saturn V; cost $1.16bn

Those are adjusted to the current dollar value.

One point one six billion vs. ninety million.


Privatization CAN work. Can produce amazing results. But it requires rigorous oversight and monitoring. Not months after the fact. During approval. During periodic checks. Post-mortem. From stem to stern, there must be a competent contract, review of the proposals and bids, the winner must be held to the letter of the contract.

[TheDebbieDee]

13. And all of the monitring and regulating and checking that you mention

Is never done until after it is found that the contractor can't deliver!

These two men, running completely different studies won the 2016 Nobel Prize for Economics by showing how and why Privatization of Government Services DOESN'T work! The first thing these contractors do is cut corners by 1] Reducing services. 2] Reducing salary of those who deliver the services. 3] Reduce service quality. 4] All of the above!

The failure of the contractor to account for all the expenses involved in delivering the same quality and quantity of services almost always results in a failure to make the contract feasible for the contractor...

https://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/live/2016/oct/10/nobel-prize-in-economics-2016-awarded-live

[AtheistCrusader]

21. That is simply untrue.

It is sometimes not done. Totally agree, but not 'never'. There are plenty of private contracts for government funded efforts that give good return on investment.

There are also some outrageous boondoggles where that is not the case. You seem to acknowledge this with 'almost always' which is less absolute than 'never' at least.

[TheDebbieDee]

31. That is simply untrue? Well, tell it to the Nobel Prize

Commission as these prize-winning economists have proven that you don't know what you're BLOVIATING about...

[AtheistCrusader]

35. I didn't disagree with them. I disagreed with you. They didn't use your unqualified, incorrect absol

ute

"Is never done until after it is found that the contractor can't deliver!"

That claim is not true. The study you cited did not make that claim.

[Doodley]

32. The failure of the American healthcare system

Shows how devasting privatization is. Costs more than double European heath serviices but with worse outcomes, shorter life expectancy, tens of millions uninsured. The only benefit is the company profits and the rewards that are given to politicians. There are certain things that need to be run by the government, things where profits don’t create a conflict of interest between profits and providing basic human protections such as police, prisons, emergency services, healthcare. Without the necessary control that comes from a caring and compassionate government, there will always profits over human lives.

[AtheistCrusader]

34. That costs issue is a side effect of requiring hospitals to care for everyone.

You cannot have a requirement like that on a market solution and expect it to work.

Since serving all comers regardless of payment ability IS a desirable requirement, a free market is no longer a viable solution for something inelastic like health care. The bad outcome you cited is EXPECTED due to this cognitive-dissonance solution.

And to counter-point on costs, look at Lasik. Since it went 'live' cost per eye DROPS every single year, as outcomes still improve, as the femtolasers and newer technology continues to improve. Why? Because there is no requirement to serve all comers that enter the business, and they are free to charge what they want, and it's out of pocket, not covered by employer/insurance. This is an example of a free market health related solution. It has not just good, but stellar outcomes, and ever-decreasing cost per eye.


To be clear, I strongly support single-payer universal health care, for precisely all the reasons you raised, and all the info I point out above.

[JHB]

14. Gosh, yes, what dopes those NASA guys were, starting from scratch...

...instead of taking advantage of some 50-60 years worth of pre-existing data and engineering experience in building g heavy rockets.

[AtheistCrusader]

22. Shall we compare costs of the Delta IV Heavy and the Falcon Heavy?

Since you want to be snooty about your comparison, before I pull the numbers, how confident are you in that smug ass position you just took? Because I assume you'll agree, NASA and contractors didn't start 'from scratch' with the D4H.

Ah fuck it. Let's just do it and get it over with so you can start hand-waving and equivocating in earnest.

Delta IV Heavy:
Payload to LEO: 28,790 kg
Cost Per Launch: $400m USD

Falcon Heavy:
Payload to LEO: 63,800 kg
Cost Per Launch: $90m USD

Want to talk NASA's shiny new Space Launch System? The Falcon Heavy's development costs have been reported at $500m. SLS is projected to cost 35 BILLION with a B, plus a per-launch cost of 500m. Single use expendable hardware.

Yeah, enjoy your snark. It'll take you places in life.

I like NASA. I appreciate what they are doing all day long every day. But cost efficiency isn't an area where they shine. Falcon Heavy worked fine off pad 39A. SLS requires TWO BILLION DOLLARS worth of upgrades to the launch platform. That doesn't mean it doesn't need to be done, or that there isn't value in it, but holy shit are they good at burning cash. A recurring refain if you go outside NASA and look at government contracting to military vendors. It's a systemic issue,

[LanternWaste]

24. Privatization which used both the experience and the launch pad of the US govt.

Privatization which used both the 45 years of space experience and the launch pad of the US govt (Pad 40, which was damaged by a private, Falcon 9 explosion)., in addition to the technical support and data transmission of NASA's used by Musk.

Your Faith-Based math is creative.

[AtheistCrusader]

28. See post 22 where I already shredded this argument.

[mythology]

37. Except that doesn't actually compare true costs

SpaceX didn't build their own launch pad and all the supporting infrastructure. The veichle itself only cost about 2/3rds of the cost. So your comparison is already invalid.

SpaceX also didn't start from scratch in terms of the knowledge about how to get to space or the technology needed to do so. Look at the size of a 1960s computer and then account for needing to go from a room sized computer to one the size of a modern desktop.

NASA also required such precise calculations that instead of the standard 1 in 100,000 bits, they were ar 1 in 1,000,000,000.

Similar benefits were created in processor size, complexity and task prioritization.

Comparing dollar for dollar costs without acknowledging the unique costs of being first is inherently inaccurate.

[AtheistCrusader]

38. Wrong.

ULA didn't build the pad either, but we know how much the Delta IV Heavy costs to fly.
So yes, we CAN directly compare those costs.

ULA didn't start from scratch.
Morton-Thiokol didn't start from scratch.
Boeing didn't start from scratch.
Chrysler/Douglas didn't start from scratch. Per-launch of the Saturn IB was the entire development cost of the Falcon Heavy.

We can expand this beyond NASA too. ESA contracted to Airbus for the Ariane 5. Airbus didn't start from scratch. 16,000 kg to LEO, 160-200m per launch cost depending on configuration. More than double the Falcon Heavy cost for half the payload.


The comparison is valid.

For ROSCOSMOS/Proton, the cost comparison breaks down a bit, and I would only take it as a suggestion, not a benchmark/desirable for NASA, but they put 23,000 kg to LEO at $65m, which is far less than the Falcon Heavy, and the price scales unfavorably, but I wouldn't use the Proton-M as a single-data point example that 'NASA is wrong/wasteful' either.

[lark]

4. If someone digs hard I'm sure they will find a high administration connection with her.

This stinks to high heaven and just shows what a murderer drumpf and his traitorous minions are.

[thbobby]

5. Puerto Rico is forgotten

Because of the massive manure-storm that trump creates daily. How many people have died because of a tragic FEMA response? America is so easily distracted by shithole countries, exotic dancer adultery, and on and on ad nauseam. trump creates such a freak show that letting Puerto Rico "brown" people die is just another brick in the wall.

[Iggo]

23. ...because they speak Spanish.

[ProfessorGAC]

29. And They're All Darkish

Two strikes, and pretty much already three strikes.

[IluvPitties]

6. Please investigate the Trump's regime management of Puerto Rico's relief efforts now!

[trueblue2007]

7. TRUMP and his friends are CROOKS !!!!!!

[Hortensis]

36. Trump's not only a crook but a "change candidate" who

has no experience in government, knows no names, has no contacts.

Trump is the "change" many unthinking people longed and voted for.

And, boy, don't the crooks rushing in know it.

[Blue_true]

8. Last I heard.

FEMA was trying to do a contract with an LA based chef, Andreas something. The chef used his own money to feed lots of people in Puerto Rico after watching the chaos there on tv. The problem may be the chef seems to be liberal, trumpkins hate that.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

9. trump laudromat expanded?

Is the whole government, under the GOPers, now an expansion of the Trump Tower Laundromat?

[ehrnst]

11. Funneling a whole lot of money to a one or two person firm

when the work normally takes many more should raise some red flags.

Either they were chosen with very bad judgement, or there was some laundering going on.

[babylonsister]

19. Yep. I want to know who is connected to her or this company.

I googled to no avail...yet.

[alarimer]

26. From what I've read, she knows how to game the contracting system.

And part of it has to do with the fact that government contracts can preferentially be given to woman- or minority-owned businesses.

But also the contracting agency needs to do due diligence, which they clearly didn't do, at least in terms of whether this company could actually do the work.

This, in a nutshell, is what happens when government is run by incompetent people. Trump (like Bush before him) appoints people who literally cannot do the job, are not interested in doing the job, and whose intention is to run the government into the ground.

[MrPurple]

12. Only the best people! Draining the swamp!

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

16. Or in this case, only the best PERSON.

I hope some reporter gets interested in how this contract and the one to the two-man electrical company were awarded.

[trof]

15. Her undergrad degree was from Spellman. But...

The masters and doctorates from online diploma mills.
Look it up.

[obamanut2012]

40. ugh

Spellman is a legit s chool, too.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

17. K&R nt

[PatrickforO]

18. Thank you for posting this. You are putting up some good things.

I just wrote my republican Representative and Senator expressing my utter disgust with this corruption, and demanding they fix it.

Not that it will matter, but maybe it will. My US Rep is a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal, so no real hope for him. The Senator may actually step up, though. I'll be calling him tomorrow.

[Whiskeytide]

20. The good Dr. Tiffany C Brown...

... appears to be some kind of inspirational author, interior design expert and beauty/wellness consultant. Successful, I guess, - but NOT exactly someone you'd look to hire for this kind of disaster relief.

Here’s the link to her entrepreneural business(es) website :

http://www.tiffanycbrown.com/about-me/

NOTE: The website took forever to load.

I suspect she’s a con-woman.

[MrsCoffee]

25. "O Lord, thank you for this day. Please forgive me for my knowing and unknowing sins."

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[ProfessorGAC]

27. That Number in Pierce's 2nd Paragraph Can't Be Right

It says 2.5 million over a year. Even adjusted for overall nominal GDP growth, that's only $200 million dollars for a city of nearly 2 million for an entire year. (Nominal GDP in 1946 was 228 billion and it's 18.35 trillion today.)

That seems way too low. Maybe, that's supposed to be 2.5 billion.

Despite that nit, this is a good read.

[exboyfil]

30. Why won't the Feds leverage the MRE

military pipeline for something like this? Existing infrastructure, negotiated prices. Don't recreate the wheel. There are three approved suppliers.

[Doodley]

33. That would make a lot of sense.

[obamanut2012]

39. She used an Atanta wedding caterer to freeze dry soup

And then package without a heating element.

And now wants a huge payout.

I wish PR could sue FEMA.