|
Home > Archive > Abuse recovery > September 2005 > Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
| Author |
Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts
|
|
| Panther 2005-09-11, 5:52 pm |
| Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts
FEMA taps Halliburton subsidiary, Shaw Group, Bechtel for cleanup
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Companies with ties to the Bush White House and
the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's
first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina.
At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh,
President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start
recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.
One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary
Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of
Halliburton.
| |
| SpiritQuest 2005-09-11, 5:52 pm |
| Hi Panther  }
I think you understand that I reply more often to your posts, re politics,
etc., since we usually have a conversation that doesn't include flamage. If
not, this is a reminder }
The armed services have standing contracts with a lot of civilian
corporations. One of these is the CRAF, which gives the airlines some fee
each year in return for their signing a contract that guarantees that they
will do troop transport, diverting from their normal flights, if called upon
to do so.
There are also contracts, with large corporations, small ones, and will
special emphasis toward minority-owned companies. These are called LOGCAP.
Those companies, with assembly lines already present, can adapt in a few
days to producing something that we need in case of emergency/surge. The
other option is to wait for someone to build a factory.
In fact, it's no secret within DOD that we have started "cranking up" our
contractors for all the sorts of things that are needed in suppport of
Katrina, and we're not only buying commercial stuff that is very close to
what the Army uses, as well as a handful of trainers to show the soldiers
the difference.
And, granted, I'm a bit of a conservative }
However, my folks and I have also gone to 12 hour days, 7 days a week to get
a lot of this stuff going. And, I haven't dealt with a "big" company yet.
I don't doubt that someone is, of course.
So, there's how it works, a bit more than a reporter would know. }
SpiritQuest
overworked }
"Panther" <panther@asarian-intl.org> wrote in message
news:dg1cfo$o7m$0@pita.alt.net...
> Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts
> FEMA taps Halliburton subsidiary, Shaw Group, Bechtel for cleanup
>
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Companies with ties to the Bush White House and
> the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's
> first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of
> Hurricane Katrina.
>
> At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh,
> President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the
> Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start
> recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.
>
> One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary
> Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of
> Halliburton.
>
>
| |
| Panther 2005-09-11, 5:52 pm |
| I've been wondering where you've been of late. Hey I even mentioned that
when you are missing then Bush et al must be up to something <EG>
What does CRAF stand for? Ok but when I worked for the government many
years ago everything went out for bid. You had to have a top secret
security clearance to even type the stuff and work in a particular building.
Contracts were generally for specific parts or specific services and were
not carte blanche. And there was competitive bidding. Granted Lockheed
Martin and a few others often got the bids but competition was encouraged
and once contracts were awarded it was pretty clear why certain companies
got the nod. Also even when a company did get the nod it didin't mean that
they no longer had to bid competitively for the next project. This isn't
happening with Haliburton (nor the other two companies which had apron
strings tied to this administration).
As far as I'm concerned Haliburton shouldn't be awarded another contract
until they find the millions of dollars (or is it billions?) that they have
'misplaced'. There was a time when the DOD was critized for the cost of a
hammer ($2000 per I think it was, maybe more). Maybe the administration
trusts Haliburton but I don't think Joe Taxpayer can.
Re LOGCAP, Andy's father & mother's company was pulled one time to work on
aircraft parts. (not in the States though). I think it's part of the
reason Andy is such a wiz when it comes to mechanics of machinery. Talk
about percision, yikes! Unbelievable.
So I think I hear you saying that not all goes to the big corporations? If
so, yes, that's how I think it should be. My objection is the pork barrel.
:-)
So......where you been before Katrinia hit? Packing little nukes to ship to
Iraq to use on Iran??? <VBEG>
Panther
"SpiritQuest" <spritquest@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:PRZUe.57$gK.55@newssvr22.news.prodigy.net...
> Hi Panther }
>
> I think you understand that I reply more often to your posts, re politics,
> etc., since we usually have a conversation that doesn't include flamage.
> If
> not, this is a reminder }
>
>The armed services have standing contracts with a lot of civilian
> corporations. One of these is the CRAF, which gives the airlines some fee
> each year in return for their signing a contract that guarantees that
> they
> will do troop transport, diverting from their normal flights, if called
> upon
> to do so.
>
> There are also contracts, with large corporations, small ones, and will
> special emphasis toward minority-owned companies. These are called
> LOGCAP.
> Those companies, with assembly lines already present, can adapt in a few
> days to producing something that we need in case of emergency/surge. The
> other option is to wait for someone to build a factory.
>
> In fact, it's no secret within DOD that we have started "cranking up" our
> contractors for all the sorts of things that are needed in suppport of
> Katrina, and we're not only buying commercial stuff that is very close to
> what the Army uses, as well as a handful of trainers to show the soldiers
> the difference.
>
> And, granted, I'm a bit of a conservative }
>
> However, my folks and I have also gone to 12 hour days, 7 days a week to
> get
> a lot of this stuff going. And, I haven't dealt with a "big" company yet.
> I don't doubt that someone is, of course.
>
> So, there's how it works, a bit more than a reporter would know. }
>
> SpiritQuest
> overworked }
>
> "Panther" <panther@asarian-intl.org> wrote in message
> news:dg1cfo$o7m$0@pita.alt.net...
>
>
>
| |
| SpiritQuest 2005-09-23, 11:59 am |
|
"Panther" <panther@asarian-intl.org> wrote in message
news:dg1uil$34l$0@pita.alt.net...
> I've been wondering where you've been of late. Hey I even mentioned that
> when you are missing then Bush et al must be up to something <EG>
>
Well, you get an Emergency Ops Center and guess what goes crazy when a
Katrina hits the coast. }
After all the political ducking and dodging, the response was *finally*
handed over to full-time 24/7 professionally staffed already activated EOCs
(duh?)
We have military hospitals, choppers, boats, water purification units moving
in. Others are being repaired under "hurry-up" contracts so that they can
be moved in as well.
>
> What does CRAF stand for? Ok but when I worked for the government many
> years ago everything went out for bid. You had to have a top secret
> security clearance to even type the stuff and work in a particular
building.
CRAF is the Civilian Reserve Air Fleet. If we have to evacuate a bunch of
personnel out of a country, or move a bunch of personnel into a country,
then the commercial airlines carry the passengers. All the big military
aircraft can be adapted to carry people, but they are cargo planes first.
So, while the airlines carry the people, we load water, food, ammo, etc. on
the military planes. That way we can get a good bunch of support in place
for the people.
> Contracts were generally for specific parts or specific services and were
> not carte blanche. And there was competitive bidding. Granted Lockheed
> Martin and a few others often got the bids but competition was encouraged
> and once contracts were awarded it was pretty clear why certain companies
> got the nod. Also even when a company did get the nod it didin't mean
that
> they no longer had to bid competitively for the next project. This isn't
> happening with Haliburton (nor the other two companies which had apron
> strings tied to this administration).
We have gotten *so* much smarter since back then, and more flexible.
Instead of ordering pencils thru a supply system, my secretary goes to a
local K-Mart or office supply store. Rather than waiting 30 days for
approval, and another 30 to get something major to arrive, the office credit
card is used. Just sent one of my own to New Orleans. Took 30 minutes at a
store across the street to put an activated satellite phone in his pocket.
At rating time, besides other factors, managers get rated based on how
responsibly they used their money. So, I get beaten a bit if I spoil self
or crew, but at least most stuff is done logically and quickly.
>
> As far as I'm concerned Haliburton shouldn't be awarded another contract
> until they find the millions of dollars (or is it billions?) that they
have
> 'misplaced'. There was a time when the DOD was critized for the cost of a
> hammer ($2000 per I think it was, maybe more). Maybe the administration
> trusts Haliburton but I don't think Joe Taxpayer can.
I probably know less about Haliburton than the average American. I've seen
a number of lawsuits between the Army and suppliers in those years when my
work involved engineering (something akin to "expert witness"). When the
promised parts didn't match what was contracted, we went after them. I'm
betting (since we have a special "whistleblowers" act) that any attempt to
have the average employee treat Halliburton differently, after things calm
down, will be difficult. Usually the "settling out" is afterward with lots
of accounts, lawyers and testifying government experts.
>
> Re LOGCAP, Andy's father & mother's company was pulled one time to work on
> aircraft parts. (not in the States though). I think it's part of the
> reason Andy is such a wiz when it comes to mechanics of machinery. Talk
> about percision, yikes! Unbelievable.
OK, then you guys know what it is. There are even small companies that buy
up old parts, overhaul them, and *wait* for an Army shortage. Sometimes we
get one-day delivery on parts that are good enough for *now*, where it would
take 6 weeks to gear up new production. And, the contracts are competitive.
The price for a 3-year standby then rises only in accordance with the cost
of living, until it is rebid.
>
> So I think I hear you saying that not all goes to the big corporations? If
> so, yes, that's how I think it should be. My objection is the pork
barrel.
> :-)
Amen! The pork barrel is mostly congress in action. Still, there are other
interesting parts that are simply law. The government cannot discriminate
against a company in competition. That sounds plain enough. However, if Ed
Smith *totally* mucks up a contract for the Army, we can't do a thing
discriminatory, when he "sells" the company to his wife the following year
and bids again. Where GM would say "kiss my butt", the concept is that
everyone has a *right* to compete for an Army contract. That's why there
are so many bald government employees. You watch somebody underbid that you
*know* will not deliver, and your job depends on everything running smoothly
}
>
> So......where you been before Katrinia hit? Packing little nukes to ship
to
> Iraq to use on Iran??? <VBEG>
Ah, I have been through the most dreaded of management experiences... the
Reorganizaiton. It took about two months for the new General to realize we
knew what we were doing and let us drift back to what we were already doing
well }
>
> Panther
>
>
>
> "SpiritQuest" <spritquest@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
> news:PRZUe.57$gK.55@newssvr22.news.prodigy.net...
politics,[vbcol=seagreen]
fee[vbcol=seagreen]
The[vbcol=seagreen]
our[vbcol=seagreen]
to[vbcol=seagreen]
soldiers[vbcol=seagreen]
yet.[vbcol=seagreen]
>
>
| |
| Alan B. Mac Farlane 2005-09-23, 12:00 pm |
| its all about kick backs ... purchasing the best law money can buy.
Money bought Bush and put him in the White House - Diebold saw to it.
Now we are in Debt to our XXX and the GOP put US there.
The GOP gave US the Big Easy Disaster.
Brown is going a wonderfull job, Bush don't lie, and the military needs in
Irak had nothing to do with the Big Muddy Water Scandal.
Bush goes by by baby by by - as he can only see the BIG PICTURE.
The small stuff is for the Rove Rage Maching to pull his ear on .. and he
was sick for three days ... so Bush was totally clueless every time Krazy
Kral gets sick.
This is a huge threat to national security and the future ... but Bush can
not see that with his Super Vision.
sumbuddie not making dis up
 )
in article dg1cfo$o7m$0@pita.alt.net, Panther at panther@asarian-intl.org
wrote on 9/11/05 6:46 AM:
> Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts
> FEMA taps Halliburton subsidiary, Shaw Group, Bechtel for cleanup
|
| |
|
|