Project Katrina

There are several interesting data points in this article from MSNBC. First the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) review of 13 major contracts found the government had wasted millions of dollars, due mostly to poor planning by FEMA. Among the 13 were three of the four no-bid contracts mentioned below for temporary housing, worth up to $500 million each. Plus, and what upsets me the most, is that he GAO found an additional $1.5 billion in contracts promised to small businesses has yet to be awarded.

On to the other point, acting FEMA Director R. David Paulison promised last year to rebid four no-bid contracts that were awarded to Shaw Group Inc., Bechtel Corp., CH2M Hill Inc. and Fluor Corp. Yet FEMA announced:

In fact, they have been extended, in part because of good performance, said Michael Widomski, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “They are continuing the work,” Widomski said, and the agency is now focused on competitive bids for disaster relief contracts for the next hurricane season beginning June 1.

Both of these issues are simply not acceptable. Our government has very specific procurement regulations and they are not being followed. This mean that money is wasted and large firms with political connections get the lion-share of work, while smaller/local firms are locked out.