Home > FL, MN, CA Winners In First Katrina Contracts

FL, MN, CA Winners In First Katrina Contracts

by Open-Publishing - Friday 16 September 2005
8 comments

Economy-budget Governments Catastrophes USA

George Bush stood before the nation tonight and in an attempt to repair his tarnished image, unveiled the most massive reconstruction program since - maybe the reconstruction. At the same time, the US Army Corps of Engineers in conjunction with FEMA announced 4 contracts worth $500 million each, with the option of an additional $500 million. While Bush touted local jobs and local small business incentives, the debris removal contracts have been awarded to 2 corporations in Florida, 1 in Minnesota and 1 in California. Not a very promising start.

Certain provisions in the contracts do have the appearance of meeting Bush’s purported agenda of local economic invigoration with targeted goals of 73.5 percent for Small business, 3 percent for Service-disabled veterans, 3.2 percent for Small HUB-Zone concerns, 10.6 percent for Small Disadvantaged business, and 11 percent for Small Women-owned business. But Americans have had 5 years to weigh Bush’s proposals against his actions and the reality of these contracts cannot be spun away.

The first astonishing blunder is the glaring absence of a target percentage for Minority Owned Businesses. I suppose it isn’t surprising considering this Administration’s abysmal treatment of Minority Owned Businesses through the constant reduction of programs designed to help them gain federal contracts and access to new markets. Many of these small business programs are the same or similar to the programs Bush has been cutting or threatening to cut since he took office, from $900 million in 2001 to around $500 million this year. In fact, earlier this year, Senators Kerry and Snowe fought to restore funding as some of these programs were in danger of running out of money altogether.

This also follows the recent pattern, according to the NSBA, where small businesses are forced into the role of sub-contractor which inhibits their ability to establish a performance record, meet with contracting officers, or negotiate terms. In other words, it enables the government to say there is nobody but Halliburton with the contracting history to do the job. Despite Bush’s claim to be a friend to small business, 15 of 22 federal agencies have reduced the number of federal contracts award to small business. Senator Kerry introduced the Contractor Safeguard Act and the Regulatory Assistance Pilot Program to begin to address these concerns.

Then there is the issue of fraudulent and deceptive practices within the SBA. Senators Kerry and Snowe announced the congressional investigation into abuses of the administration of the 9/11 small business loans. Accusations have been made that the SBA encouraged banks to give the loans with the loosest interpretation of the rules possible. Some businesses have received STAR loans without knowing that these loans were targeted at businesses hurt by the terrorist attacks, reports include a Dunkin’ Donuts and a motorcycle shop from as far away as Colorado. There is also the recent revelation that a large number of federal contracts that claimed to go to small business actually went to such corporations as Titan Corp., Raytheon Co., General Dynamics Corp., Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., Archer Daniels-Midland, and Hewlett-Packard Co. To add insult to injury, many large corporations receive Small Business Loans as well. Lloyd Chapman, president of the California-based American Small Business League, believes that “80 to 90 percent of the contracts they say are going to small businesses are actually going to large businesses.”

Poll after poll has found this President wanting on every issue from the economy to social security to the war. His ability to succeed with Katrina, when he failed everywhere else, is highly unlikely. Katrina is too big, the damage too horrific, the need, incalculable. The call for a “czar” to oversee the distribution of Katrina funds and reconstruction of a significant portion of our country and economy is one that should not go unheeded. Paging Mr. Iacocca; HURRY to the red, white and blue courtesy phone please.

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/?view=plink&id=1374

Forum posts

  • Contracts of $500 million would naturally involved a big corporation that is able to handle large projects, that is probably why a minority-owned business or women-owned business was not in there. The hope is that these big corporations would subcontract with the small minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses in the affected hurricane areas to help revitalize the business areas while rebuilding and cleanup is being done.

    • Women and minorities can’t manage millions of dollars?

      You apparently missed the part of the article that explains that federal agencies have manipulated their contracts in order to continue favoring large corporations which means women and minority owned businesses never have an opportunity to meet the requirements to get the larger contracts. Institutionalized discrimination. OR, how the white man maintains power.

    • Stop being stupid. A corporation can easily handle a project that is worth $500 million. A business designated as minority-owned or women-owned by its nature is a small business. Very few businesses like that can handle a big project not because they are minorities or women but because they are a small business with little capacity.

    • You did not read the article, and certainly didn’t click on the link and read some of the other articles I linked to.

      First, federal contracts that state they are FOR small business are going to LARGE corporations which is keeping small business from GROWING into large corporations that can bid on the contracts. That is the entire purpose of designating small businesses women or minority owned, to help them grow into corporations. Duh. Large corporations are cheating, being helped by this Administration, and hurting small business in the process.

      Second, the same is happening with some SBA loans.

      Finally, Louisiana and Mississippi undoubtedly have corporations that can handle debris removal. They not only need the business, they need the tax revenue.

      Same ridiculous contracting scheme as what we’ve got in Iraq, and we’re going to end up with the same results. Billions gone and no idea where they went.

    • I’m trying not to think you are dumber than fur, but it’s hard.

      First of all, it was FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers that awarded those contracts and we don’t know if that money is part of the $60 billion or not. If it is part of the $60 billion, it represents only 3%.

      As to your first point about "manipulating contracts", the trend according to the NSBA article is that the federal agencies were "contract bundling" in 2002; whether it was just easier for the agencies or it was some form of fraud, the article doesn’t say but it was you who claimed it was manipulation and that’s a form of libel. If you read further in that same NSBA article, it was the President’s plan to prevent contract bundling.

      As to your second point about SBA Loans, according to the articles, the SBA defines a small business as a company up to 500 employees (which doesn’t sound small to me) and the agency itself readily admits they’ve made mistakes but claim that those mistakes are only 2% of the total. Small business advocates are fighting with the SBA regarding the definition. The fraud argument was brought up by an AP story regarding 9/11 SBA loans but there was no mention of facts just supositions which is why there is an investigation by a senate committee.

      You really don’t read your own sources, you just come up with a load of crap.

    • What difference does it make where FEMA or the Army Corps are getting their money? It’s the same award process. But you’d have to be dumber than furballs to think debris removal contracts are coming anywhere except from money allocated for Katrina.

      There is more than one article and they need to be read as a whole. There have been many efforts to stop the contract bundling, or open it to small business. The practice continues, as does large corporations manipulating their own reporting in order to get these contracts. Despite the "President’s Plan", which is the entire point. Bush has had a lot of plans, somehow they never quite work out. Hmmm. Why is that?

      Do you have a t-shirt that says "Last Bush-Lover". It would be funny, and have a double-entendre thing goin’ on too. Or maybe, a femi-lesbian statement, really confuse people!

    • It makes a difference and it’s not the same award process. Really, your ignorance knows no bounds.

    • Really, your willingness to cover up this pathetically inept and corrupt administration knows no bounds, and borders on the kind of obsession one usually associates with an abused spouse.