Obama Administration Steers Lucrative No-Bid Contract for Afghan Work to Dem Donor

[rushmc 18]

This is so funny After all the left bitching about it the Obama admin does it more blatantly than anyone

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/president/ci.Obama+Administration+Steers+Lucrative+No-Bid+Contract+for+Afghan+Work+to+Dem+Donor.opinionPrint

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The Obama administration this month awarded a $25 million federal contract for work in Afghanistan to a company owned by a prominent Democratic campaign contributor without entertaining competitive bids, Fox News has learned.


Despite President Obama's long history of criticizing the Bush administration for "sweetheart deals" with favored contractors, the Obama administration this month awarded a $25 million federal contract for work in Afghanistan to a company owned by a Democratic campaign contributor without entertaining competitive bids, Fox News has learned.

The contract, awarded on Jan. 4 to Checchi & Company Consulting, Inc., a Washington-based firm owned by economist and Democratic donor Vincent V. Checchi, will pay the firm $24,673,427 to provide "rule of law stabilization services" in war-torn Afghanistan.

A synopsis of the contract published on the USAID Web site says Checchi & Company will "train the next generation of legal professionals" throughout the Afghan provinces and thereby "develop the capacity of Afghanistan's justice system to be accessible, reliable, and fair."

The legality of the arrangement as a "sole source," or no-bid, contract was made possible by virtue of a waiver signed by the USAID administrator. "They cancelled the open bid on this when they came to power earlier this year," a source familiar with the federal contracting process told Fox News.

"That's kind of weird," said another source, who has worked on "rule of law" issues in both Afghanistan and Iraq, about the no-bid contract to Checchi & Company. "There's lots of companies and non-governmental organizations that do this sort of work."

Contacted by Fox News, Checchi confirmed that his company had indeed received the nearly $25 million contract but declined to say why it had been awarded on a no-bid basis, referring a reporter to USAID.

Asked if he or his firm had been aware that the contract was awarded without competitive bids, Checchi replied: "After it was awarded to us, sure. Before, we had no idea."

He declined to answer further questions, however, and again referred Fox News to USAID, saying: "I don't want to speak for the U.S. government."

Asked about the contract, USAID Acting Press Director Harry Edwards at first suggested his office would be too "busy" to comment on it. "I'll tell it to the people in Haiti," Edwards snapped when a Fox News reporter indicated the story would soon be made public. The USAID press office did not respond further.

Rep. Darryl Issa, R-Calif., the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Fox News' reporting on the no-bid contract in this case "disturbed" him.

Issa has written to USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah requesting that the agency "produce all documents related to the Checchi contract" on or before Feb. 5. Citing the waiver that enabled USAID to award the contract on a no-bid basis, Issa noted that the exemption was intended to speed up the provision of services in a crisis environment.

Yet "on its face," wrote Issa to Shah, "the consulting contract awarded to Checchi to support the Afghan justice system does not appear to be so urgent or attendant to an immediate need so as to justify such a waiver."

Corporate rivals of Checchi were reluctant to speak on the record about the no-bid contract awarded to his firm because they feared possible retribution by the Obama administration in the awarding of future contracts.

"We don't want to be blackballed," said the managing partner of a consulting firm that has won similar contracts. "You've got to be careful. We're dealing here with people and offices that we depend on for our business."

Still, the rival executive confirmed that open bidding on USAID's lucrative Afghanistan "rule of law" contract was abruptly revoked by the agency earlier this year.

"It's a mystery to us," the managing partner said. "We were going to bid on it. The solicitation (for bids) got pulled back, and we do not know why. We may never know why. These are things that we, as companies doing business with the government, have to put up with."

As a candidate for president in 2008, then-Sen. Obama frequently derided the Bush administration for the awarding of federal contracts without competitive bidding.

"I will finally end the abuse of no-bid contracts once and for all," the senator told a Grand Rapids audience on Oct. 2. "The days of sweetheart deals for Halliburton will be over when I'm in the White House."

Those remarks echoed an earlier occasion, during a candidates' debate in Austin, Texas on Feb. 21, when Mr. Obama vowed to upgrade the government's online databases listing federal contracts.

"If (the American people) see a bridge to nowhere being built, they know where it's going and who sponsored it," he said to audience laughter, "and if they see a no-bid contract going to Halliburton, they can check that out too."

Less than two months after he was sworn into office, President Obama signed a memorandum that he claimed would "dramatically reform the way we do business on contracts across the entire government."

Flanked by aides and lawmakers at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building on March 4, Obama vowed to "end unnecessary no-bid and cost-plus contracts," adding: "In some cases, contracts are awarded without competition….And that's completely unacceptable."

The March 4 memorandum directed the Office of Management and Budget to "maximize the use of full and open competition" in the awarding of federal contracts.

Federal campaign records show Checchi has been a frequent contributor to liberal and Democratic causes and candidates in recent years, including to Obama's presidential campaign.

The records show Checchi has given at least $6,600 to Obama dating back to March 2007. The contractor has also made donations to various arms of the Democratic National Committee, to liberal activist groups like MoveOn.org and ActBlue, and to other party politicians like Sen. John F. Kerry, former presidential candidate John Edwards and former Connecticut Senate candidate Ned Lamont.

Sources confirmed to Fox News that Checchi & Company is but one of a number of private firms capable of performing the work in Afghanistan for which USAID retained it.

For example, DPK Consulting, based in San Francisco and with offices in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere, states on its website that it has contracted with USAID and other federal agencies on more than 600 projects involving "governance and institutional development" across five continents.

Among DPK's most recent projects are the establishment of a new public prosecutor's office in Jenin, in the troubled West Bank area of the Palestinian Authority, and the improvement of court facilities in the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia. Similarly, BlueLaw International, based in Virginia, was awarded a $100 million contract by the State Department in April 2008 to strengthen the "rule of law" in Iraq.

Although Obama suggested in his remarks on March 4 that he hoped particularly to address problems associated with defense contracting, an Associated Press analysis last July found that the Defense Department frequently awards no-bid contracts under the aegis of the $787 billion stimulus program, and often at higher expense to U.S. taxpayers.

According to The AP, more than $242 million in federal contracts, or roughly a quarter of the Pentagon's contract stimulus spending, was awarded through no-bid contracts. And while procurement officers say competitive bidding can actually cost the taxpayers more -- because it involves delays and can thereby subject pricing for services and equipment to inflation -- the AP analysis found that defense-related stimulus contracts awarded after competitive bidding saved the Pentagon $34 million, compared with $4.4 million when no bidding was involved.

Figures kept by OMB Watch, a non-profit research and advocacy group that tracks federal spending, show that no-bid contracts have been common under administrations controlled by both parties.

During fiscal years 2000 and 2001, for example, when Bill Clinton was president, as much as $139.2 billion in federal contracts was awarded without competitive bidding. The OMB Watch figures show that the practice appears to have accelerated sharply during the Bush administration, but the figures are not adjusted for inflation.

Award contrat here

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=eb949a1cea8e807ad22011a88098b614&tab=core&_cview=0&cck=1&au=&ck=

By the way

I havent said this is good for any party but, some no bids will always be needed. I guess we all decide for ourselves if this should be one of them or not

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[kallend 1,644]

Disgusting that Obama could be bought for as little as $4,150 (Checchi's contribution to Obama's campaign). He should charge much more, like his predecessor did.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[bodypilot90 0]

Change you can believe in

I see the left gives him a free pass.

[Amazon 7]

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Change you can believe in

mnealtx wont be along saying its all ok... as he does with repubiclown administrations.

You better believe it. . In the former admninistration they would have gotten $25 BILLION at least.

You dont think the repubiclowns tanked the economy by giving a shit about tax dollars do you???

[mnealtx 0]

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Change you can believe in

mnealtx wont be along saying its all ok... as he does with repubiclown administrations.

Where have I said that, Jeanne? I show where you're talking smack when you go on one of your 'no-bid' rants - said rant being (quelle surprise) amazingly ABSENT in this case.

SURELY you're not saying that a no-bid contract is "all ok", are you?

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[DanG 1]

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I see the left gives him a free pass.

Where do you see that?

- Dan G

[rushmc 18]

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Change you can believe in

mnealtx wont be along saying its all ok... as he does with repubiclown administrations.

Where have I said that, Jeanne? I show where you're talking smack when you go on one of your 'no-bid' rants - said rant being (quelle surprise) amazingly ABSENT in this case.

SURELY you're not saying that a no-bid contract is "all ok", are you?

Of course it is

by now anybody who pays attention knows it is never what, but who.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[rushmc 18]

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I see the left gives him a free pass.

Where do you see that?

I guess we should wait and see if this search includes more later today. However at this point there are many "news" orgs missing from this search

http://news.google.com/news/search?um=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=obama+awarded+no+bid+contract+to+donor&cf=all&as_qdr=w&as_drrb=q

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Rondog2000 0]

"More blatantly than anyone?" Pleeeaaase....At least, the money is going to an American. I mean, c'mon...Have you forgotten the planeloads of palleted, cold, hard cash "perhaps billions of American taxpayer money" that just disappear somewhere between here and the Baghdad airport...American tax-dollar money used perhaps, to finance terrorist acts against OUR troops. Oh yea, but "Fixed news" tends to leave those FACTS out. Come to think of it, the "Fear" or "Faux" channel leaves lots of facts out of their reporting. And, that's a fact, Jack.
Or, regarding no bid contracts, how about no-bid hiring? Have you forgotten how the republicans hired not the best qualified administrators to mismanage their no-bid contracts, but rather, college students with no job experience from that highly esteemed, world renowned institute of high learning, Bob Jones University, who's only qualifications it seemed, were that they were pro-life and that they voted for Republican.
Give me a break, brother..."More blatantly than anyone..."

[mnealtx 0]

MMMMmmm, koolaid.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[champu 1]

Well.. hopefully we could all tell that ending no-bid contracts above $25,000 was an absurd idea. If a team of four people take a week to prepare the proposal request and a week to review the bids then there goes your $25,000.

What's a better threshold? I'm not really sure. $25M which this contract would fall under? Maybe. Depends on a lot of things besides just money... is it a service contract or a procurement? is it fixed-price with solid requirements or a cost-plus science project? Is there an incumbent (to some degree) and how have they been performing? Is there a company that clearly has relevant capital invested equal to a significant portion of the value of the contract?

Is there a "hard-deck" threshold in dollars that trumps the above considerations?

[Rondog2000 0]

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MMMMmmm, koolaid.

Kool-aid drinker, huh? I get my news from CBS, ABC, NBS, CNN, Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report...and, on occasion, even "Fixed" news. How's that for "Fair and balanced?"
A few books I could recommend to my Fox and Friends kool-aid drinkers..."Fiasco" by Pulitzer-prize writer Thomas E. Ricks, "Life in the Emerald City" by Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Cobra 11 (two) by Michael R. Gordon and Gen. Bernard E. Trainor... authors respected by both the left and the right.
You can thank me later..Enjoy!
PS: And, byt the way, are you disputing that what I wrote in my last post as not factual?

[rushmc 18]

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Well.. hopefully we could all tell that ending no-bid contracts above $25,000 was an absurd idea. If a team of four people take a week to prepare the proposal request and a week to review the bids then there goes your $25,000.

What's a better threshold? I'm not really sure. $25M which this contract would fall under? Maybe. Depends on a lot of things besides just money... is it a service contract or a procurement? is it fixed-price with solid requirements or a cost-plus science project? Is there an incumbent (to some degree) and how have they been performing? Is there a company that clearly has relevant capital invested equal to a significant portion of the value of the contract?

Is there a "hard-deck" threshold in dollars that trumps the above considerations?

All good points. Something else to consider is what has to be done. In some cases there really is only one company that may be able to do what is required.

This example is not one of those cases however

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[rushmc 18]

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MMMMmmm, koolaid.

Kool-aid drinker, huh? I get my news from CBS, ABC, NBS, CNN, Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report...and, on occasion, even "Fixed" news. How's that for "Fair and balanced?"
A couple of books I could recommend to my Fox and Friends kool-aid drinkers..."Fiasco" by Pulitzer-prize writer Thomas E. Ricks and "Life in the Emerald City" by Rajiv Chandrasekaran...Two authors respected by both the left and the right.
You can thank me later..Enjoy

Fair and balance? Very poor IMO. The majority of those you list make the kool-aid or are heavily invested in the "company" that does

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[idrankwhat 0]

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This is so funny After all the left bitching about it the Obama admin does it more blatantly than anyone

Another campaign promise kept! Transparency! And this upsets you guys?
I can see why it might though. The Obama administration and the D led Congress is just as good as giving money to the drug, insurance, and private military contractor industries as the R's. Don't worry though, I think the R's still have the record for earmarks. Not by much but a win is a win right

On a more serious note, will you guys please quit with this "Lib" and "Leftist" stuff when referring to Obama. He's established himself as a centrist in a Congress consisting of Republicans and Republican Lites.

[rehmwa 2]

Where's the surprise? Chicago style politics from a native.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Amazon 7]

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Quote

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Change you can believe in

mnealtx wont be along saying its all ok... as he does with repubiclown administrations.

Where have I said that, Jeanne? I show where you're talking smack when you go on one of your 'no-bid' rants - said rant being (quelle surprise) amazingly ABSENT in this case.

SURELY you're not saying that a no-bid contract is "all ok", are you?

Have I said that.. NO...

Have you justified no bid contracts....YES time after time after time.. so you should be good to go on this one.

[rushmc 18]

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This is so funny After all the left bitching about it the Obama admin does it more blatantly than anyone

Another campaign promise kept! Transparency! And this upsets you guys?
I can see why it might though. The Obama administration and the D led Congress is just as good as giving money to the drug, insurance, and private military contractor industries as the R's. Don't worry though, I think the R's still have the record for earmarks. Not by much but a win is a win right

On a more serious note, will you guys please quit with this "Lib" and "Leftist" stuff when referring to Obama. He's established himself as a centrist in a Congress consisting of Republicans and Republican Lites.

Hell, I dont think most of the R's in congress are right or centrist. they sure as hell were not when Bush was in office and they had both houses.

Just a perspective thing I suppose

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[futuredivot 0]

At least Cheney got oil profits in the deal-Obama hooks us up with what? More lawyers?

You are only as strong as the prey you devour

[rehmwa 2]

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At least Cheney got oil profits in the deal-Obama hooks us up with what? More lawyers?

Where's the surprise? Texas style politics from a native.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[rushmc 18]

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At least Cheney got oil profits in the deal-Obama hooks us up with what? More lawyers?

Link please

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Amazon 7]

Uh guys.. where was all this righteous right wing indignation... when the FUcknugget in Chief was spending us into the worst recession in our country from 2001 to 2008..

Oh thats right...you all supported all those TRILLIONS of dollars going into other peoples pockets... the scope of it BOGGLES.... they did it BILLIONS and BILLIONS at a time, here we have 25 million... uh.. does the term HYPOCRISY come to any of your feeble needledick minds??

.

[kallend 1,644]

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Where's the surprise? Chicago style politics from a native.

Nah, he's a native of Indonesia Kenya Hawaii.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[airdvr 198]

Jeanne...it's not healthy to hold back...you should tell us feeble needledicks how you really feel.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[Amazon 7]

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Jeanne...it's not healthy to hold back...you should tell us feeble needledicks how you really feel.

Oh I do....

I have never been very good at sugar coating things. Its just not in my nature.

Compared to the last administration.. this is yet another tempest in a teapot brought up by the same lamebrains over and over and over and over....sheesh.

But remember Clinton did get multiple blowjobs.... yet somehow.. the economy was great.. and deficits were going DOWN.