Free Republic

ROCKVILLE, Md. - There are major flaws with the way the concrete was poured in the $101 million Transit Center in the heart of downtown Silver Spring. During a news conference Monday, Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner outlined the issues, calling the situation a "serious problem." He also hinted at the possibility of legal action against the contractor. "Specifications for the project called for there to be 10 inches of concrete. The analysis that has been done has shown that for significant portions of the second floor and the third floor, there's only eight and a half inches," Berliner...

(CNSNews.com) -- The United States is not “overly concerned” about the Iraqi government detaining a “handful of U.S. contractors” over visas and paperwork, State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters on Tuesday. Back on Jan. 11, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued an “emergency warning” for U.S. citizens in Iraq, informing them “not [to] attempt movements about the country in the absence of valid, current permits and paperwork.” On Sunday, Jan. 15, the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA), an organization that represents contractors in Iraq, sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton asking her to intervene regarding...

In light of a lawsuit brought against Allentown by a builders and contractors association, city council voted Wednesday to repeal a previously approved law requiring contractors to hire union workers for major city projects. In December 2010, that same council passed a bill requiring contractors to sign project labor agreements, which would require bidders to hire employees from local unions on projects costing more than $250,000 that receive state or federal support. But that led to a federal lawsuit filed against the city in October by the eastern Pennsylvania chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, which said the bill...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a rare display of cooperation, Republicans and Democrats in Congress overwhelmingly approved a limited jobs bill on Wednesday that would help some veterans find work but otherwise do little to bring down the nation's 9 percent unemployment rate. The bill, aimed at government contractors and veterans, is so far the only piece of President Barack Obama's $447 billion job-creation package to clear Congress. Republicans have lined up behind a contrasting agenda of their own ahead of the 2012 presidential and congressional elections. It passed the House of Representatives by a unanimous vote of 422 to 0....

As Washington's use of private contractors grows, the government is paying those contractors billions more than it would pay their government workers to do the same job, according to a new study released Tuesday.. In an attempt to verify frequently made claims that the government can save money by outsourcing its work, the nonprofit Project On Government Oversight (POGO) compared the total annual compensation for federal (and private sector) employees with federal contractor billing rates. The group found that in 33 of the 35 occupational categories it reviewed, federal government employees were less expensive than contractors. On average, the federal...

DoD Prepares Follow-Up to $15 Billion Global Counterdrug ContractsA privately contracted, five-year global counterdrug program valued upwards of $15 billion is one year away from expiring—and the U.S. Dept. of Defense (DoD) wants to assess the capabilities of potential prime contractors in advance of the August 23, 2012, expiration date. The DoD Counter Narco-Terrorism Program Office (CNTPO) on Aug. 2 issued a Special Notice (Solicitation # W9113MCNTPO) announcing its intentions to “issue a follow-on procurement” to perpetuate that endeavor. The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, on behalf of the CNTPO, in 2007 issued a multiple...

A surprising new government report shows that taxpayers have been footing the bill for retiree benefits not just for federal workers, but for independent freelance contractors who do work for the government as well. And no one is watching the store to see if your tax dollars are being wasted. Taxpayers for years have been covering private contractors' retiree costs for things like pensions and health care, even though these workers are not on the federal payroll. Taxpayers also cover these retiree costs for contractors' spouses, too, and in some cases if contractors want to retire early (at age 50),...

Until alerted to the problem, city of Minneapolis posted a list of suggested tornado-repair contractors that included 22 that were unlicensed. After warning North Side tornado victims to avoid "unlicensed, unscrupulous contractors," Minneapolis officials failed to take their own advice and circulated a list that included 22 companies that were not licensed to perform home repairs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Top Pentagon contractors have been bleeding secrets for years as a result of penetrations of their computer networks, current and former national security officials say. The Defense Department, which runs its own worldwide eavesdropping, spying and code-cracking systems, says more than 100 foreign intelligence organizations have been trying to break into U.S. networks. Some of the perpetrators "already have the capacity to disrupt" U.S. information infrastructure, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn, who is leading remedial efforts, wrote last fall in the journal Foreign Affairs. Joel Brenner, the National Counterintelligence executive from 2006 to 2009, said most if...

U.S. businesses are bracing for layoffs and disruptions along their supply chains if the federal government shuts down later this week because of an impasse over the federal budget. (snip) Especially hard hit are small and midsized businesses that rely on steady flows of revenue from federal contracts to provide a wide array of products and services such as information technology consulting, building construction and maintenance, or food service at national parks. (snip) Should the government close, the Treasury could provide a several-hundred billion dollar cushion by borrowing from Social Security, federal pensions and other funds, says Gary Hufbauer, a...

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A single laptop can reveal much, and so it is with the digital treasure chest that Colombian commandos found in the jungle quarters of slain rebel leader Raul Reyes. Files in the computer seized in Saturday's raid into Ecuador that claimed the lives of Reyes and 23 of his comrades offer an intimate portrait of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's desire to undermine Colombia's U.S.-allied government. If authentic, the documents show that sympathies Chavez first aired publicly in January grew out of a relationship that dates back more than a decade. But Chavez is not one of...

As American commanders meet this week for the Afghanistan review, Obama is hiring military contractors at a rate that would make Bush blush.

A yearlong investigation by a Senate panel has found evidence that the mostly Afghan force of private security guards the U.S. military depends on to protect supply convoys and bases in Afghanistan is rife with criminals, drug users and insurgents. The Senate Armed Services Committee inquiry, based on interviews with dozens of military commanders and contractors and a review of over 125 Pentagon security contracts, found evidence of "untrained guards, insufficient and unserviceable weapons, unmanned posts" and other failings that put U.S. troops at risk.

With his vigorous support for high-speed rail, President Obama is thinking about a better future. And so is the Department of Transportation. We're moving America forward for all Americans.The bottom line is that high-speed rail will deliver a more efficient downtown-to-downtown mobility; it will spur economic development; it will bring manufacturing jobs to the US; and it will move us to a cleaner, greener way of getting around.In the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out even more grants to help write the next chapter in American innovation.We're talking about nothing short of transforming transportation much the same way the interstate...

This week's series of three Washington Post articles  on American intelligence operations tried to create a controversy that does not exist. In parts two and three the issue of contractors used by the intelligence community was explored.  However, many of the stated facts were very misleading.  Those interviewed felt that contractors are a necessary part of America's national security and resent the argument of the Post that the CIA is too dependent on them. Former acting CIA Director, John McLaughlin, commented on C-SPAN that one of the articles was written out of context.  The article never explained that in the 1990's,...

The government takeover is expected to facilitate the refinancing of THSRC`s huge NT$390 billion (US$11.8 billion at NT$33:US$1) debt by a consortium headed by the state-run Bank of Taiwan. The refinancing program will bring crucial financial relief in the form of a lower interest rate and extended repayment period. The bankruptcy of the company would force the government to appropriate some NT$300 billion (US$9.1 billion) to buy it out. Without the refinancing program, THSRC would become insolvent in November, when it will have to start repaying the principal of its loans. That will cost it another NT$1.5 billion a month,...

rivate security contractors protecting the convoys that supply U.S. military bases in Afghanistan are paying millions of dollars a week in “passage bribes” to the Taliban and other insurgent groups to travel along Afghan roads, a congressional investigation released Monday has found. The alleged payments, which are reimbursed by the U.S. government, help fund the very enemy the U.S. is attempting to defeat and renew questions about the U.S. dependence on private contractors, who outnumber American troops in Afghanistan, 130,000 to 93,000. The report's author called the findings of the six-month investigation “sobering and shocking.” “This arrangement has fueled a...

Duke University analysis of U.S. rail manufacturing shows that Pennsylvania has 26 rail manufacturing facilities, from Pittsburgh to PhiladelphiaThe U.S. rail manufacturing industry stands to undergo considerable growth in the coming years, as Amtrak upgrades its railcars and adds high-speed trains, and as lawmakers consider a transportation bill that calls for significantly greater investments in public transit, including rail, according to a new study by Duke University prepared for the Apollo Alliance. Pennsylvania, which is home to 26 rail-manufacturing facilities and is planning its own high-speed rail network, would reap major benefits from such a bill. "Our research found that...

"Somalia clashes kills 11, five headless bodies found" By Mohamed Ahmed and Abdi Guled Reuters Wednesday, April 21, 2010; 8:15 AM SNIPPET: "MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The beheaded bodies of five builders have been found in Somalia's capital Mogadishu and at least 11 people were killed in fighting in the central region, residents and moderate militia fighters said Wednesday. Mogadishu residents said they suspected al Shabaab militants executed the builders for helping to construct Somalia's new parliament, an institution seen by the insurgents as home to stooges of the West." SNIPPET: ""We have seen five beheaded men," one resident who gave...

WASHINGTON – Louisiana renovators such as plumbers, electricians, painters and window installers are scrambling to meet a new federal rule that goes into effect next week and requires them to get certified to handle lead paint. Contractors nationwide have complained about the lack of trainers provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the certification. The new standard, aimed at reducing the impact of lead paint on children, affects projects in homes built before 1978. Louisiana seems to be ahead of other states in getting ready for the Thursday deadline. But the new EPA rule could mean that projects for...

WASHINGTON — Two lawmakers announced legislation Monday that would force the United States to phase out its controversial use of private security contractors in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. Blackwater contractors in Iraq in 2005 Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders said they planned to introduce the "Stop Outsourcing Security Act" on Tuesday. "The legislation would restore the responsibility of the American military to train troops and police, guard convoys, repair weapons, administer military prisons, and perform military intelligence," their offices said. "The bill also would require that all diplomatic security be undertaken by US government...

Federal and state officials, many facing record budget deficits, are starting to aggressively pursue companies that try to pass off regular employees as independent contractors. President Obama’s 2010 budget assumes that the federal crackdown will yield at least $7 billion over 10 years. More than two dozen states also have stepped up enforcement, often by enacting stricter penalties for misclassifying workers. Many workplace experts say a growing number of companies have maneuvered to cut costs by wrongly classifying regular employees as independent contractors, though they often are given desks, phone lines and assignments just like regular employees. Moreover, the experts...

"The private sector is not the solution to bad government; the private sector makes government bad." Ms. Wedel mourns the "emasculation" of the government due to the increased role of contractors, for which she blames former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. "Gone are the days when government contractors primarily provided services such as printing, serving food, or landscaping," says Ms. Wedel, who apparently thinks the private sector isn't worthy of anything more important than mowing the White House lawn. If there's a chance the contractors may influence public policy, it's off-limits, she argues. This includes military...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Monday touted a plan to cut back on wasteful spending on federal government contractors, a plan he said is on track to save 40 billion dollars per year by 2011. "Between 2002 and 2008, the amount spent on government contracts more than doubled. The amount spent on no-bid, non-competitive contracts jumped by 129 percent. This is an inexcusable waste of money," Obama said. Shortly after taking office in January, Obama set a goal for federal agencies to save up to 40 billion dollars per year in contracting costs by 2011. Since then, "24...

Washington (CNN) -- Congress is launching a broad-ranging investigation into possible waste, misuse and corruption tied to billions of taxpayer dollars used to support private military contractors in Afghanistan. Among the questions being raised is whether money provided in a nearly $2.2 billion trucking contract in the war-torn country went to pay off local warlords and the Taliban. The investigation comes as the Obama administration begins deploying another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. The White House has requested more than $70 billion to fund the war in fiscal year 2010, according to a Senate subcommittee memo. "Serious allegations have been brought...

The Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association is suing the county for laying off security workers and replacing them with employees from a private security company. The lawsuit, filed this month, alleges that the county's decision to hire Inter-Con Security Services to guard Department of Human Assistance facilities in place of Sheriff's Department employees violates county rules regulating outsourcing. "You cannot lay off a county employee of any type and backfill behind them with … a private contractor," said Kevin Mickelson, the union president. "Next thing you know, they're going to be laying off sheriff's deputies and hiring a security company...

Defense contractors are complaining that the ACORN defunding act will affect them...if they've been convicted of wrongdoing. Well, WAH!

BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- It is amazing how a change of geography can alter perception. In the weeks leading up to this, my 16th Fox News deployment to cover the fight against radical Islamic terror, the news was full of attacks on civilian contractors. The target: those who have been providing support for U.S. military and intelligence operations since Sept. 11. "Contractor" is the new "dirty word" in the so-called mainstream media -- and in Washington. On Capitol Hill, contractors are the Rodney Dangerfields of the war -- they just "get no respect." Here, where the war is being fought, contractors...

The New York Times reveals the awful truth about the secret air war against high value al Qaeda targets in Pakistan -- the drones are being armed by evil government contractors. And while the paper felt comfortable suppressing any news of the capture and confinement of one of its own reporters earlier this year, it shows no compunction in revealing the secret location of the base from which these drones are launched: The C.I.A. has for several years operated Predator drones out of a remote base in Shamsi, Pakistan, but has secretly added a second site at an air base...

CINCINNATI -- Some church leaders in Cincinnati say they will oppose any school levy unless more black contractors are hired on school building projects.

Failures in quality assurance at the Savannah Rive Site cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and could cause injury to workers and the public and allow spills of thousands of gallons of high-level radioactive waste, according to an audit report. The report, released last week by the inspector general of the Department of Energy, stated that SRS contractors repeatedly procured dangerous construction materials and components that failed to meet federal safety standards. The report specifically names Washington Savannah River Company (WSRC) and MOX Services; most failures in the report relate to lower-tier vendors not following guidelines.

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama moved to claim the mantle of fiscal responsibility in a roiling economy, vowing on Monday to slash federal spending on contractors by 10 percent and saving $40 billion. Urging members of his own party to be just as fiscally tough as the most conservative Republicans, Obama said the $700 billion economic bailout plan proposed by the Bush administration and congressional leaders is forcing a renewed look at federal spending. As president, Obama said he would create a White House team headed by a chief performance officer to monitor the efficiency of government spending.

Note: The following text is a quote: Gates Discusses Tough Decisions, Congressional Oversight By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service CARLISLE BARRACKS, Pa., April 16, 2009 – In his two-and-a-half years as Defense secretary, Robert M. Gates has had many hard decisions to make. But none, he said here today, compare to the difficulty of his part in sending men and women into combat. “The rest of it all pales by comparison,” Gates told students at the Army War College here. “Knowing what I have to do, but knowing the consequences.” Approving combat deployments, Gates said, is not an ethical...

An Iraqi screener searches a local national before entering Joint Base Balad, April 1. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Lionel Castellano, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. JOINT BASE BALAD — More than 100 Iraqis were recently contracted to secure the outer perimeter of this base to help protect the men and women serving here. “This contract is a first of its kind,� said Lt. Col. Raymond Reyes, Joint Base Balad (JBB) Regional Contracting Center commander. “Putting a requirement to employ 80 percent of the contractor’s workforce from the local area is an innovative contracting solution to implementing the Joint Campaign Plan.“This is...

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2009 – Three American contractors who survived five and a half years in a Colombian jungle likened their captivity to being on the “planet of the apes,” said one of the three contractors held by the terrorist organization known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. “We were off this planet for so long that we would marvel at something basic, as basic as a flat floor and a flat wall. It was a totally different planet that we had escaped or been rescued from,” Tom Howes told online journalists and bloggers during a...

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 11:32 am Priorities -- Not lining the pockets of contractors Last week the President laid out the foundation of a new vision for our budget and the way government does business. It is a vision based not on ideology, but on the idea that we can and must invest boldly in our future while also making the hard choices and being vigilant to bring in a new era of fiscal responsibility.Last week began with the fiscal responsibility summit, where the President and members of Congress came together to generate ideas to get the country on a sustainable long-term track. One of...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Wednesday promised to save American taxpayers 40 billion dollars a year by slashing waste in government contracting, with a special eye on bloated spending on defense. "I reject the false choice between securing this nation and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars," Obama said on a day when he signed a presidential memorandum reforming the contracting system across the entire government. "In this time of great challenges, I recognize the real choice between investments that are designed to keep the American people safe and those that are designed to make a defense contractor rich,"...

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela's state oil company is behind on billions in payments to private oil contractors from Oklahoma to Belarus, some of which have now stopped work, even as President Hugo Chavez funnels more oil revenue to social programs. Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, says unpaid invoices jumped 39 percent in the first nine months of last year — reaching $7.86 billion in September. And that was when world oil was selling for $100 a barrel. With prices plummeting by more than half, PDVSA is trying to renegotiate some contracts. ... Oil accounts for 94 percent of Venezuela's...

I missed Clintonite moldy oldie-turned-Obama economic adviser Robert Reich’s testimony a few weeks ago on how the government should spend federal stimulus money. The Berkeley professor engaged in academic fantasy land talk about getting all the cash out to workers as quickly as possible — a pipe dream debunked by the CBO report I mentioned in my column yesterday. Even more noteworthy, however, were the comments Reich made about which workers deserve the stimulus bucks most. Reich’s proposal exposes the lie that the Obama administration is actually interested in revitalizing basic infrastructure for the good of the economy. No, what...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- When the Pentagon announced an obscure California company had won a lucrative military contract, no one mentioned any plans for a Caribbean outpost -- a tropical shell the company quickly created that allowed it to duck millions in taxes and deflect U.S. lawsuits. It's legal, at least for now. Contractors large and small have been heading offshore to shield piles of taxpayer dollars, according to an Associated Press investigation, but irate lawmakers are thundering that they'll put an end to it. Almost a decade ago, a few months after winning the deal that has totaled more than...

The Pentagon recently issued a memorandum with the less-than-snappy title "Uniform Code of Military Justice Jurisdiction Over Department of Defense Civilian Employees, Department of Defense Contractor Personnel, and Other Persons Serving With or Accompanying the Armed Forces Overseas During Declared War and in Contingency Operations." Despite the cumbersome title, the memo, which gives military commanders authority over civilian contractors in their areas of operation, is an effort to close what many see as an accountability loophole for private military contractors. Effectively, the new rules extend the Uniform Code of Military Justice -- the same military legal code U.S. forces personnel...

Authorities are awaiting identification of the remains of three more bodies found in Iraq, a U.S. law enforcement official said Tuesday. Sources say the remains are those of more missing contractors; the news comes a day after the remains of two kidnapped contractors were identified. Among the missing are Paul Johnson Reuben of Buffalo, Minnesota. The others still missing are Jonathon Cote, of Getzville, N.Y.; Joshua Munns of Redding, Calif.; and Bert Nussbaumer of Vienna, Austria. A finger from each was received by the military recently. Four other kidnapped Western contractors have been missing for more than a year. The...

Just as Blackwater had finally fallen from the headlines and the boys in Moyock thought their State Department contract would be quietly renewed, their worst nightmare has hit:  Blackwater is a campaign issue.  In an ironic twist of politics, Erik Prince is now on the same side of the contractor issue as Obama--more or less.Senator Hillary Clinton broke her longstanding silence on private security contractors in Iraq.   Her senate office announced late Thursday that she is co-sponsoring a bill to ban "Blackwater and other private mercenary firms in Iraq."  The timing of the announcement is particularly curious.  It comes...

From prostitutes to Super bowl tickets, a federal probe reveals how contractors in Iraq cheated the U.S. ROCK ISLAND, Ill.—Inside the stout federal courthouse of this Mississippi River town, the dirty secrets of Iraq war profiteering keep pouring out. Hundreds of pages of recently unsealed court records detail how kickbacks shaped the war's largest troop support contract months before the first wave of U.S. soldiers plunged their boots into Iraqi sand. The graft continued well beyond the 2004 congressional hearings that first called attention to it. And the massive fraud endangered the health of American soldiers even as it lined...

Five years ago yesterday, three American contractors found themselves captives of FARC, the Marxist guerrillas in Colombia. They still remain captive to the South American terrorist gang, and most of their countrymen have long forgotten about them. Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes languish in captivity while their nation has basically slept. FARC is no less a terrorist gang than al-Qaeda, if somewhat less lethal. They have numbered in the tens of thousands, but now roughly comprise about 8,000 armed guerrillas controlling about 15% of Colombian territory. Like their Islamist cousins, FARC has used the drug trade to fund...

WASHINGTON - ITT Federal Services International, a defense contractor hired to maintain battle gear for U.S. troops in Iraq, repeatedly failed to do the job right. Combat vehicles ITT declared as repaired and ready for action flunked inspections and had to be fixed again. (snip) The Army's ongoing arrangement with ITT, detailed in an audit from the Government Accountability Office, shows how captive the military has become to the private sector for overseas support. Even when contractors don't measure up, dismissing them may not be an option because of the heavy pace of operations. (snip) In ITT's case, there were...

The Democratic candidates for president are taking aim at federal contracting, which they describe as shoddy and corrupt. The Republican candidates also have ideas about how to fix the bureaucracy and restore trust in Washington. The presidential campaigns are in high gear this week as Iowans get ready to make their choices, and the contenders' rhetoric is in equally high gear as they pledge to change the government and better manage federal employees. Among the Democrats, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) would cut 500,000 government contractors over 10 years. John Edwards has a five-point plan to overhaul federal contracting, and...

Day One. Partridge in a pear tree: During the night-shift at the NSA, Booz Allen contractors suddenly have their online Christmas shopping interrupted when Booz Allen proprietary counterterrorist data-mining algorithms note an unusual spike in internet chatter of “persons of interest” using the term “partridge in a pear tree.”  Their NSA Contracting Officer’s Technical Rep is alerted.   Day Two. Two turtle doves. At the NSA, SAIC contractors discover a correlation between “partridge in a pear tree” and “two turtle doves.”  The NSA notifies the CIA. CIA analysts who are new to the job due to high Agency turnover...

If Congress doesn't approve $196 billion for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, he says, bases may partly shut down and civilians may lose jobs. Democrats point out he's said this before. WASHINGTON —Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that he will have to lay off 200,000 civilian employees and contractors, terminate military contracts and partially shut down U.S. military bases unless Congress acts quickly to approve additional funding for the Iraq war. Echoing similar warnings from past funding battles, Gates said the Army and Marine Corps will develop plans for sharp spending cuts unless Congress moves to...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2007 – There is no “wiggle room” in the Defense Department budget, and Congress must pass the emergency supplemental spending bill as soon as possible to avoid halting operations and furloughing civilian employees, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. (Video) During a Pentagon news conference, Gates reinforced the message he delivered to Congress yesterday, when he and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Capitol Hill and briefed members of both houses. Gates strongly urged Congress to pass a global war on terror funding bill that the president would sign, he said. The secretary said the...