http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/contracts/ en-us Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:30:56 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412491/posts President Obama said Monday that federal agencies will cut roughly $19 billion from government contracts this fiscal year, putting them on track to meet his goal of trimming $40 billion in fiscal 2011. "Business as usual in Washington just wont do," he said during a White House press conference in which he also recognized a federal employee for her winning cost-cutting idea. "After years of irresponsibility, we are once again taking responsibility for every dollar we spend, the same way families do." The administration wants to reach its $40 billion goal by improving the management and oversight of contracts and... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412491/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:30:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395710/posts The Justice Department has ruled that the federal government can honor some existing contracts to fund ACORN, despite a law barring the flow of all federal money to the beleaguered community group. David Barron, the acting assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, concluded in a five-page ruling that the funding ban signed by President Barack Obama in October as part of the legislative branch appropriations bill does not direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development to breach pre-existing contracts to pay ACORN. Much of ACORN’s federal funds come in the form of housing subsidies. The ruling,... Politico.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395710/posts#comment Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:35:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2389356/posts The photographer who shot the picture violated his contract by reselling them to Newsweek. That photographer, Brian Adams, could not immediately be reached, and his agent, Kelly Price, declined to comment, saying, "I keep all of my clients' business private." But a spokeswoman for Runner's World confirms that Adams's contract contained a clause stipulating that his photos of Palin would be under embargo for a period of one year following publication -- meaning until August 2010. "Runner's World did not provide Newsweek with its cover image," the spokeswoman said. "It was provided to Newsweek by the photographer's stock agency, without... Citizen Palin 4 President http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2389356/posts#comment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:11:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2368859/posts PINELLAS PARK, Fla.- A Florida couple said the homeowners association of their retirement community is trying to evict their 6-year-old granddaughter. Jimmy and Judie Stottler of Pinellas Park said their granddaughter, Kimberly, came to live with them as an infant when authorities took her away from her drug-abusing mother, WSTP-TV, St. Petersburg, Fla., reported Thursday. The girl has stayed with her grandparents in the retirement community since, even though the community's rules don't allow children. The couple said the homeowners association is now pressuring them to comply with the ban on children, but they are unable to move because they... upi http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2368859/posts#comment Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:38:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237542/posts Earlier this month, the Treasury Department quietly hired three law firms and a consulting firm for advice on restructurings and potential bankruptcies in the auto industry. Treasury did not issue a press release announcing the hirings, even through the contracts with the law firms were among the biggest yet for work on the government's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. The deals drew scant coverage beyond trade publications. Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP and Haynes and Boone LLP got six-month contracts worth as much as $8.59 million each, or $25.8 million total. Reports that the... bailoutsleuth.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237542/posts#comment Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:12:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2211262/posts There’s a whole lot of wrangling in the news today here in the US about bonuses and contracts and such. I thought it might be a nice idea to put forth this Christian’s opinion on how God views contracts which are synonymous with covenants in my opinion. The first promise God made that I can think of was that He promised not to allow anyone to kill Cain after Cain slew Abel and did God keep that promise? Yep (Genesis 4). The first covenant was with Noah and subsequently all mankind. It is found in Genesis 9 where God promised... firstcenturychristianity.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2211262/posts#comment Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:02:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2209259/posts Congresswoman Maloney wants to impose a 100% tax on the recipients of the AIG retention payments. Never mind that this is unconstitutional because it is a bill of attainder (a law aimed at a specific person or group of persons) and a taking without just compensation (others are considering a 98% tax to avoid this issue). What I find most concerning and ironic is that she is willing to say, out loud, that AIG should have merely not made the payments despite the fact that they were contractually obligated to do so. She compares it to GM's renegotiation of its... Political Castaway http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2209259/posts#comment Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:50:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2199318/posts All aspects of federal contracting programs favoring minority-owned businesses have been turned upside down by an injunction issued by a judge in San Antonio. My San Antonio http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2199318/posts#comment Wed, 4 Mar 2009 21:52:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2196341/posts "Worst of all, the power which Congress delegated to the President enabled him to make criminals out of honest American citizens whose crime would consist only of trying to protect themselves from official debasement of their money. In more fundamental terms, Americans henceforth would be "under the gun" for exercising a fundamental, inalienable right: the right to deal with their own property as they saw fit. Gold, no matter what its special characteristics, is, after all, just another form of property." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2196341/posts#comment Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:23:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2181871/posts "If you are like most people, including me, and you've got one house ... it turns out that under current law you can't modify that mortgage if you are in bankruptcy," Obama told a townhall meeting as he campaigned for an $800 billion economic stimulus package being debated by lawmakers. "That makes no sense ... that is forcing a lot of people into foreclosure," Obama said. "This is a piece of legislation that I strongly support." CNBC Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2181871/posts#comment Mon, 9 Feb 2009 22:50:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131483/posts In July, when heating oil was approaching $5 a gallon and the so-called experts were saying crude was headed to $200 and beyond, millions of homeowners were flipping coins. Heads, they'd commit to pay $4.50 to $4.75 a gallon for heating oil this winter; tails, they'd gamble it wouldn't going to $6 as predicted. In Connecticut, heads came up about 200,000 times. And as soon as those homeowners signed contracts with their suppliers, crude prices crashed 60 percent in less than four months. Today, heating oil can be had for as little as $2.40, c.o.d. As awful as those contracts... Waterbury Republican-American http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2131483/posts#comment Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:13:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2080055/posts Iraq Cancels Six No-Bid Oil Deals United Press International 9/11/2008 URL: http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=66533 The Iraqi government said it has canceled six oil contracts with foreign companies that were awarded in June in a no-bid arrangement. One-year contracts with Shell, Chevron, Total, BP, ExxonMobil and others, meant to increase Iraqi oil production by a 500,000 barrels a day, were canceled after Democratic U.S. senators complained the deals could interfere with Iraqi efforts to pass an energy policy law and reach a revenue-sharing agreement among Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites, The New York Times reported Thursday. To go ahead with the no-bid contracts "would... RigZone http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2080055/posts#comment Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:56:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047766/posts Washington, D.C. - Here's a new reason for taxpayer dismay: There's increasing evidence that companies may be protesting government contract awards as a strategy to negotiate their way into contracts or to derail an award process already in place. ... In February, IBM protested the Federal Bureau of Investigation's award of a $1 billion contract to Lockheed Martin (nyse: LMT - news - people ). Big Blue dropped its dispute two months later when Lockheed announced it would use IBM as a subcontractor. Forbes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047766/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:27:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037305/posts Efforts by utility regulators to reopen costly long-term electricity supply contracts struck at the height of the California energy crisis were deflected by the U.S. Supreme Court in a ruling yesterday. The decision written by Justice Antonin Scalia sent the case back to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, with instructions to determine if the public interest was harmed by energy supply contracts signed in 2001. The case was filed by Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County, Wash., which entered into a long-term electricity supply contract with the Morgan Stanley Capital Group. As the crisis waned, prices dropped, but... San Diego Union - Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2037305/posts#comment Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:10:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002423/posts Iraq's Oil Ministry has approved 35 companies it will allow to bid for soon-to-be announced tenders to develop oil and gas fields. The largest oil companies in the world -- ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Conoco Phillips, Chevron -- all qualified, as did firms of a variety of sizes and nationalities. The announcement Monday on the ministry's Web site is a major move that could bring foreign oil companies en masse into Iraq since the third-largest oil sector in the world was nationalized three decades ago. It takes place as the ministry attempts to increase oil and gas production as a new... UPI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002423/posts#comment Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:59:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997399/posts BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. State Department's renewal of Blackwater's contract to provide security in Iraq "is bad news," an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said. Blackwater guards shot and killed 17 people, including women and children, last September, prompting an outcry and protest from Iraqi officials. "This is bad news," al-Maliki adviser Sami al-Askari said. "I personally am not happy with this, especially because they have committed acts of aggression, killed Iraqis, and this has not been resolved yet positively for families of victims." About 25,000 private contractors from three companies protect diplomats, reconstruction workers and... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997399/posts#comment Sun, 6 Apr 2008 01:29:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994850/posts International Business Machines Corp. has been temporarily banned from new business with the federal government and is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia over a contract awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency, the company said Monday. MarketWatch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994850/posts#comment Tue, 1 Apr 2008 03:01:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994984/posts SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - IBM is under investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over an $80 million bid it made in 2006 to modernize EPA financial systems and has been suspended from seeking new contracts with all U.S. agencies, the company said on Monday. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1994984/posts#comment Tue, 1 Apr 2008 18:27:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982738/posts Address only per protocol. www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080308/NEWS01/80308067 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982738/posts#comment Sun, 9 Mar 2008 04:38:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1965040/posts A big protest is planned for Monday afternoon, ahead of the latest public hearing on the proposed statewide tollway. Lots of landowners are upset about the state’s plan to build a tollway from Mexico to northeast Texas. There have already been several town hall meetings about the Trans-Texas Corridor. Most of the people who have spoken out about the plan say it will put them out of business. But state officials argue the tollway is necessary to keep up with the growing population in Texas. Monday’s meeting is being held in Huntsville. It starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Walker... KHOU.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1965040/posts#comment Tue, 5 Feb 2008 01:18:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1942485/posts Highways The Texas Department of Transportation plans to let contracts for $4.1 billion in construction in 2008 are in jeopardy after having to return around $950 million to Washington over the past 18 months. The mood in Austin is uncertain, although voters approved Proposition 12 in November, authorizing the next Texas Legislature in 2009 to issue up to $5 billion in bonds (paid from general revenue) to build highway projects. A required independent audit of the Texas Department of Transportation during 2007 recommended that the department “should continue to pursue Comprehensive Development Agreements (CDA) and toll pricing at levels that... Reed Construction Data http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1942485/posts#comment Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:03:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1925857/posts Billions of dollars are pouring into Iraq to fight the war and rebuild the country, and companies are vying for a piece of the action. In some cases, contractors paid kickbacks to military contracting officers to gain the upper hand. For Eric W. Barton of Tennessee, he may have had an Barton is accused of having an affair with Air Force Capt. Sherrie L. Remington, a former contracting officer in charge of awarding some of the lucrative work. The Army claims Barton used a six-month relationship with Remington to his advantage to win at least $2.5 million in contracts for... San Antonio Express News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1925857/posts#comment Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:34:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1913716/posts WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2007 – The Defense Department has let contracts for an additional 2,400 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, bringing the total number of the vehicles ordered to 8,800. “We’re going to do everything we can to get as many vehicles in theater as fast as we can,” a senior Pentagon official, speaking on background, said yesterday. The MRAP is designed to survive blasts from improvised explosive devices and armor-piercing IEDs known as explosively formed penetrators or projectiles, the main killers of American servicemembers in Iraq. The vehicles have a V-shaped hull that deflects shrapnel, providing more effective protection for... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1913716/posts#comment Fri, 19 Oct 2007 23:26:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1912888/posts BAGHDAD, Oct. 17 — Iraq has agreed to award $1.1 billion in contracts to Iranian and Chinese companies to build a pair of enormous power plants, the Iraqi electricity minister said Tuesday. Word of the project prompted serious concerns among American military officials, who fear that Iranian commercial investments can mask military activities at a time of heightened tension with Iran. THE NEW YORK TIMES http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1912888/posts#comment Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:17:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1904796/posts While waiting to be confirmed by the White House for a top civilian post at the Air Force last year, Charles D. Riechers was out of work and wanted a paycheck. So the Air Force helped arrange a job through an intelligence contractor that required him to do no work for the company, according to documents and interviews. For two months, Riechers held the title of senior technical adviser and received about $13,400 a month at Commonwealth Research Institute, or CRI, a nonprofit firm in Johnstown, Pa., according to his resume. But during that time he actually worked for Sue... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1904796/posts#comment Mon, 1 Oct 2007 12:20:31 GMT