First Katrina recovery contracts go to Bush friends

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have been given huge contracts to start recovery work

 

[Random]

WHAT!?!?!

Large scale government contracts are being given to friends of the administration? I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you!

There is going to have to be a lot of money spent on the reconstruction of NOLA, and I'm sure that Bushco is already looking for every way to sqeeze a penny out of it.

I sometimes wonder how much money it would take to get rid of them. If we just asked them, "How much would I have to pay for you and your cronies to just get up and leave the country and never return? Just looking for the precise dollar amount."

 

[peptoabysmal]

From the link on the first post:

On Friday, Kellogg Brown and Root received $29.8 million in Pentagon contracts to begin rebuilding Navy bases in Louisiana and Mississippi. A Halliburton spokesman said the work was covered under a contract that the company negotiated before Allbaugh was hired.

This contract was secured before Hurricane Katrina.

FEMA also selected Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., to provide short-term housing for people left homeless by the hurricane. President Bush named Bechtel's CEO to his Export Council and put the former CEO of Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

Could this possibly have any more levels of indirection?

"The lucrative contract is going to a man President once brushed against in a hallway"

 

[Art Vandelay]

Yes, but it isn't it a bit suspicious that someone who once held a job dealing with disasters has been hired to deal with a disaster?



And is it just me, or does these people have serious English language deficiencies? Here a quote from the article:

At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have been given huge contracts to start recovery work in the Gulf Coast states hit by hurricane Katrina.

What does that mean? Does "President Bush's former campaign manager" refer to "two major corporate clients" or "Joe Allbaugh"? Does "former head of FEMA" refer to "two major corporate clients", "Joe Allbaugh" or "former campaign manager"? Did they even bother reading what they wrote to see if it made sense?

 

[Meadmaker]

Could this possibly have any more levels of indirection?

"The lucrative contract is going to a man President once brushed against in a hallway"

I think Bechtel has somewhat closer ties to the Bush administration than this. Somehow, they managed to get the largest civilian contract of any in Iraq. (680 million, to get the power and water back on. How's that one coming along guys? I know. It's not your fault.) Maybe one of their board members, a Mr. George Schultz, helped.

Actually, it's fun to find what you can turn up from a google search. I didn't know some of this.

http://www.tierramerica.net/2003/0609/igrandesplumas.shtml

The executives at Bechtel have thirsted for control over Iraq for over 20 years. In 1983 Donald Rumsfeld, Reagan administration ''special Middle East envoy'', met with Hussein to discuss a massive pipeline project proposed by Bechtel. Hussein eventually rejected the Bechtel proposal. Now again Donald Rumsfeld has ''taken care of business'' for Bechtel. As secretary of defence, he has overseen the war to remove the obstacle and Bechtel is rolling in.

Here's a rather cynical note, but you have to admit they were correct in their predictions:

http://xymphora.blogspot.com/2005/09/public-good-and-economics-of-disaster.html

They had about a week to shore up the levees, evacuate the poor, and prepare for disaster management. They knew all the details of the full scope of the disaster, and the official warnings were as bleak as any official warnings can be. They didn't try to do anything. Bush golfed and pretended to play guitar. Since the funding, manpower, and equipment that would normally be used for such purposes was in Iraq, trying to do something constructive would only have embarrassed them, so they just relaxed and let it happen. Needless to say, the next step will be the announcement of billions of dollars of reconstruction contracts for Halliburton and Bechtel, thus proving that Bush really does care. Disaster is another opportunity to make money, while trying to stop disaster is just a drain on public finances.

The awarding of these sorts of contracts to Bechtel and Haliburton seems like a bad joke to me, but of course it isn't.

For what it's worth, and for those who don't know, Bechtel works on huge construction projects. They build dams, and water treatment plants, and the Big Dig in Boston.

Is housing disaster victims that sort of project? FEMA thinks so, apparently, and FEMA thinks Bechtel is just the company to do it.

I have my doubts.

 

[ShowMe]

Shouldn't the overriding question be, "Are these the right companies to do the job?"

Seems to me someone who has been in the business of politics is going to have had some connection, somewhere, with an awful lot of businessmen.

If they're the ones that can get the job done then what does it matter? Should a President have to go with an lesser qualified company because his father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate now works for a company that can get the job done?

 

[Manny]

WHAT!?!?!

Large scale government contracts are being given to friends of the administration? I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you!

It's much much worse than that. Large scale contracts are going to large scale contractors! Scandal, I tell you!

For whatever it's worth, here's a list of the 25 largest general contractors, listed by 2004 revenue. (source)

Bechtel, San Francisco, Calif.
KBR, Houston, Texas
Centex, Dallas, Texas
Fluor Corp., Aliso Viejo, Calif.
The Turner Corp., Dallas, Texas
Skanska USA Inc., Whitestone, N.Y.
Kiewit Corp., Omaha, Neb.
Bovis Lend Lease, New York, N.Y.
Clark Construction Group LLC, Bethesda, Md.
Washington Group International, Boise, Idaho
Jacobs, Pasadena, Calif.
The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Baltimore, Md.
Gilbane Building Co., Providence, R.I.
PCL Construction Enterprises, Denver, Colo.
The Shaw Group Inc., Baton Rouge, La.
Granite Construction Inc., Watsonville, Calif.
Structure Tone Inc., New York, N.Y.
Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Greeley, Colo.
APAC, Atlanta, Ga.
The Walsh Group, Chicago, Ill.
Foster Wheeler Ltd., Clinton, N.J.
CB&I, The Woodlands, Texas
Swinerton Inc., San Francisco, Calif.
Perini Corp., Framingham, Mass.
J.E. Dunn Group, Kansas City, Mo.

Some have different specialties, and there are some companies which are not this big but which have specialties the super-big guys don't which will get contracts (dredging companies come especially to mind right now). And of course some regional players will get some general contracts. But generally one can expect to see the folks in the list above winning the biggest contracts.

The construction industry generally gave 72% of its political contributions to Republicans during the last election cycle (so sayeth opensecrets.org), so I imagine that it's probably not exactly brain surgery to define most of the companies getting contracts as "Bush friends."

 

[BPSCG]

For whatever it's worth, here's a list of the 25 largest general contractors, listed by 2004 revenue. (source)

Bechtel, San Francisco, Calif.
KBR, Houston, Texas
Centex, Dallas, Texas
Fluor Corp., Aliso Viejo, Calif.
The Turner Corp., Dallas, Texas

Hmmm... three out of five of the biggest general contractors are from Texas.

Very suspicious.

Of course, if Hillary Clinton were president, I could point out instead that four of the top twenty are from New York and Illinois.

The real question here is, how many of these companies are minority-owned? Why aren't racist Bush and his racist cronies hiring them?

 

[Manny]

Of course, if Hillary Clinton were president, I could point out instead that four of the top twenty are from New York and Illinois.

Oh yeah, the same crap happened from the other side during the Clinton presidency. "Ooh, x firm which just got a contract/evaded prosecution/whatever was a client of the Rose Law Firm and did banking business with the politically connected Stevens Inc. I call shenanigans." Yeah, no shoot, Sherlock. Find me a list of halfway decent sized companies in the south that didn't do business with Rose and/or Stephens.

 

[aerocontrols]

President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have been given huge contracts to start recovery work

From your story:

One of the companies is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton.

Well spun, CBC. Let's try that again, only this time we'll check around first...

One of the companies is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a former head of Halliburton. Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman Jim Bernhard is the current CEO of Shaw Group Inc.

I know, it muddies up the clear-cut theme of the story, but sometimes that happens, I guess. It might also be helpful (since the CBC mentions that KBR has been awarded $30 million in contracts) to point out that Shaw's current contracts total $200 million.

An even better move by the CBC would be to try to point out some construction company big enough to handle the big jobs that need to be done that doesn't have connections to the Bush Administration or Louisiana politicians. If they can.

 

[Mark]

Re: Re: First Katrina recovery contracts go to Bush friends

From your story:



Well spun, CBC. Let's try that again, only this time we'll check around first...




I know, it muddies up the clear-cut theme of the story, but sometimes that happens, I guess. It might also be helpful (since the CBC mentions that KBR has been awarded $30 million in contracts) to point out that Shaw's current contracts total $200 million.

In what possible way does that make the malfeasance any better?

What would help would be if the American people stop electing these people. But party loyalists on both sides will continue to excuse this crap as long as their guys are the ones doing it. Loyalty to Party is destroying this country from within.

 

[aerocontrols]

In what possible way does that make the malfeasance any better?

What would help would be if the American people stop electing these people. But party loyalists on both sides will continue to excuse this crap as long as their guys are the ones doing it. Loyalty to Party is destroying this country from within.

I've not seen evidence of any malfeasance. (I was suggesting a way that the CBC could have written their story more truthfully. I'm sorry if that wasn't clear.) Is it your position that the government should only spend money at firms that refuse to hire government employees? And also that people who work for potential government contractors should stay out of government?

What's the 'bad thing' that you want to end, here? The word 'cronyism' comes to mind, of course, but I'm really looking for something specific.

 

[Mark]

I've not seen evidence of any malfeasance. (I was suggesting a way that the CBC could have written their story more truthfully. I'm sorry if that wasn't clear.) Is it your position that the government should only spend money at firms that refuse to hire government employees? And also that people who work for potential government contractors should stay out of government?

What's the 'bad thing' that you want to end, here? The word 'cronyism' comes to mind, of course, but I'm really looking for something specific.

Rule of thumb: if a politician has ties with a corporation, that corporation should not be awarded government contracts. Period. Especially when the politician involved, has a direct role in the decision making process.

Let's put it this way...at the city council level, such connections are usually illegal when awarding contracts.

The Cheney/Halliburton/Iraq contracts link is obscene.

I am not aware of Shaw and Jim Bernhard, but if it is as you say, then it is just as bad.

 

[Manny]

Rule of thumb: if a politician has ties with a corporation, that corporation should not be awarded government contracts. Period. Especially when the politician involved, has a direct role in the decision making process.

Then where should we get our politicians from? Isn't a successful business leader a pretty good place? In particular, ought not people be allowed to choose successful business leaders if that's what they want to do? And if they make that choice, why should the officeholder's former company have to suffer a loss of business as a result? Not everybody has the luxury of our Mayor Bloomberg, who solved any potential conflict of interest problem by simply giving away his product to city employees who might have use for it.

 

[Mark]

Then where should we get our politicians from? Isn't a successful business leader a pretty good place? In particular, ought not people be allowed to choose successful business leaders if that's what they want to do? And if they make that choice, why should the officeholder's former company have to suffer a loss of business as a result? Not everybody has the luxury of our Mayor Bloomberg, who solved any potential conflict of interest problem by simply giving away his product to city employees who might have use for it.

Please. The very fact that Cheney had $31,000,000 shoved up his bum by Halliburton should have immediately disqualified him from national office. It invites corruption. As has been proven in Iraq.

And, no, I do not think being a successful (or unsuccessful) business leader necessarily qualifies one for public office. And neither do you; if you did, you wouldn't be such a supporter of Bush. He was a lousy business leader.

 

[aerocontrols]

Rule of thumb: if a politician has ties with a corporation, that corporation should not be awarded government contracts. Period.

I don't like your rule of thumb.

 

[Mark]

I don't like your rule of thumb.

There's a surprise.

 

[headscratcher4]

It is inevitable that some one is going to make money out of this disaster and, like in Iraq, I think that companies with particularly strong ties to the Administration should get the most out of it...I mean, how would it look if a company with no ties to the Administration got the contracts? I would worry that there would be no accountability. I mean, just look at this Administration's track record of accountability in Iraq and now with Katrina...when something doesn't go right, the Administration steps up to the plate, gets rid of the incompetent or offending official, fixes the problem and restores the trust of the American people in their vision and management skills. It will be the same way with these companies...if there is any over-charging or mis-appropriation of funds or padding of contracts, I feel certain that not only will this Administration hold their friend to the highest possible standards, but that it will move swiftly to not only take responsiblity for errors but to also deal effectively with any problems. God bless them.

 

[Mark]

It is inevitable that some one is going to make money out of this disaster and, like in Iraq, I think that companies with particularly strong ties to the Administration should get the most out of it...I mean, how would it look if a company with no ties to the Administration got the contracts? I would worry that there would be no accountability. I mean, just look at this Administration's track record of accountability in Iraq and now with Katrina...when something doesn't go right, the Administration steps up to the plate, gets rid of the incompetent or offending official, fixes the problem and restores the trust of the American people in their vision and management skills. It will be the same way with these companies...if there is any over-charging or mis-appropriation of funds or padding of contracts, I feel certain that not only will this Administration hold their friend to the highest possible standards, but that it will move swiftly to not only take responsiblity for errors but to also deal effectively with any problems. God bless them.

 

[Ed]

It is inevitable that some one is going to make money out of this disaster and, like in Iraq, I think that companies with particularly strong ties to the Administration should get the most out of it...I mean, how would it look if a company with no ties to the Administration got the contracts? I would worry that there would be no accountability. I mean, just look at this Administration's track record of accountability in Iraq and now with Katrina...when something doesn't go right, the Administration steps up to the plate, gets rid of the incompetent or offending official, fixes the problem and restores the trust of the American people in their vision and management skills. It will be the same way with these companies...if there is any over-charging or mis-appropriation of funds or padding of contracts, I feel certain that not only will this Administration hold their friend to the highest possible standards, but that it will move swiftly to not only take responsiblity for errors but to also deal effectively with any problems. God bless them.

I hates 'em. Hates 'em all.