> Do you know what the federal procedures are for bidding on a contract during emergencies?
Good question. I checked directly with FEMA because each agency has their own twist to the federal quidelines. I forgot how difficult it was to make sense of gov't legalize. I don't know why provision A was deleted:
""Procurement by non-competitive proposals may be used only when the award of a contract is infeasible under small purchase procedures, sealed bids, or competitive proposals and one of the following circumstances applies:
(A) .......
(B) The public exigency or emergency of the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from competitive solicitation." (44 CFR Part 13.36(d)(4)(1)(B))."
Staff of the Office of General Counsel and the Office of the Inspector General have expressed concern that contracts are being awarded under this section without an understanding of the requirement. Simply stated, non-competitive contracts can be awarded only if the emergency is such that the contract award cannot be delayed by the amount of time required to obtain competitive bidding.
FEMA's division of disaster work into "emergency" and "permanent" is generally based on the period of time during which the work is to be performed, and not on the urgency of that work. Therefore, the award of non-competitive contracts cannot be justified on the basis of "emergency work", as defined by FEMA.
In some situations, such as clearing road for emergency access (moving debris off the driving surface to the shoulders or rights-of-way), or removal of debris at a specific site, awarding a non-competitive contract for site-specific work may be warranted; however, normally, non-competitive bid awards should not be made several days (or weeks) after the disaster or for long-term debris removal. Obviously, the latter situations do not address a public exigency or emergency which "will not permit a delay resulting from competitive solicitation".
Regarding competitive solicitations, applicants can use an expedited process for obtaining competitive bids. In the past, applicants have developed a scope-of-work, identified contractors that can do the work, made telephone invitations for bids, and received excellent competitive bids. Again, applicants must comply with State and local bidding requirements.
Please remind applicants that no contractor has the authority to make determinations as to eligibility, determinations of acceptable emergency contracting procedures, or definitions of emergency work. Such determinations are to be made by FEMA.
64.233.179.104
Essentially, they are saying that something that's needed asap can be bypassed in the competitive bidding process........such as debris removal on an important highway, or if some kind of emergency shelter needs to be set up immediately to house victims. However, if its something that is not immediate, then it must go to competitive bidding. This clarification briefing was issued in 1/2001. I suspect FEMA employees were abusing the system and not going to competitive bidding as much as required. Of course, this was before Bush began replacing the FEMA professionals with his friends.
Now here are some of the contracts awarded so far without competitive bidding. Based on the FEMA clarification up above, all the highlighted ones should have gone to competitive bidding:
"REBUILDING CONTRACTS
Fluor and Louisiana-based Shaw Group (SGR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday they have received $100 million emergency contracts from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency for housing management and construction, part of a broad effort to house Katrina's evacuees while shattered cities like New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi, are cleaned up and rebuilt.
Shaw Group also got a $100 million order on Friday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help recovery and rebuilding jobs.
FEMA also awarded contracts to CH2M Hill, of Denver, Dewberry Technologies, of Fairfax, Virginia, and the Bechtel National Inc. unit of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp.
Halliburton Co.'s (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Kellogg Brown & Root Services unit in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday received $29.8 million in Pentagon contracts for rebuilding jobs at Navy bases in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Fluor is heading up operations for a new Housing Area Command set up by FEMA and is working with ESS Compass Group, which specializes in housing, catering and support services, and other subcontractors to take on the rebuilding.
"We're leasing empty fields from farmers, back lots of shopping centers and other open areas and we have to have power, sewage and water services," Boeckmann told Reuters.
Asked if Fluor was concerned about reports that some top FEMA officials had little experience in handling disasters, Boeckmann said Fluor "has worked well with FEMA and we have a lot of confidence in the agency."
Boeckmann said "the scope of the (Gulf Coast) tragedy is hard to fathom."
today.reuters.com
Now catch what Fluor is saying in the same article........how frigging convenient:
"A slowing of reconstruction work in Iraq has freed up people for Fluor Corp. to begin rebuilding in the U.S. Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina, the big engineering and construction company's chairman and chief executive said on Friday."
And one last point..........whenever a company gets a contract for work or big buyer of its product, it puts out a press release. Its good PR for the company and the stock. However, when Halliburtion got awarded a contract in the Gulf states, it didn't put out a press release. Apparently, they were not that proud of their newest windfall under Bush.
Its clear now why Bush asked for $52 billion in one fell swoop.......normally, they ask for a series of allotments: they spend one and then go back and get the second one and so on and so on..........however, this time is different. This disaster is going to be the biggest pig party for industry that the US has ever seen in its history. ;~)
ted |
