FEMA Contracting Failure

[Matthew Fleharty]

In case everyone is avoiding the "news" after the Truth Decay discussion, I just wanted to share some recent reports where contracting is currently in the crosshairs:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/us/fema-contract-puerto-rico.html

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/06/us/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-meals/index.html

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-puertorico-meals/fema-contractor-did-not-deliver-millions-of-puerto-rico-meals-lawmakers-idUSKBN1FQ2OP

[Guest Vern Edwards]

FEMA, created in 1979, is an agency with a long, long, long history of contracting problems and scandals. I feel sorry for them. They have mission impossible. See this:

https://www.npr.org/documents/2006/feb/katrina/house_report/katrina_report_full.pdf

The discussion of contracting and logistics begins on page 319. The problems were already old when that report was issued in 2006. There were congressional hearings on FEMA contracting abuses in the 1980s. 

It is insane to rely on our archaic and complicated federal contracting system and process for disaster relief. The real story is that if the U.S. suffers a major catastrophe, like the expected major earthquake and tsunami on the west coast or a nuclear attack on one of our large cities by North Korea, our incompetent federal government will struggle to help the survivors.

[bob7947]

This is just getting started.  You can find my post on the Home Page or here.

[Matthew Fleharty]

Just for fun, I looked up Tribute Contracting (DUNS: 079098386) in the System for Award Management and there was/is an exclusion covering the period of 08 Jan 2016 through 07 Jan 2019; however, the additional comments state the exclusion is effective within Government Printing Office (GPO) only.

I don't know about others, but a reasonable Contracting Officer should do more due diligence when they see an active exclusion regardless of the exclusion's inapplicability to one's agency.  Mission impossible or not, that is common sense.