September 26, 2005
More on Safavian
This Time excerpt on unqualified Bush Administration appointments pretty much sums it up. The only thing I can add is that no one was putting David Safavian down when he was the nominee to take over the job of federal procurement policy chief at the White House.... It was all "kiss, kiss" for him as he was about to take the reins and begin setting policy on how the government spends $300 billion on contracts and purchasing each year.
But, of course, courage and truthful candor is a rare commodity these days. People weren't prepared to speak their minds when Safavian was on the rise, but apparently, they are lining up to kick him now that he's down:
A dozen procurement experts interviewed by Time said he was the most unqualified person to hold the job since its creation in 1974. Nevertheless, Safavian's April 2004 confirmation hearing before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (attended by only five of the panel's 17 members) lasted just 67 minutes, and not a single question was asked about his qualifications.
Posted by davidphinney at 05:35 AM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2005
Small Fish Safavian May Lead to a Bigger Catch
The Associated Press reports an interesting insight on the arrest of David Safavian, the procurement policy director at the White House:
Investigators frequently seek to pressure minor players in complex federal probes as they build a case against their principal target. ''You squeeze that person and hope he flips as you work your way up to the top," said Kirby Behre, a former prosecutor now in private practice.
Safavian's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, a partner at the Washington firm Wiley, Rein and Fielding LLP, seems to agree, telling govexec.com:
"We think this is a creative use of the criminal code to try to secure Mr. Safavian's cooperation in other matters."
On Monday, the FBI busted and charged Safavian three days after he resigned from the White House. He faces charges of making false statements and obstructing a federal investigation relating to a 2002 golf outing to Scotland sponsored by lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Former Christian Coalition executive Ralph Reed, Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, and others also joing in the Scottish outing.
Additionally, Safavian is accused of using his former position as chief of staff at the General Services Administration to deliver GSA-managed land into the Abramoff's hands.
Abramoff is under investigation for lobbying activities on behalf of Indian tribes and his role in paying for overseas trips for House majority leader Tom DeLay. The Texas Republican has denied knowing that Abramoff paid the expenses.
Abramoff, a prominent Republican lobbyist, last month pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. Those charges relate to his dealings with Florida casinos. He and Safavian both worked at the law firm Preston Gates and Ellis in the mid-1990s.
Posted by davidphinney at 04:36 PM | Comments (0)
Frist's Stock Sales Investigated
Federal investigators are investigating stock sales made by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who just happened to sell millions of dollars in stock in his family's healthcare company last June before it fell in price two weeks later.
Frist has been regularly criticized for holding stock in the hospital firm HCA Inc., while directing legislation on Medicare reform and patient issues, but his office argued that his assets were in a blind trust and not under his active control.
Then again, maybe the blind trust is not that blind, according to news reports today:
Frist sold all of his HCA holdings about two weeks before the company issued a disappointing earnings forecast that drove its stock price sharply lower. Frist, who held an undisclosed amount of HCA stock in a blind trust, also asked that his wife and children's shares be sold. The value of the stock wasn't disclosed. Earlier this year, Frist reported holding blind trusts valued between $7 million and $35 million. -- Businessweek
The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting the probe into whether Frist had inside knowledge of problems at hospital firm HCA Inc., that led to his sales.
Frist, who is positioning for a possible presidential run in 2008, sold his shares at a time that a number of insiders at the hospital company were also selling off their shares.
His daddy, Thomas Frist, helped co-found HCA in 1968. It is now the biggest hospital chain in the country and Frist, 53, is thought to be the sixth richest among 94 U.S. senators, according to financial disclosure forms released by the Senate in June.
Posted by davidphinney at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)
Newspaper Layoffs and Coverage of the Poor
The old saying in journalism, "afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted," may be swiftly becoming a quaint phrase with no punch.
Jon Friedman, media reporter for Marketwatch, ponders "The politics of media industry layoffs."
If the publishers use their financial woes as an excuse to cut back on the coverage of disenfranchised people in America, it's going to be a very bad time to be poor.This is going to be a severe test for newspapers' commitment to serving the nation's underclass at a time when the executives would no doubt prefer to bask in the glow of the stellar reporting on Hurricane Katrina.
Well, duh. Afterall, look at the ranks of the top tier newspapers in the country. They are bloated with Ivy League graduates usually packing an additional and equally expensive master's degree. With that kind of affluent backing, what do you expect?
Posted by davidphinney at 03:42 PM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2005
Bush Official Arrested in Corruption Probe
The Washington Post reports today that the Bush Administration's chief architect of procurement policy, i.e., contracting, was arrested for dancing in the dark with Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff....
David H. Safavian, 38, worked just steps away from the White House at the Office of Management and Budget in the Old Executive Office Building. Before resigning Friday, he was consumed with relief projects for Hurricane Katrina.
He's an old buddy and lobbying partner of Grover Norquist's, another fellow wrapped up with Abramoff.
Abramoff and his two behind-the-scenes career partners, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, organized the rise of "DeLay, Inc.," by coercing corporations and their lobbyists (the "K Street Project") and whipping up religious fanatics (the Christian Coalition) for the money and muscle that bought DeLay his dictatorship over Congress.
I recall covering Safavian's Senate confirmation. One of his alleged strong points was his experience in working with Congress -- he was a staffer at one point in his short career. Apparently, Safavian was busy using that experience for the benefit of Abramoff as well, according the The Washington Post:
On July 22, 2002, Abramoff sent Safavian an e-mail with a proposed draft letter that "at least two members of Congress" could send to GSA supporting the lease, according to the affidavit. "Does this work, or do you want it to be longer?" Abramoff asked.
Posted by davidphinney at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)
September 19, 2005
Big Easy Privatization
Let's see. There will be some $200 billion in spending to rebuild the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and supervising the spending will be White House political advisor, Karl Rove.
Guess we will see some interesting contract awards along with what appears to be a big privatization program designed on suggestions from the Heritage Foundation, the same source of conservative experimentation that was attempted, and still being attempted, in Iraq.
Plans already in play for the Big Easy: waivers on environmental regs, eliminating capital gains taxes, cuts to the estate tax, school vouchers and private ownership of public school buildings in the disaster areas.
And then there is the rush to ditch prevailing wages, something that just may be illegal:
The Congressional Research Service reported late yesterday that President Bush's suspension of wage standards for workers in the Gulf Coast may have been illegal. Representative George Miller (D-CA) said today that the Bush Administration, in its rush to undermine workers' wages, may have done so without first declaring a national emergency, as the law requires.
Posted by davidphinney at 02:48 PM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2005
US Passes Tin Cup for Iraq Reconstruction
Now that the $18.4 billion for Iraq reconstruction has been largely spent or squandered (actually $24 billion) and the US Treasury is being hit with Katrina's aftermath, USAID is looking for donations to Iraq reconstruction projects.
Next up, a telethon. (Thanks to Charlie Cray).
The September 9 solicitation for donations follows directly on the heels of testimonty before Congress by Stuart Bowen, U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, who suggested there is no longer enough money for rebuilding Iraq.
"In order to complete the plan we initially developed, we'll need more money," Bowen told the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee on Sept. 7. "Whether that money can come from donor sources, World Bank loans or a supplemental is yet to be decided.
Bowen added that it was not the right time to ask for more money to finance Iraqi reconstruction while the disaster of Hurricane Katrina was still being appraised, but it was clear that more funding would be needed.
"It is an issue that we need to address at the right time," Bowen told Reuters after a hearing.
Posted by davidphinney at 07:44 PM | Comments (0)
September 06, 2005
New Orleans: A Second Disappearance of Atlantis
This morning's Washington Post reports that 1 million are now homeless because of Hurricane Katrina. I can't help thinking the swamping of New Orleans, a pivotal cultural Mecca for Americans, the birthplace of jazz and everything that very singular and long-lasting music represents, will never be what it was.
New Orleans may be rebuilt, but its people and their heritage are now spreading across the country. They will make new lives and many, perhaps most, may not return. The city now enters a greater mythology alongside Atlantis.
The vast scope of the calamity triggered by the storm was still emerging. Officials estimated that more than 1 million people -- many of whom fled with only the clothes on their back and a few prized possessions stuffed in a bag -- have been forced from their homes, most likely for many months.
I fear it may be many years.
Posted by davidphinney at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)
September 05, 2005
Opportunity Knocks for Joe Allbaugh
http://www.newbridgestrategies.com/bios.asp
January 2001: Bush appoints Joe Allbaugh, a crony from Texas, as head of
>FEMA. Allbaugh has no previous experience in disaster management.
>
>April 2001: Budget Director Mitch Daniels announces the Bush
>administration's goal of privatizing much of FEMA's work. In May,
>Allbaugh confirms that FEMA will be downsized: "Many are concerned that
>federal disaster assistance may have evolved into both an oversized
>entitlement program...." he said. "Expectations of when the federal
>government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have
>ballooned beyond what is an appropriate level."
>
>2001: FEMA designates a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as one of the
>three "likeliest, most catastrophic disasters facing this country."
>
>December 2002: After less than two years at FEMA, Allbaugh announces he is
>leaving to start up a consulting firm that advises companies seeking to do
>business in Iraq. He is succeeded by his deputy, Michael Brown, who, like
>Allbaugh, has no previous experience in disaster management.
>
March 2003: FEMA is downgraded from a cabinet level position and folded
>into the Department of Homeland Security. Its mission is refocused on
>fighting acts of terrorism.
>
>2003: Under its new organization chart within DHS, FEMA's preparation and
>planning functions are reassigned to a new Office of Preparedness and
>Response. FEMA will henceforth focus only on response and recovery.
>
>Summer 2004: FEMA denies Louisiana's pre-disaster mitigation funding
>requests. Says Jefferson Parish flood zone manager Tom Rodrigue: "You
>would think we would get maximum consideration....This is what the grant
>program called for. We were more than qualified for it."
>
>June 2004: The Army Corps of Engineers budget for levee construction in
>New Orleans is slashed. Jefferson Parish emergency management chiefs
>Walter Maestri comments: "It appears that the money has been moved in the
>president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I
>suppose that's the price we pay."
>
>June 2005: Funding for the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of
>Engineers is cut by a record $71.2 million. One of the hardest-hit areas
>is the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, which was created
>after the May 1995 flood to improve drainage in Jefferson, Orleans and St.
>Tammany parishes.
>
>August 2005: While New Orleans is undergoing a slow motion catastrophe,
>Bush mugs for the cameras, cuts a cake for John McCain, plays the guitar
>for Mark Wills, delivers an address about V-J day, and continues with his
>vacation. When he finally gets around to acknowledging the scope of the
>unfolding disaster, he delivers only a photo op on Air Force One and a
>flat, defensive, laundry list speech in the Rose Garden.
>
>A crony with no relevant experience was installed as head of
>FEMA. Mitigation budgets for New Orleans were slashed even though it was
>known to be one of the top three risks in the country. FEMA was
>deliberately downsized as part of the Bush administration's conservative
>agenda to reduce the role of government. After DHS was created, FEMA's
>preparation and planning functions were taken away.
>
>Actions have consequences. No one could predict that a hurricane the size
>of Katrina would hit this year, but the slow federal response when it did
>happen was no accident. It was the result of four years of deliberate
>Republican policy and budget choices that favor ideology and partisan
>loyalty at the expense of operational competence. It's the Bush
>administration in a nutshell.
Posted by davidphinney at 01:19 AM | Comments (0)
September 03, 2005
More to Pentagon's Top Watchdog Resigning
The Los Angeles Times digs a little deeper into the sudden resignation of the Pentagon's inspector general, reminding us of rising tensions between an influential Republican senator and the former inspector general who quit the Defense Department to join a high-profile Iraq contractor.
Rather than regurgitate the usual bye-bye press release of Inspector General Joseph E. Schmitz, reporter T. Christian Miller finds that Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is leading a congressional inquiry to determine if Schmitz had blocked two criminal investigations last year.
"I am writing to inform you that I intend to conduct an oversight investigation into allegations that you either quashed or redirected two ongoing criminal investigations last year," Grassley said in a July 7 letter obtained by The Times.
Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is reported to be concerned about two questionable Schmitz probes. One deals with the criminal investigations in which Schmitz allegedly intervened involved John A. "Jack" Shaw.
Shaw, the former deputy undersecretary of Defense for international technology security, was found to have tried to manipulate a lucrative contract in Iraq in 2004 to favor a telecommunications company whose board included a close friend, The Times found last year after talking with former workers of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
Grassley's second concern is whether or not Schmitz interfered with testimony by Mary L. Walker, general counsel for the Air Force, on invetigations involving either the Air Force Academy or Boeing Co.
-------
Relations between Grassley and Schmitz began getting rocky in February 2003 when I did a series involving whistleblower Ken Pedeleose from the Defense Contract Management Agency in Marietta, Ga. Pedeleose had found that Lockheed Martin purposefully used false information to justify excessive prices for airplane parts on the C-5. The guy spent more than a year to get someone's attention to correct the fraud and he was convinced that Schmidt had turned a blind eye to his complaint.
Grassley, a champion of exposing goverment waste and a strong ally to whistleblowers, told me at the time in November 2003: "I have the utmost confidence in the Inspector General."
Grassley's confidence began erroding when Schmidt ignored the findings of his own investigative staff that Lockheed used false pricing data. Schmidt preferred to call on the Defense Department auditors in his Feb. 23, 2003 report on the matter to "maintain vigilance."
Gassley fired off a letter the following day charging that the Schmidt's conclusions were "weak and incomplete," noting that Defense Department auditors "have a long-standing reputation for turning a blind eye to contractor rip-offs."
Schmit's findings also left whistleblower Ken Pedelose, who successfully blew the whistle on the C-130J program some months later, twisting in the wind:
"The IG ignored its own [DCIS] investigators that found there was fraud in 2001," said Pedeleose, who believes he has ruined his career and lost any chance for promotion because of his fight over the C-5 parts. "Fraud is staring them in the face, and nothing is done to stop it. Urging continued vigilance is mush." -- Federal Times, April 5, 2004
Meanwhile Reuters sat down with Schmidt for a little chat about the need for a culture change at the Pentagon when doing business with contractors.
Posted by davidphinney at 05:37 PM | Comments (0)
September 02, 2005
Why the Levee Broke: The War in Iraq?
Interesting connection by columnist Will Bunch. Funding cuts for upgrading the levees in 2004 as the cost of Iraq continued climbing, the president requested less than 20 percent of what the Army Corps of Engineers wanted for bolstering the walls along Lake Pontchartrain.
According to a Feb. 16, 2004, New Orleans CityBusiness story, that Bunch dug up:
The $750 million Lake Pontchartrain and Vicinity Hurricane Protection project is another major Corps project, which remains about 20% incomplete due to lack of funds, said Al Naomi, project manager. That project consists of building up levees and protection for pumping stations on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Orleans, St. Bernard, St. Charles and Jefferson parishes.The Lake Pontchartrain project is slated to receive $3.9 million in the president's 2005 budget. Naomi said about $20 million is needed.
"The longer we wait without funding, the more we sink," he said. "I've got at least six levee construction contracts that need to be done to raise the levee protection back to where it should be (because of settling). Right now I owe my contractors about $5 million. And we're going to have to pay them interest."
Of course, it's too late now to fix that now.
Posted by davidphinney at 09:36 PM | Comments (0)