Merchant “burned” by no-bid Pentagon buys + Open Thread
By NoQuarter on December 19, 2007 at 4:00 PM in DoD, Soldiers/Veterans
From the Seattle Times, which has been doing an investigative series on no-bid contracts and earmarks, “Lawmakers play favorites; local merchant loses out“:
Doug Hoschek sells the Army’s elite Special Forces a T-shirt that resists burning — a feature that can save the lives of soldiers under fire.
He wanted to sell his creation to the Marines, as well. Working out of his Sammamish home, the seasoned garment maker toiled for months preparing to bid.
But Hoschek was stunned to learn recently that another company, InSport International, snagged the T-shirt contracts without having to compete. [...]
The lobbying worked, despite a flaw with InSport’s synthetic T-shirt. It melts to the skin under intense heat, causing serious burns. As a result, Marines are forbidden from wearing the shirts in combat.
More from the story:
Earmarks, he said, cheat businesses that play by the rules. They not only deprive the military of getting the best price, he said, but can saddle soldiers with inferior products that politicians handpick.
It’s not supposed to work that way. Federal law requires that all military contracts, even earmarks, be offered through competitive bidding. Exceptions are allowed in those few cases in which the military has an urgent need or the product is unique.
But in case after case, The Seattle Times found, earmark contracts were awarded without competition.
Agency officials often believe they have no choice. Congress controls the size and makeup of their budgets. So government agencies have a stake in keeping lawmakers happy and in keeping their pork-barrel projects intact.
Federal workers who do try to follow federal procurement laws can come under pressure if, in going by the book, they anger members of Congress, said Sandra Sieber, former director of the Army Contracting Agency.
“It’s a difficult choice,” she said.
Such was the case of a top Pentagon officer, Cheryl Roby, who didn’t give a $2 million earmark to a company selected by former California Congressman Randall “Duke” Cunningham.
Cunningham summoned her to his office, scolded her for “not executing my vision,” and later tried to get her fired.
As a result of Cunningham’s threats, a Roby underling began routinely asking congressional appropriations staffers which company was supposed to be rewarded with each earmark, according to court documents. … (Read all.)
What else is on your minds? What else have you read today?
susan … an excellent article as usual. i can relate to the disappointment Mr. Hoschek must be feeling … i prepared numerous RFPs in my professional life … contracting with the federal government can be the biggest pain in the ass one can imagine … the process is tedious, sadistic and arcane at best. then to find out that a competitor can circumvent the process becuase of political favoritism … if it were me i would be insanely angry.
i hope this little guy gets justice somehow!
Thank you!
Perhaps the prominent Seattle Times article will help this man get the contracts he deserves. Our Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell — as well as my excellent Congressman Norm Dicks (who’s heavily involved in military matters and on the House appropriations committees) — will definitely see this story about him, and that should help him.
Let’s guess the county of origin where the melting shirts were manufactured.
Probably where almost all t-shirts come from these days.
My daughter is on a constant quest to find goods not made in China, and it’s tough, but she does it. She even found some kitchen towels made in France the other day.
And I found deodorant made in France … it scares me to death to think of using hand lotion, soaps, deodorants, etc. made in China. God only knows what adulterated or “fake” ingredients goes into them, and I’m sure they’re not tested by the nearly non-existent, starving-for-money-and-staff federal consumer safety commission.
::::
Glad at least our special forces get the safe t-shirts. But the Marines need them too. And I wonder how much of their uniforms and equipment is flame-resistant.
I’m scared of stuff made in the USA too, such as hamburgers, lettuce, etc. Bush has gutted all the regulatory agencies and installed industry cronies to head them. The tainted Chinese products would have a much tougher time entering the country if the Bushies were actually doing their jobs.
No. While oversight is poor in this country, if we had the proper number of inspectors, there’d be no problem getting it done. Or at least regular inspections — there’s never a way to 100% guarantee consumer safety, but it definitely can be done to minimize problems greatly. And we have a fairly open press that can report on the results of inspections.
I’ve read a lot about what goes on in China, and before U.S. inspectors can check their factories and ingredients, the Chinese hide everything, even close down the factory. The factory’s workers and managers disappear, and there’s no one to interview, and nothing left to inspect.
And the press in China is not permitted to report on violations and problems in Chinese factories.
Which means that we’d have to have inspectors at all of the docks in the U.S. to catch every Chinese product that comes in — billions of items annually — and the manpower required would be overwhelming — and the number of tests, per product, that would have to be run to guarantee safety would be exhorbitantly expensive.
I just hope nobody here buys shrimp or most fish sold in supermarkets. Almost ALL shrimp comes from China and nearby countries. The NYTimes did an outstanding investigative piece last week that will make you ill. The waters are so loaded with pollutants that the fish and shrimp can’t survive, so they are loaded up with carcinogenic veterinary medicines to keep them alive until they can be killed.
Thanks Susan. I’ll have to do my homework.
My guess is Tom Deley’s sweatshop? Were they Monogrammed?
Great point. Has anything been done yet about those sweatshops? (And who was it at Daily Kos who stayed on that story, posting new diaries all the time to keep the story in front of people? Forget the person’s nickname there.)
The latest date on the surface is an entry from June of 2006. Congressman Miller. I emailed his office to inquire after this, since his name comes up repeatedly.
http://www.house.gov/georgemiller/sweatshops.html
“Results 1 - 10 of about 117,000 for Tom Deley’s sweatshop.”
Well done Susan.
He certainly has my sympathy: the Federal procurement system, particularly for goods and services intended for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, is hopelessly corrupt.
But, in the interest of fairness, it’s largely driven by a corrupt Congress, and its members addiction to earmarks. I wouldn’t let Representative Dicks or Senator Murray off lightly, either. While they’ve done some good work, you need to balance that with the obviously despicable conduct they and Representative Baird engaged in when they collectively forced the US Navy and US Coast Guard to purchase more than $ 17 million dollars worth of ships that neither service wanted.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003948586_favorfactory14m.html
Slightly more than $ 46 thousand dollars in campaign contributions from Guardian Marine International, an Edmonds-based shipbuilder, certainly paid off handsomely for that firm. Fundamentally, the issues are quite similar.
Incidentally, members of the Oregon delegation should not be let off the hook either, as Senators Smith and Widen, along with Representatives Hooley and Woo all supported the award to Insport International, though only Woo has received what can only be considered ‘in kind’ campaign contributions—some $ 8,850 to date—subsequent to the award.
Repeat after me: the members of Congress have no $%^&*(* business selecting any company, under any circumstances whatsoever, for any Federal contract. Ever. You want fundamental fairness? End the practice of awarding contracts to constituents and contributors. Completely.
Until that’s done, all the rest of this is just a matter of pointing fingers, calling names and saying the behavior of one group is worse than that of another. It’s all bad.
Great point. This is a story that affects both sides.
You wrote: ” End the practice of awarding contracts to constituents and contributors. Completely.”
Who instead would you have do the procurement selection?
Good question. I’ve often joked that with the collapse of the Soviet Union the Pentagon became the world’s largest centrally planned economy. It has many of the foibles of the Soviet system: egregious waste, woodenheaded policies that are rigorously enforced, and unrealistic goals. I don’t mean to say that these always happen, but they certainly happen a lot.
Used properly, earmarks would be a way of giving interesting technologies or concepts a chance to be tried out. I don’t know if the boats in that article were useful or not - I suspect that they weren’t, but if they were it’s still quite possible the Navy would have ignored them.
There probably needs to be some limit on earmarks. There’s certainly potential for abuse. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t want to give up the ability to do an end run around the system, either.
Just another quick thought…
Q: What is the difference between a campaign contribution to a member of Congress and a bribe?
A: Campaign contributions must, by law, be reported to the Federal Elections Commission.
So who watches the so-called watchdogs?
Anyone interested in signing Congressman Wexler’s petition to impeach Cheney…?
go here…
http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/
There and Back.
Glad you posted it again … I posted it on Saturday, but it’s good to keep putting it up.
Have you all signed Wexler’s petition?
Its over 112,000 as of about noon MST..
You can go here…..www.wexlerwantshearings.com
I also just spoke to his staff in DC. The goal is for him to present sometime after the first of the year all these signatures to the John Conyers and his fellow members of the House Judiciary Committee.
This is VERY VERY important and could build a fire under nancy’s ass and get Impeachment back on the Table.
Pleas sign this if you haven’t already and then pass it on to all your friends.
There’s nothing I can see that distinguishes the burn threshold for the other set of fire resistant materials, in two different instances.
He has a lighter on his flame resistant material, we’re then informed the other material is flame resistant to similar specs. but at different levels is not.
Does his material meet the same standard?
There’s no definition specifically saying what “intense heat” is, and there’s no distinction from the other product to satisfy claims of protection vs. that scale of heat, either.
There’s no basis for comparison with Outdoor Research, whose product was not claimed to be deficient. By placing its bid process in proximity to a prior product which meets a perceived unsafe range of tolerance for items we’re not told what industry standards exist for, we are led to believe it’s a case of both being the examples of potential negligence.
Immediacy seems to be the priority past that, and the product is also sourced within the state that homes a base for equipment needed by Special Forces.
One would assume items that meet quality specs from within one’s state would be desired foremost.
Trying to place bids for those items requested through established channels next to ones whose safety thresholds may or may not be within the range for maximum exposure safety is being a bit of a reach, without clarification it sounds like a hit piece.
Was anyone else found guilty like Rep. Duke Cunningham(R-CA) was? Since a Republican was caught taking bribes his name goes along that of Democrats?
I’d think that Spokane residents would be thrilled to learn their Senators satisfied a military contract with a product made in their town. It’s what you do for constituents. So, does the company who lost the bid specify wrongdoing, or make a vague claim that the writer lets stand?
Paragon of virtue Tom Coburn decides to decry against earmarks, yet when the 109th Congress was in session no bids were accepted, cloture was the motive of operation. Suddenly the minority member sees the light and decries its use.
Has he foregone all earmarks usage for his state?
The final item bears emphasis though, if there’s a product made that satisfies thermal needs and is fireproof, why has it not been purchased? Has the company established that such products are indeed available and satisfy the claims they adhere to for safety, can those claims be proven, have they been, is the item marketed to the point it can be delivered promptly and to the level needed, and finally is the product made in the USA?
Should Congress forgo all earmarks and leave it up to the good graces of other government appointed positions, or even the Executive, to spend the money as they see fit?
“But InSport tried and failed to make a fire-resistant T-shirt that Marines could use in battle.”
Did the same claim get met by the other product? There’s no direct quote by the man saying so. Is his simply a nice shirt with limited fire resistance being met by a shirt with similar capacities made in the Sen.’s state, or is it that much different?
Perhaps a review of the vetting process that the Pentagon uses would be in order if they end up being a determinant. Military needs, timeliness, working under the assumption of minimum compliance, all should be looked at closely.
Otherwise we might have a pretty well shaped PR piece, it seems quite unusual no sitting Republicans are named as ethically challenged, yet several who have made their share of inundated statements are listed.
In either event this deserves closer scrutiny.
Ironically, when the Pentagon’s acquisitions process works as it’s supposed to, it can answer many of these sorts of questions. The main point I get from Susan’s article is that this should have been bid competitively, which I agree is true. An RFP, followed by a properly defined testing process, would have answered the questions you’re raising. Instead, it was sole-sourced via an earmark.
It’s quite possible that no product would really have performed satisfactorally. In that case, if the RFP was written correctly, no contract need have been awarded.
Here is an interesting quote…
“The truth is that no nation can be constantly prepared to undertake a full-scale war at any moment and still hope to maintain any of the other purposes in which people are interested and for which nations are founded.
In the first place, it requires a complete surrender of liberty and the turning over to the central government of power to control in detail the lives of
the people and all of their activities.
While in time of war people are willing to surrender those liberties in order to protect the ultimate liberty of the entire country, they do so on the theory that it is a limited surrender and one which they hope will soon be over, perhaps within a few months, certainly within a few years. But an indefinite surrender of liberty such as would be required by an all-out war program in time of peace might mean the final and complete destruction of those liberties which it is the very purpose of the preparation to protect.”
Sound like a sane foreign policy?
It from Mr. Republican, Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, also known as Mr. Republican in his 1951 book A Foreign Policy for Americans.
How about the last line where he says…
But an indefinite surrender of liberty such as would be required by an all-out war program in time of peace might mean the final and complete destruction of those liberties which it is the very purpose of the preparation to protect.”
This is exactly what the Bush Admin has done with the “War On Terror”.
So the “War on Terror” is the root cause of all our problems we have today, and it is the lynchpin of the Bush regime’s empire building global denomination scheme.
So it would seem that in order to stop all this we have to stop the fake “War On Terror”. So who is going to stop it? Certainly not the Republicans, the insane military budget will continue to line their pockets. The Democrats?? What a joke, if anything most of them actually still believe the bullshit that the Bush admin has been shoveling out for 7 years, that there is an-Islomfasist-under-every-bush-just- waiting-to-slit-your-throat.
So this is why even if one of the current leaders in the Democratic horse race wins, nothing major is going to change. Why, because you see the profiteers of war and merchants of death, are not of one political party, they are only interested who can best deliver the one thing they cherish the most…
Profit.
They will back and fill the coffers of whoever they think has the best chance of winning and then even if the Dems win,after the Inaug parties are over, they will remind their patrons that is payback time and business will go on as usual and for us losers “we the people” it will be “same ol’ shit, new boss”.
The “War on Terror” is simply a new manifestation of the “Cold War”
After WWII the whole “military industrial complex” which Pres Eisenhower(a good Republican)warned about which actually should have been called the merchants of death and war profiteers needed an excuse to keep it going. So they invented the “Cold War ” which was successful for them for 40 some years. When the Soviet Union collapsed and peace threatened to break out (peace is not profitable) during the Clinton years, they panicked and as it says in the PNAC manifesto needed a “New Pearl Harbor”.
So while waiting for their “New Pearl Harbor” they got Dumbya elected who they knew could be easily manipulated, and lo and behold on 9/11/01, their prayers were answered and as they say the rest is history.
However they were praying all right, but not for some sort of miraculous unplanned event which they could then take advantage of, but they were praying that the plans they made for 9/11 would come off, the public would swallow the Bin Laden and his band of 18 merry Saudi men story and another “Cold War” could be started, just change the name and find a new enemy.
So as I said above their prayers were answered and the rest is history.
However the outcome of this new “Cold War” will be different then the last one. The Republic survived the last one, it won’t survive this new one.
Excellent Post Susan. I hope this man gets justice in the end, but I won’t hold my breath… I, like your daughter, search out products made here in the US. It can be a difficult task, but as hard as I thought. This year for the holidays, I bought only products that were made in the US. and it has now been almost 2 years since I haveshopped at walmarts… I agree, this whole process of no bid contracts, and earmarks stinks. Then again, when they started doing it, no one seemed to object (except for a few lone souls), thereby giving consent and validity to the unfair process. What could be a useful tool in an emergency situation, then becomes the standard. And standards are much more difficult to change…
Bill Keyes, great comments, and very thoughtful. I usually agree with most everything you write, and look forward to your posts.
I am very concerned about the care and treatment of our AD and Veterans… the care and concern of the people, has not transpired into the reality. The number of homeless vets, the suicides of active duty and deployed personnel, the treatment (and lack of same)of the wounded, the lies to the soldiers… I could go on for days on this rant. Anyway, the same holds true here, as I said above. If we accept the minimal standard, and don’t fight against it, we will never see the change that we desire. What is the old saying? The squeaky wheel gets the grease…
On the issue of the food inspection, we really can not say that we did not see this coming. We have even had discussions here on this board on this, or similar issues. The whole thing with importing so many products from China, has to do with profit for corporations. Drug and toys, fish and so many other things. Textiles, all the previously know industries, that have supported the American economy in the past. All gone. And we have given up a fair amount of safety that we have known in the past with them. bushco, and the neocons that he has enabled, will use this once great nation until it no longer serves their purposes, and then discard it as well… BTW, I just read that besides all the other genetically engineered food we consume here in the US, that we are about to start eating cloned beef. I am becoming a vegetarian now for sure…
PrchrLady: Season’s best to you and yours.
What genetically engineered veggies have you eaten lately? No food is ’safe’ unless you grow it yourself. Even then if someone plants genetically engineered seed upwind from your crop and it gets “mixed” with yours you could be sued for theft.
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/MonsantoExSum1.14.2005.pdf
Doug can rest assured he is not the only one and it happens across all industries.
Small Medium Enterprise has always been on the downstream of industry and that’s what keeps our beloved Corporations strong. That and the fact that a great chunk of our taxes end in their pockets.
Clearly, by the above piece, you are in agreement Susan. Ron Paul is right, scrap the IRS and show your local Corporation the bird!
[...] Merchant Burned by No-Bid Pentagon Buys [...]
hi folks,
thanks for the comments
yes the fr shirts i make out of american wool and fr rayon meet or exceed fire resistant stds both for commercial safety and the military. fabric and sewing here in the USA
my technology was developed by alcoa years ago for their workers safety in aluminum plants worldwide in the uniform shirt and pant;
google lenzing.com to learn about the fr viscose fiber i use and its proven performance and comfort and safety. you can buy the shirts short sleeve and long sleeve and pants and boxers at wickers.com
they are better than any synthetics you can wear for thermal and moisturte mgmt and daily comfort as well as fire. I live in mine year round.
Best way to believe me before you investin one.. i am the inventor and marketer of polarfleecee and have a long 40 year history in synthetics and natural fibers; never ever did I try to sell polarfleece to the military. I was involved in kids sleepwear stds in 1969 when the melting of polyester first was discovered.
Military has no excuse for allowing this to happen the melting and burning is widely known since 1969 they just thought the war wouldn’t turn out to be full of explosives in my opinion.
If Congress wants to buy through ear marks they need to research what the real truths are to the products and the internet is full of knowledge and their staff casn google a day till they find out what they should know.
Too many burn victims now and still all the troops are without safe comfortable long underwear right now for the 5th winter of the wars.
Conract SCAN tv in Seattle for a 30 minmute live video of last weeks show on jan 3 with Stan Emerk where I burned the fabrics.
Did a burn on SCAN tv on the latest syjnthetic heading into ear marks mod acrylic fiber from Japan. Google mod acrylic fiber causes cancer on the internet for a real wake up call. and to boot the mod acrylic being a synthetic also melts but the flame is smothered in toxic gas so now the problems are health as well as safety from fire.
MOST IMPORTANT ..TROOPS ALL OF THEM NEED MY PRODUCT RIGHT NOW AND I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET TO BRING ATTENTION TO WICKERS.COM thank you for your support and comments.
doug