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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is sounding an alarm over Puerto Rico's $300 million contract with a small Montana company to restore power infrastructure, amid concerns over the firm's tiny staff and lack of competitive bidding. FEMA will be responsible for paying for the work by Whitefish Energy Holdings, but the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), the island's utility, entered into the contract. "Based on initial review and information from PREPA, FEMA has significant concerns with how PREPA procured this contract and has not confirmed whether the contract prices are reasonable," FEMA said in its statement.
[...] The Whitefish deal has raised alarm among Puerto Rico's leadership, Congress and others, and two congressional committees are investigating it. The contract was reached with no bidding. The company had two employees and little experience in utility work prior to Hurricane Maria hitting the island and is paying workers hundreds of dollars per hour.
The White House said Friday the federal government had no involvement in the decision to award a $300 million contract to help restore Puerto Rico's power grid to a tiny Montana company in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's hometown.
Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president had asked Zinke about the contract and that the cabinet secretary said he had nothing to do with it. "He had no role in that contract," Sanders said of Zinke. "This was a state and local decision made by the Puerto Rican authorities and not the federal government."
Also at NPR.
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday November 01 2017, @01:15AM (3 children)
I went into politics for one reason: to drain the Washington swamp. Even when my own guys are part of it. Which is why I accepted Tom Price's resignation. Which is why I fired James Comey. Which is why I'm putting up with Mueller's so-called investigation. For now, I'm putting up with it. I think he should look into Crooked Hillary's collusion with Russia. And he should look into radical Islamic terrorism. Look at what happened in Manhattan today!
The Colonnettas, of HBC Investments, are good people. They helped me a lot with my campaign. And @WhitefishEnergy, which they own, did some great work. Got to work right away. As anyone can see on their Twitter. I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee it. But if there is I will get to the bottom of it. 🇺🇸
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 01 2017, @02:38AM (2 children)
Two employees, right?
At best, they should have been a minor subcontractor, answering to some real professionals, who then answer to the government in Puerto Rico and the federal government. I don't care how good a people the Colonnettas may or may not be. Nepotism is still nepotism. You silly excuse for a response only indicts you as a crook or a fool - or both.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 01 2017, @05:34AM (1 child)
They hired 400 employees to do the job. The "two employees" are the permanent staff. It's normal for the industry; you can't afford to keep hundreds of workers on the payroll while waiting for a disaster to happen.
Adding more layers would be bad. That slows everything down and adds corruption. Keep it lean.
If the job did need to be split, then do that by physical region such as city by city. Don't build subcontracting layers of bloat.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday November 01 2017, @03:49PM
I take it, then, that you have worked in construction? You've worked for the likes of Brown and Root (before it became Kellog, Brown and Root) or some other serious construction company? Maybe you've even run such a company?
Funny you should mention splitting it up by region. I was thinking that those two men, with all of their kin and friends, MIGHT be able to handle a couple villages. Not the entire island of Puerto Rico. No, they couldn't hand any city, either. A small town, maybe.