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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's FEMA awards big N95 mask contract to shady company without medical supply experience
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/16/1937766/--55-million-to-a-shady-company-for-overpriced-masks-Sounds-like-business-as-usual-for-Team-TrumpTrump's FEMA awards big N95 mask contract to shady company without medical supply experience
Laura Clawson
Daily Kos Staff
Thursday April 16, 2020 · 10:43 AM EDT
The Trump administration is turning to some shady third-party vendors to get N95 masks, it should surprise no one to learn. After the administration waited until mid-March to order supplies in bulk despite being warned in January that a pandemic was coming, now the need is desperateand the opportunities to steer business to questionable companies are plentiful.
While the biggest orders for masks have gone to reputable manufacturers like Honeywell and 3M, The Washington Post reports that, without competitive bidding, one $55 million contract for 10 million masks has gone to a tactical training company with no experience supplying medical equipment, among other big question marks.
Weve done DoD medical training over the years and through those contacts with that community were brought sources of supply in order to assist in the COVID-19 response, a Panthera Worldwide LLC executive told The Post. So they went to FEMA and were promptly awarded a $55 million contract to supply N95 masks at several times the price the government is paying to actual mask manufacturers with experience providing masks.
Thats not the only questionable part of this contract, though. Panthera Worldwide LLCs parent company, Panthera Enterprises, filed for bankruptcy last fall, said in bankruptcy filings that it hasnt had any employees in nearly two years, has up to 99 creditors, and has liabilities up to $50 million. Panthera Worldwide LLC has allowed its LLC registration to lapse in Virginia, the state where it has its main office, defending itself by saying it has an LLC registration in Delaware and doesnt do business in Virginia. Okay, then.
Also, Panthera leased out its main asset, a West Virginia training facility, to another company which is now suing Panthera for misrepresenting the facilitys revenue and contracts.
So that sounds like the kind of outfit youd bypass in the competitive bidding process to award a $55 million contract to provide some of the most sought-after product in the world at an inflated price, eh? Well, it actually does sound like business as usual for the Trump administration, and it will be interesting to see what ties surface between Panthera executives and members of Trumps inner circle.
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https://www.businessinsider.com/fema-paid-bankrupt-company-no-employees-55-million-n95-masks-2020-4?fbclid=IwAR1thoK8EOfD-QmkDAXfnIiXBkgsGcSE31uPT7txlBx4rCVRD920k3E4m0o
The Trump administration paid a bankrupt company with zero employees $55 million for N95 masks, which it's never manufactured
snip//
The Post reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was paying Panthera about $5.50 per mask, decidedly more than what the government pays companies with an established background in producing medical supplies such as 3M, which charges about $0.63 per mask.
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Trump's FEMA awards big N95 mask contract to shady company without medical supply experience (Original Post)
babylonsister
Apr 2020
OP
Exactly. And it must be done to set examples or this will be repeated. . . . nt
Bernardo de La Paz
Apr 2020
#5
Blue Owl
(50,349 posts)1. Trump is the real Fat Shady
Stand up, sir...
uponit7771
(90,335 posts)2. K&R, "shady company" seems like all Red Don has
Andy823
(11,495 posts)3. It will take years
of investigations to find out just how corrupt trump and his gang where, how much money the "stole" from the American taxpayers, how much money he made from foreign governments, his ties to Putin and numerous other atrocities.
Let us also not forget the investigations into the republicans in the House and Senate that allowed him to get away with his crime spree.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,999 posts)5. Exactly. And it must be done to set examples or this will be repeated. . . . nt
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,999 posts)4. $5 per mask, wholesale? That's gouging the taxpayer. . . . nt
dalton99a
(81,455 posts)6. A must read.
SunsetDreams2
(268 posts)7. K&R and bookmarked nt
SamBob
(61 posts)8. if...
This is what he meant by help small businesses, he has this all wrong.