Congress Is Investigating Contracts Tied To Mask And PPE Shortages

[Nevilledog]

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/15/891122225/congress-is-investigating-contracts-tied-to-mask-and-ppe-shortages?fbclid=IwAR0WmxBk3A6voXb3lwLSojoKLbJAnPW_Wpvsgto5y-w_3NaGytEZnVKrQHQ

Congressional investigators are launching an inquiry into a handful of companies that landed government contracts related to COVID-19, calling the deals "suspicious" because the companies lacked experience and, in some cases, had political connections to the Trump administration.

In a letter obtained by NPR, the chairman of the bipartisan Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., asked a roster of administration officials to account for how and why they selected particular companies to provide personal protective equipment, or PPE. Many of the contracts were made without competition at the height of the coronavirus crisis. Seven letters also went out to individual companies asking for information related to those contracts.

"The Administration awarded contracts to inexperienced suppliers," Clyburn wrote in a letter addressed to the heads of the Departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs. "More than 445 companies had no prior experience in the federal marketplace before receiving awards related to the pandemic response. Many of the companies awarded contracts ... registered to do business with the government for the first time this year, some just days before successfully winning a contract."

The committee's letter, which was not signed by Republicans on the bipartisan panel, asked the secretaries to provide complete contract files, solicitations, contracts, task orders, and email traffic from seven companies by July 28. Some of the companies they targeted have been in the news before including Zach Fuentes LLC, which is led by President Trump's former deputy chief of staff, Zachary Fuentes. The company was awarded a $3 million federal contract to provide respirator masks to the Navajo Nation. The Indian Health Service, the letter says, determined that the masks couldn't be used.

*snip*

[BigmanPigman]

1. Glad to hear this.

What about looking into companies (friends of GOP reps and team tRump) that received bailouts for Covid?

[Nevilledog]

3. There is so much corruption.... Where do you start?

[sarcasmo]

2. No investigation into the 1.4 Billion the Catholic Church stole?

[Nevilledog]

4. They better investigate that too.

[MontanaMama]

5. No kidding.

Tax exemptions for churches should be off the table going forward. I think Jesus would agree.