Whither stimulus contracts?
By Bill Allison May 18 2009 9:52 p.m. 8 commentsThe Washington Post's Kimberly Kindy reports that the Dept. of Energy is awarding stimulus funds to companies specializing in nuclear clean-ups that have a mixed track record:
A private company was being paid $300 million by the federal government to clean up radioactive waste at two abandoned Cold War plants in Tennessee when an ironworker crashed through a rotted floor. That prompted a major safety review, which ended up forcing work to an abrupt halt, and the project was shut down for months. The delay and a host of other problems caused cost estimates to rise, eventually hitting $781 million.Now, President Obama's stimulus package is opening a bountiful stream of new funding, and the same contractor, Bechtel Jacobs, is slated to get $118 million to help complete the job.
The Energy Department has begun releasing more than $6 billion in stimulus money to clean up 18 nuclear sites from New York to California, more than doubling the typical yearly funding for the program. Contractors helped shape the stimulus package and are lined up to get the work, including many that have been cited for serious safety violations and costly mistakes.
Interestingly, I can't find any Bechtel Jacobs awards when I search FedBizOpps.gov and USASpending.gov (the former, as I reported previously, is currently the primary source for stimulus contract information, not Recovery.gov. Obviously, there are still huge holes in what data is available on stimulus contracts.
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> Dept. of Energy is awarding stimulus funds to companies specializing in nuclear clean-ups that have a mixed track record:Former Cheney speechwriter and continued climate inactivist Jeffrey Salmon burrowed in at the DoE; last summer he became Deputy Director for Resource Management, which makes him "responsible for managing the following offices within the Office of Science: Program Direction and Analysis; Grants and Contracts; Budget; Business Policy and Operations; Human Capital Resources; and Science and Technical Information."How could we find out to what degree he was involved in granting the Bechtel-Jacobs et al contracts, or, as manager of Grants and Contracts, is the answer "utterly and completely"?
> Interestingly, I cant find any Bechtel Jacobs awards when I search FedBizOpps.gov and USASpending.govTry searching (in usaspending.gov, at least) for the parent company name - "bechtel group, inc."2009 contractors whose parent co. was Bechtel Group, Inc. are:BECHTEL;BECHTEL BETTIS;BECHTEL BWXT IDAHO;BECHTEL JACOBS LIMITED LIABILITY;BECHTEL MARINE PROPULSION;BECHTEL NATIONAL;BECHTEL PLANT MACHINERY;BECHTEL SAIC LIMITED LIABILITYfrom here
..even so though, still nothing even for "bechtel group, inc" in usaspending.gov, under "Recovery Act contracts"
Probably FOIA them. I'd ask for Salmon's calendar, phone logs and correspondence during the period the contract was being considered.I think one of the problems with nuclear clean-ups is that there are only a handful of companies that bid for the work (I'm assuming because there are only a handful that are in that business). It's dangerous dirty work, especially at government sites, which are among the absolute worst. So it's not surprising that companies with questionable track records keep getting the business -- they're the only ones out there taking it.
I was looking for Recovery contracts -- there might be some there now. But when I did that post, there weren't any.
Is there a way to search usaspending.gov for, e.g., contracts only to Bechtel that are only from the Dept of Energy?I don't see a way, I hope I'm overlooking it.- Anna, talking to myselfI sure hope Obama can get this stuff whipped into shape - the American People deserve a better contract search tool. Perhaps Google could develop one?
Use the advanced search feature on USASpending.gov. The link is on the left side of the page, right above the blue bar that says "By Place of Performance." You can search for a contractor by Dept. or Agency.
Bill, you're a better man than I - I still don't see how to do it."Advanced search by contractor" lets me specify the contractor name but not the agency, and "advanced search by agency" lets me specify the agency name but not the contractor.My goal - "All" years (Summary info) of Dept of Energy contracts awarded to Exponent.