President to Take On Government Contracting

Knowledge is power and that is why there was very little reporting done by the Republican-owned media, that it was George Bush who pushed for minority home buying…. not Clinton as they love to distort about, and gave Speculators the go ahead to get minorities to buy homes in the hundreds of thousands.
Bush – “Calling a home the “foundation for families and a source of stability for communities,” President Bush proposed three new initiatives designed to enhance existing federal home buyer assistance programs by helping African- and Hispanic-Americans buy homes. According to the White House, fewer than half of all African and Hispanic Americans currently own their homes, compared to nearly three-fourths of white Americans. “We must begin to close this homeownership gap by dismantling the barriers that prevent minorities from owning a piece of the American dream,” said the President in a nationwide radio address. To close the homeownership gap, President Bush proposed legislation funding the following new initiatives:
American Dream Down Payment Fund
This program would provide money to qualified low-income families to assist in making the down payment on a home. “The single greatest hurdle to first time homeownership is a high down payment requirement that can put a home out of reach,” said President Bush. White House analysts estimate that the American Dream Fund will assist some 40,000 low-income families annually in making down payments on homes.
Tax Credits to Create Affordable Housing
This proposed initiative would provide home-builders and developers with nearly $2.4 billion in tax credits for building affordable single-family housing in distressed areas. The tax credits would help make 200,000 new affordable homes available to low-income buyers over the next five years.
Home Buyer Education
To assist home buyers deal with the complexity and difficulty of the purchasing process, this program would provide funds to agencies working to better educated first-time home buyers. Consumers would be advised of their rights and responsibilities as home buyers, and trained to recognize and avoid abusive and unscrupulous lending practices. “Financial education and housing counseling can help protect home buyers against abuses, greatly improve the loan terms they are offered, and help families get through tough times with their homes intact,” said President Bush “Owning a home lies at the heart of the American dream,” Bush said. “My approach to broadening home ownership focuses on empowering people to help themselves and to help one another.” Source: Dateline: 06/18/02
And because there were no Regulations to protect said homebuyers who had a balloon interest at the end, well we see what has happened, and they still want to blame the homebuyers instead of the scam perpetrated by lenders who first lowered interest rates to put people into homes then raised their interest rates so they could no longer afford their homes. Someone should go to jail for this!

What does that have to do with the article?
Government contracting reform will likely end up only being applied to government contracts less than $50M because larger contracts are political, and the politicians just can’t help themselves from playing in the game.

Angellight- You lost me at “Republican owned media”. If you’re referring to ABC, CNN, NBC, and CBS, these social platforms promote a liberal agenda daily.
Be they investors with Madoff because he promised unrealistic double digit returns or the homeowner “glorified renter” who opted for a interest only/balloon payment/ect mortgage, there is no substitute for personal accountability. I don’t think we can legislate stupidity. Bad decisions make for a bad life. Big government should not baby sit/manage your life for you; not at my expense.

we let the teachers union in Mich buy insurance through their union the mea. it is a wasteful program. but the union will not let them bid it out to other carriers. since they are big supporters of the democrats, you can bet they wont reform them

Angellinget: Republican-owned media? James Carville and Paul Begala of CNN and George Stephanopolus consult with Roerts Gibbs every morning in order to discuss what the democrat talking points will be. Knowledge is power.

GEORGE BUSH had no guts when he failed to veto any spending and OBAMA is even worse because he lied and said no earmarks but there are thousands of them. Read Maureen Dowd in the N.Y. Times today and see what a N.Y. Times writer thinks of Obama and his accepting Nancy Pelosi’s sins as o.k. Change in Washington? Right? Right and Santa Pelosi will give you an earmark for it. America cannot handle this OBAMA lunacy and I am glad at least one liberal person in the media(Dowd) wrote an honest article instead of tingling in her leg like another media idiot(Matthews) does when Obama speaks.

GEORGE BUSH gave his buddies(Haliburton big contracts. The real AXIS OF EVIL was GWBush, CHENEY and the NEOCONS who got 4000plus of our brave young people killed plus tens of thousands missing limbs. How do you look in the mirror GW and not see a heinous monster who put all these people in a grave. OBAMA is taking out the troops GW, why didn’t you and Darth Vader Cheney have the guts to do the same-because you are cowards that is why and you never saw military action and could not possibly have done that if you did. Take out Saddam, fine but then allow military vehicles to run repeately over bombs in the road is the height of arrogance and ignorance. I say turn Bush over to the War Crimes Tribunal and let him rot behind bars for the crimes he committed and I am a conservative who cannot liars who cost others their lives.

Obama is blowing smoke. People, better quit being apathetic, complacent, and WAKE UP. BO is contradicting himself again.

rockychance – Put a sock in it – GB is GONE. Let him rest in peace. You have a heck of a lot more to worry about now with BO in Washington. A LOT more!!

WHINE WHINE WHINE.
Do you cynics ever stop?
Well, there are WHINERS and WINNERS.
POTUS Obama has consistently outfoxed, outmaneuvered and outflanked all opposition for the past 2 years including the primaries.
(If you think whines equate to wins, I’ve got news for you)
KEEP ON WHINING.
OBAMA WILL KEEP ON WINNING.
How’s the crow tasting?

KR:
Halliburton was also inept! We did not get what we paid for especially when charged $8 per bottle of water for our troops. As well, what about the faulty craftsmanship in the barracks that led to deaths. Give me a break. The fact that Obama is talking about reforming government contracts just gives you a chance to condemn it. In other words, whatever needs to be done by him to reform government will never be looked upon favorably by you and others that hate him. You’re just jealous because a conservative didn’t do it and now you are left to defend no-bid contracts. Hmm. You work for Halliburton? Perhaps you’re the sham!

Spend. Save. Spend. Save. So,

As the stock market, economy and jobs continue to tank throughout this year, there will be more an more calls for impeachment. Most people don’t react to anything until they are affected personally.

“As well, what about the faulty craftsmanship in the barracks that led to deaths.”
I’m sorry, what? I’ve never seen anything about that. I’ve just went and searched and found nothing of the sort. Are you making things up?
I have heard of things we hired Iraqi contractors to build that failed. That was pretty common. Maybe it was something like that, as a Haliburton sub-contractor?

This is very welcome news as the last 8 years government contracting was sinful to say the least. Thank you President Obama for cleaning house!

“Although I disagree with a majority of his bogus propositions, I believe this is a necessary overhaul of our proposed government budget. After all, one Blackwater operative earns almost 2 k in one day of combat compared to our military’s meager salary. Add it up over time, and you’ve got a lot of spent tax $’s”
There is no doubt that there is wasteful spending. Though in terms of Blackwater it was a little different. I won’t go into it, but essentially they were doing things our military could not do (i.e. working for the Iraqi government, on the Iraqi’s dime) to fill for a lack of capability the Iraqi’s had. They also protected contractors and free’d up active duty units for other things. But yes, they were very expensive, as are all contractors in combat zones.
But lets keep one thing clear when all this is going on. Wasteful government spending isn’t just in the DoD. There are tons of wasteful spending everywhere the government is, be it education or even these wonderful stimulus transportation projects.
I am afraid that, as most liberals in the past do, they target the DoD for political reasons, letting everything else slide. I’m not sure why they always target defense. I guess cause they never want our military to go to war, and we can’t if its gutted sufficiently? I don’t know, can’t figure it out.

“I like how he is budgeting the government the same way we are cutting costs in our homes.”
You know in your home to save money, you’d look at ways of using less electricity, less water, cutting down on the grocery bill etc.
Only talking about these reforms as it pertains to the DoD is like saying your going to save so much money but not having your security system monitored anymore, ignoring all the other things you can do.
Why is this so narrowly focused on the DoD contracting when much of the stimulus will end up in the hands of contractors… i.e. = jobs etc.

“No-bid contract is a popular term for what is officially known as a “sole source contract.” A sole source contract implies that there is only one person or company that can provide the contractual services needed and that any attempt to obtain bids would only result in one person or company being available to meet the need.”
Educate yourself, it’s liberating.

This sounds good.
I agree with KR about Blackwater.

Would you want a piece of life saving equipment, bridge or aircraft built by the lowest bidder or the most qualified engineers. There is a reason for no-bid contracts.

KR:
The faulty showering wiring was by KBR not Halliburton.
About your explanation on no-bid contracts:
The “sole source contract” in the case of Iraq was awarded to Halliburton because according to the definition, they were the only ones with the resources. Yet, you forget to mention that the VP at the time was the CEO of that company. You also forget to mention that this format VP/CEO, was the Secy of Defense for the previous invasion to Iraq. Is it possible that those in charge AND Halliburton knew we would attack Iraq again if Bush was elected? According to the “Project for the New American Century” the answer is yes. Iraq was on the checklist before 9/11 for the neo-cons. Not only are you a victim of staging but are compliant to the effects of their propaganda.
“In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” – Bertrand Russell

KR:
Don’t make me quote Eisenhower’s farewell speech!! Don’t make me do it.
The DoD’s budget is one of the biggest pieces of the pie. Therefore, trimming the FAT there FIRST will be more effective before moving on to other departments.

KR: “No-bid contract is a popular term for what is officially known as a “sole source contract.” A sole source contract implies that there is only one person or company that can provide the contractual services needed and that any attempt to obtain bids would only result in one person or company being available to meet the need.”
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And who was in charge of defining the ‘need’?
The friends and the big donors of the Bush/Cheney Admininistration essentially wrote “what the government needed” and Hey Presto! Only my company can satisfy that need!

There is a reason for no-bid contracts.
Posted by: John Keenan
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Yep. To shaft the competition and shower your friends. Especially when you don’t have to pay for it yourself

“Yep. To shaft the competition and shower your friends. Especially when you don’t have to pay for it yourself”
Can you folks read? Or do you only soak in what you want to believe?
If a company develops a new radar that no one else has, and the government want’s to buy it because it will increase the effectiveness of the military, who the hell is going to bid against them when no one else has that radar? How is this illogical?
No-bid contracts get funded by CONGRESS, not the President, typically in the form of earmarks.

If a company develops a new radar that no one else has, and the government want’s to buy it because it will increase the effectiveness of the military, who the hell is going to bid against them when no one else has that radar? How is this illogical?
Posted by: KR
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You still don’t understand it, don’t you?
Governments continually determines what is ‘needed’ based on developments in the field and if current equipment and resources – in your example – meet those needs or of it needs an update or amenment. The government is informed of that by it’s own employees. Government then goes out in the market and searches for solutions and looks at alternatives.
In the case of the Bush/Cheney administration, it was the Radar Company that told Government “Hey, I see you don’t have my radar and you really really really need to have that”.

Two questions:
Isn’t this the guy who said any spending is stimulus? Then why do we care if the govt. overpays on a contract. It gets more $$ out in circulation in the economy and will create more jobs–right?
Seriously, isn’t it a little contradictory to have just signed a bill the main object of which was to flood the economy with billions of $$ in a way that any reasonable person would agree is an invitation to waste and abuse? (no offense to Sheriff Joe Biden)

There will be no more bids for any job, just say your a democrat and you have it no matter how much you spend, because in the end we will take away all your profits.

I was just listening to Rush and he was BEGGING barry to come on his show and debate the issues with him, or emanuel, biden, geitner.
Obviously, that will never happen. Barry is weak, and barry also knows that his socialist policies would be destroyed by Rush.

Someone needs to read all the regulations an laws passed by congress that govern procurements by the Government….it is just NUTS. Getting rid of all the special provisions for all the special interests would help…oh then there is the ‘small business’ requirements….that cost MORE money….idiocy!! AND YOU PEOPLE want the GOVERNMENT to take care of you with universal health care….we will all be dead.

Dems like Taxes, except when ‘they’ have to pay them.

“the ones that sleep with the large corporations and lobbyist, there is no hope for much change”
Will have to kick both parties out under that criteria. Maybe that’s what we should do.

Hopefully President Dufus doesn’t fix this like he’s fixed the economy. Anyone beginning to wonder what we have done electing this moron? Soon we all will be wondering what we’ve done.

For those who lost jobs, fine… I am all in favor of helping them. But, for a huge number of homeowners, this plan is bailing out people who were irresponsible in the first place. Bailing out people whose mortgage pmt is more than 31% of monthly income is ludicrous. Many people purchased homes they could not afford in the first place, their income is the same as it was when they purchased, and now we, the taxpayers, are going to reward them. Sounds like just another name for wealth redistribution. So, instead of rewarding those who are living below their means, saving, driving old cars, living in modest homes, etc., we are rewarding those who have homes they can’t afford, new cars in the driveway (purchased with subprime auto loans), and let’s not forget their huge credit card balances to buy all the new furniture for those homes. I ponder this while I sit on my thrift store furniture, in my modest fixer-upper, and see my second hand car in the driveway.
Posted by:
SEbethD 7:24 AM

The entire contract system is flawed. First you have to give minority contractors preferential treatment, whether or not they are qualified to do the job. Then small businesses, ditto. Then the qualified contractors who have the means, the experience, the personnel, the equipment, etc. People can compain all the want, but Halliburton/KBR was the only contractor who had the means to take on the troop support in Iraq. Ask any soldier, airman, Marine, etc., who had enough time in that country and enough experience to rate their services. By and large, you could get any type of food at any time unless you were out in the field. Beats K-rations/MREs.
As far as the headlines about millions unaccounted for and all the hoopla…. if you are paying cash to Iraqi or Afghani informants, there is no paper trail, period. We talking about people in fear of their lives for helping Americans. Do you really think they are going to write up a contract and give you a receipt so some reporter can stick a camera in their face, wanting to know how they spent the money? Get real!

Congratulations Mr. President! Thank you so much for saving 25 police jobs today. I am sure the nice poeple in those cities, will be glad to pay their salaries with their tax dollars, when the stimulation is over. For the first time in my adult life, I feel ashamed to be an American!