Tag: donald trump jr.

The Government is on Shutdown, Now What?

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Government shutdown occurs when the Congress and the President fail to act, but what happens when the government is on shutdown? Read this blog to learn more about this matter!

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FACTS

1. 19 gaps in funding since 1976

Since 1976, there have been 19 gaps in budget funding.

2. Only 8 have led to employee furloughs

Eight of these shutdowns have resulted in employee furloughs.

3. Most were only a few days or weekend

Most of these shutdowns only lasted for about a weekend or so a few days.

The most significant shutdowns in history happened during the Clinton and Obama Administration, 27 days and 16 days, respectively.

4. Non-essential services are suspended

During a government shutdown, non-essential services are typically suspended. 

5. Outstanding federal bids are not affected

Since most of our federal contracts are mission critical and the funding was allocated in a previous budget, there is no need to worry about the shutdown impacting outstanding projects.

The other thing to keep in mind is that in the federal marketplace, every 30th day of September is considered as the end of the federal fiscal year.

Because of this, the RFP or RFP that they put during shutdowns and afterwards are already funded. Sources sought, on the other hand, may have not yet been funded. 

“Again, they’re handing mission critical items, activities, and so they have to already make allocations for this stuff to happen because we never know when we’d have our next disaster… so we already have higher-level thinking and long-term planning strategy implemented into federal level.”

6. Government shutdowns are more normal than you think

When we look back at our country’s history, it seems like government shutdowns are becoming more of a norm for sitting presidents than the exception.

Besides, our economy through Obama, Bush, Clinton, and Reagan administrations have all experienced similar situations and things ended up ‘business as usual’ after all the dust is settled.

So, before we allow the incidents of today to create anxiety and unnecessary stressors in our lives, let’s first take a look at history because it is a great predictor for future outcomes.

7. Some agencies are exempted

Some agencies are exempted and are not affected by these shutdowns because their funding and appropriations don’t come through Congress.

These institutions may include schools, prisons, parks, and some of those other agencies.

8. Top 100 contractors are still bidding jobs

Do you think that Boeing, Bechtel, Booz Allen Hamilton, General Dynamics, Accenture, Humana, Lockeed Martin, CH2M Hill stop bidding jobs just because of a government shutdown? Absolutely not.

I know the stakes are high and many people’s lives are being impacted by this event;  but it is even more imperative that we turn up the heat and bid more projects and jobs.

Why? Because at this time, people usually left the federal arena because of their fears and their concerns. This then opens the public sector wide open for anyone.

“Actually, I would turn up the night and be more active in pursuing these opportunities as opposed to shying away from them.”

9. The government spent $694,452,924 on DOD contracts alone

According to their records, on January 19, 2018, the Department of Defense, one of the largest buyers in the federal government, spent $694,452,924 worth of contract. 

So, although the news of a government shutdown scares people a lot, we should look at the factual information and records and bring our minds to reality. The federal marketplace is still open even though the government is on shutdown.

10. 2013 was the longest shutdown in history, but…

If you compare the spending map from 2008 to 2018, the results showed that in 2013, the Obama administration awarded the most contracts.

The government spent more than $3.9 trillion dollars across 410,553 activities. A sum that has never been seen before and this is even during the time where it had the longest shutdown in history. 

If we exclude all sources of funding and focus squarely on contract spending, they still managed to crank out 164,908 contracts and spend $457,532,751,755 in 338 days.

So, in the federal marketplace, there’s no shutdown because there are still other things that need to be pursued like funding disaster relief, and others. 

“There’s no shutdown when it comes to what we do. There’s no shutdown when it comes to going after opportunities and pursuing these contracts. You know at the same time, they’re still talking about all the other issues that are happening.”

STATE AND LOCAL CONTRACTS ARE DIFFERENT

On the other hand, if you have state or local municipal projects that are tied to federal funds, you could be at risk of payment delays.

These contracts are issued based on the sole premise that the federal government is going to send the money down to the state and local government, as they promised. So, if that promise changes, then your local state or city agency will not be able to fulfill their obligation.

With this, if you are working on a state or municipal job, make sure to ask your contract officer if the job is federally funded.

If so, I recommend holding off on sending additional equipment, material, or labor to a job site until this thing blew over or the agency could assure you that the funds were available today to make the payments.

RESOURCES

There is no shutdown in doing business with the federal government, so, why not take advantage of this marketplace instead? 

With that in mind, let GovCon Giants help you. Just visit our website and other social media platforms or check the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

You can also check these resources below to learn more about the topic:

The Government is officially shutdown. What are my next steps?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuB2J0rZW_c&t=610s

What should I be doing while the government is shutdown? – Eric Coffie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJKl9gfmVgI&t=166s

Boeing is No Boy Scout!

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Let’s practice fiscal responsibility and consider that Boeing, like any other huge corporations, Boeing are no boy scouts!

THE CONTROVERSY BEHIND TRUMP’S TWEET

Donald Trump’s December 2016 tweet saying that, “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” became massive controversy.

Donald Trump Tweet

Is he attempting to reel in costs to US taxpayers or just making another outrageous outburst, spewing a narrow opinion on such a complex topic?

I read the twitter replies and watched CNN, MSNBC, and other sources that offer up their take on the matter. It seems that everyone is touting Boeing as the backbone of America, when in fact they are the fox guarding the henhouse.

“Boeing are no boy scouts.”

Having dabbled in the world of federal contracting since 2007, three words come to my mind: fraud, waste, and abuse. These are common languages for anyone working in the federal arena. I would even compare them to the mafia and gang because of the way they tout our government officials and the U.S. system.

Besides, the government’s wasteful spending is not new news. Policies like “use it or lose it” are not effective ways to curtail egregious spending for a country drowning in a mountain of debt.

Just Google the terms ‘use it or lose it government spending,’ and you’ll find no advocates of how these policies benefit U.S. taxpayers or better yet, how this is an efficient responsible manner for handling the largest budget in the world.

Just take a look at the 2015 article and testimony by Jason J. Fichtner before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs wherein he reports how to curb wasteful year-end federal government spending and reforms the “use it or lose it” rules.

Also, consider the report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that in 2014, alone, the government wasted $125 billion, citing duplicate spending as the primary driver.

You see, this stuff is not new and Boeing, the #2 U.S government contractor, with its over 50 DUNS numbers is at the top of the list of benefactors.

“They have been abusing US taxpayers for decades with their ‘too big to fail mentality’ and backbone of America slogan.”

LET’S DIG INTO THEIR HISTORY A LITTLE BIT…

In a lawsuit filed by SpaceX against the US government, the company contends that they only wanted the opportunity to compete for a slice of the government’s $11 billion evolved expendable launch vehicle (EELV) contract award. 

The California-based firm even offers a low cost alternative that could save taxpayers’ billions of dollars. This alternative was the Falcon 9 rocket which Elon Musk claims can fly the same payload into space for 25% of the cost.  

Fact: The SpaceX Falcon 9 engine and the majority of its components are made in the USA, while Boeing Atlas 5 rocket relies on the Russian RD-180 first-stage engine to launch the U.S. national security payloads.

You see, unlike their counterparts at Boeing, SpaceX’ suit was an attempt to level the playing field and eliminate exclusive non-compete sole source contract awards that are “fiscally irresponsible and offensive to American values of fairness and competition.”

However, they were sidestepped by the Washington beltway machine. The sole source contract, aimed to build 27 rockets for U.S. taxpayers, was given to the United Launch Alliance (ULA).

ULA is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, currently #2 and #1, respectively, of the top 100 government contractors for 2018.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. You don’t have to go that far to find proof of the multi-billion dollar conglomerate abusing U.S. taxpayers. Here are two examples:

  1. Boeing paid $18 million amid overcharging the government for lunch breaks while maintaining Air Force’s C-17 aircraft. Read the article here. 
  2. Boeing and ULA sued the Air Force for $385 million over Delta 4 costs. Read the article here.

LET’S CLARIFY THINGS UP!

To add clarity to the matter, I do support the government spending measures, but I object how it is done.

“It is my belief that we can accomplish more with the money that we spend.”

There is no need to replace supplies and equipment that are in working order and that have not exceeded their useful life, just to satisfy some wacky budget policy.

Besides, better planning must take place and remove the figure heads from Washington that want to keep the establishment in place and not question decisions or practice fiscal responsibility so Boeing are no Boy scouts.

Note: This article was written way back in December 2016, however it wasn’t until now that I had the courage to share it with the world.