Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The VA: Greed and Corruption In Government Agencies

The 'real scandals' of the Veterans Administration and the other Government agencies, created by the Peoples Representatives actions or non actions and more often with the Private Sector Government Contractors involvement. Along with those created because the 99%plus served either ignore or just plain deny, this Executive administrations cabinet and the VA under Gen Shinseki had finally started to address even with obstructed budgets and little Congressional help, the issues, especially from our wars, so they have nn need to demand they should sacrifice, Poser Patriots!

IG: VA official gamed system to benefit FedBid

Another Government Employee, but actually working for a Private Government contractor, and this within the VA agency. Where greed, corruption and especially politics, should never cross over the thresholds of any of the facilities and Government contractors should not grossly profit from! Especially in times where the extremely few are serving the greater society in conflict and occupation war theaters, wars that still aren't paid for and VA, grossly under funded, budgets are still obstructed, DeJa-Vu all over again for decades and Wars from!!

You can bet the Veterans Administration isn't the only agency with the long embedded corruption going on, seen it before and often rises in concert with these private sector contractors. Could there also be politics involved, possibility exists especially when the Peoples Representatives are looking for 'scandals' for their many hearings to attack agency personal and not themselves for not doing the jobs they are charged with, instead of working with Government agencies to maintain proper performance that saves the tax payers money and not costing much more then budgets to fix problems that are found long after the fact and often repeated when Congress does little to nothing.

Sep. 29, 2014 - A senior Veterans Health Administration procurement official pressured employees and gamed the acquisition process to award reverse-auction company FedBid a contract, according to an inspector general’s report.

Susan Taylor, deputy chief procurement officer at the VHA at the Veterans Affairs Department, pressured contracting staff through repeated emails and requests in 2010 to accelerate the process and to pick FedBid for the contract, according to the IG report released Sept. 26.

The VA was working on its own internal reverse auction process at the same time, and Taylor wanted to award a contract to FedBid before that system was finished, the IG wrote. She also repeatedly sent FedBid internal and inside information about the process and internal review of the FedBid contract.

Jan Frye, the deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Acquisition and Logistics a the VA, heard complaints from VA employees about the whole process and decided to issue a moratorium on the use of FedBid in 2012, according to the report. read more>>>

Congressional hearings aren't supposed to be trials, unless called so and subpena's and other law enforcement court procedures are called for in advance. With proof of the possible corruption or criminal acts had taken place!

The blame is shared by the agency and the representatives of the people Not doing their jobs!!

Hearings are supposed to be looking at where Congress, and the people they represent, didn't carry out their responsibilities which leads to problems that end up not being isolated but ripple out causing even more problems. All are extremely expensive to fix instead of filling the needs before and maintaining to greatly minimize any foreseen possible problem!! And the same keep happening over and over after congressional reps ask 'how can they help and what do the agency need', in the friendly for a moment opening statements, from the people they work for so government, the people are the government, can run as smoothly as possible with any rising problem caught early and thus less costs for the American people!!


The Veterans Administration Inspector General Report - Report No. 13-03065-304
Snippet from 81pg. PDF: September 26, 2014 - We also found that Ms. Taylor, Mr. William E. Dobrzykowski, former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), and FedBid executives together, to financially benefit FedBid, willfully and improperly acted to thwart Mr. Jan Frye, Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS), Office of Acquisition and Logistics (OAL), in his oversight duties associated with VA’s procurement operations. After Mr. Frye received complaints from VA suppliers concerning a requirement to use FedBid and that VHA contracting officials were allowing FedBid to perform inherently Government functions by abdicating their responsibilities to FedBid, he instituted a moratorium on using FedBid to fully assess VA’s use of reverse auctions and determine whether it complied with existing VA policy and whether it interfered with already established VA supply chains. Ms. Taylor, Mr.Dobrzykowski, and FedBid executives took significant measures to disrupt and deprive VA’s right to transact official business honestly and impartially, free from improper and undue influence. In their own words, their intent was to “storm the castle,” use a “heavy-handed-puncher,” to “rally the troops up on the Hill,” have “enough top cover to overwhelm,” to “unleash the hounds,” to “assassinate [Mr. Frye’s] character and discredit him,” and to keep “close hold” nonpublic information Ms. Taylor provided FedBid executives, as well as repeatedly and falsely tell VA leadership that there was “no cost to VA for its use of FedBid,” all for the “indomitable world of FedBid.”

snip

Personnel records reflected that Ms. Taylor began her Federal career in 1985, holding appointments to various contracting positions at the Departments of Transportation (DOT), Defense (DOD), Agriculture (USDA), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In February 2007, she received a Senior Level (SL) appointment as PBGC’s Director of Procurement, and on July 4, 2010, she received an SES appointment to her current VHA position. As the Deputy Chief Procurement Officer, Ms. Taylor was responsible for the operational execution, oversight, compliance, direction and support of all acquisition organizations within VHA, consisting of more than 2,400 employees. The Associate DAS for Procurement Policy, Systems, and Oversight, Office of Acquisition and Logistics (OAL), told us that Ms. Taylor never held a warrant while employed at VA. Although her position does not require her to hold a warrant, she has a Federal Acquisition Certification-Contracting (FAC-C) Level III certification.

snip

Mr. Dobrzykowski’s resume reflected that he held various Federal appointments from 1970 until his retirement in 2002, including the Federal Power Commission (predecessor to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and HUD. FedBid records reflected that in early 2012, Mr. Dobrzykowski sought employment at FedBid and that Mr. Glenn Richardson, former President of FedBid, considered hiring him as a “strategic advisor.” However, USITC records reflected that he instead accepted the CFO position at USITC as a re­employed Federal annuitant on February 24, 2012, with his employment beginning on March 19, 2012. As CFO, he had oversight of USITC’s contracting activity, and after he began working at USITC, he suggested that they use reverse auctions. On May 16, 2012, USITC signed a contract with FedBid for reverse auction services.

In their own words, their intent was to “storm the castle,” use a “heavy-handed-puncher,” to “rally the troops up on the Hill,”
"rally the troops on the Hill"? Who would these 'troops up on the Hill' be, friendly to their private corp wants Congressional reps or perhaps the staffs of? Those on both Congressional Veterans Affairs Committee's especially in the leadership positions? The so called political think tanks to help spin the sales rhetoric needed for the political wealth grifting?

You can download the report here

Listen to Jason Miller's interview on the Federal Drive: VA IG unwinds tale of procurement fraud, abuse involving senior agency officials, FedBid

ProPublica and The Seattle Times Nov. 9, 2012 - Lost to History: Missing War Records Complicate Benefit Claims by Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans
"DeLara's case is part of a much larger problem that has plagued the U.S. military since the 1990 Gulf War: a failure to create and maintain the types of field records that have documented American conflicts since the Revolutionary War."

Part Two: A Son Lost in Iraq, but Where Is the Casualty Report?

Army Says War Records Gap Is Real, Launches Recovery Effort


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