Posted on 05/08/2009 10:24:03 PM PDT by neverdem
This story may or may not become big news. But it certainly says a lot about the earmark culture on Capitol Hill.
A contractor, beneficiary of an earmark that the lobbyist group with close ties to John Murtha got for them, produced combat helmets so shoddy that the military has recalled 34,000 of them.
The lobbyists, PMA Group, is mostly identified with Murtha but also garnered an astonishing number of earmarks from other lawmakers from both parties. They are now under investigation by the FBI for illegal campaign contributions among other transgressions.
PMA Group Watch has the details:
The Army has issued a recall of more than 34,000 advanced-combat helmets that failed ballistics tests, a move certain to attract scrutiny on Capitol Hill.
But an added element of intrigue that may also catch lawmakers' attention is the firm that lobbied on behalf of the helmet's manufacturer: the PMA Group.
Gentex Corp. in Carbondale, Pa., manufactures those helmets and is based in Rep. Chris Carney's (D) district. Gentex has received earmarks sponsored by the lawmaker in recent years. In the 2008 defense appropriations bill, for example, Carney and Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) earmarked $2.7 million for improved performance for helmet displays and life support technologies . . .
The PMA Group and its lobbyists were the top contributors to Carney's reelection campaign, pitching in $41,500, according to data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics. The same data indicate that Gentex was Carney's fifth campaign contributor.
May 5, Military.com – (National) Army recalls some combat helmets. The Army has issued a recall of more than 30,000 helmets — not because the helmet shells are flawed, but because it found that four screws that attach the chinstrap and related parts did not meet Army specs. The screws were supplied by a subcontractor to helmet-maker Gentex Corp., according to the Army. In a press release issued May 4, the Army said Gentex is alleging the subcontractor falsified certificates of compliance for the steel screws it furnished for the helmets. In all, 34,218 Advanced Combat Helmets are being recalled for failing ballistic tests. The number includes 15,380 Army helmets, 12,000 Air Force helmets and another 6,838 helmets which were never issued by Defense Logistics Agency. Gentex is one of four companies that makes the helmets, and has delivered 297,000 of the 1.2 million that the Army has received, officials said. Source: http://www.military.com/news/article/army-recalls-some-combat-helmets.html
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After all the sport the Left had with the Humvee and body armor issues, it would be a shame to have them miss out on all the fun of corrupt war-profiteering accusations that they richly seem to deserve.
Thanks for the text & link.
I got out of defense contracting. My company had a perfect record for quality and on time delivery. Time and again we got beat out by larger companies with higher priced bids for the same Item. After a while it became clear that the only way to really make decent money doing what I was doing was to “buy the project under the table”. Since I did not feel inclined to be a part of the problem or go broke being honest, I quit defense contracting all together. The buyers sometimes told us that they didn’t want to do business with a small company even on a small business set aside project. The system is so corrupt I decided I should not be a part of it. Strange to say, but I learned early on that you don’t get far working for crooks. And The government contracting was as crooked as the worst of the industry buying departments I ever contracted with. So morally I felt like it would be wrong for me to squander my life working for the crooks who appropriate our tax dollars through bribery, patronage, kickbacks, and graft.
Generally they make good products. They have a tougher time competing these days because some of the work they used to do is now done in prisons at a fraction of the cost. That's good for taxpayers, bad for people losing jobs to prisoners.
And now this. Gentex is a major local employer and about 200 people are out of work. My sister is still holding on.
I hope everything gets straightened out. It seems once the politicians get involved innocent people suffer.
Sadly, it won’t see the light of day.
We’ll need to send it out by email.
The Democrat party is a Criminal Enterprise
You needed to have me for a COR (Contracting Officer’s Representative)! I manage two contracts for separate Army contracting offices. One is a little on the flaky side, but the other more than makes up for it. As a case in point, we are currently negotiating for an option to have some work performed for the next three months. It would be easier for both the government and the contractor to use either a T&M (time and materials) or cost plus contract, both of which are allowed by law. We are using a FFP (Firm Fixed Price) instead.
In a FFP contract the risk is fully on the contractor for them to perform. It may cost a little more at the beginning, but there is no provision for the cost overruns seen so often with a cost plus or T&M. They bid, we evaluate it, if it meets the statement of work and is within the budget, they get the award. Then they have to produce.
Does the contractor have a lobbyist telling them how much is in the appropriation? I don’t know, that is between congress and the lobbyist. If there is any corruption that is where it is.
I was once involved in procurement for a very prestigous building. The State Department invited us to come for a face to face presentation.
As we were leaving, down the hall, we saw our competitor AND TIP O’Neal!! They were also leaving
We got the contract.
Every time I see a thread like this I go over to DU to see what their take on it is, highly anticipating their comeuppance. What I inevitably see is that the news either doesn’t exist, is there with three minimal replies, or most likely, one of their members has “found” a section of the memo that was released that exonerates the ‘Rats involved. Bottom line is, they’ll never, ever, EVER accept responsibility for anything that their corrupt reps get involved in. EVER. And the MSM sure as hell isn’t going to hold them accountable.
The next phase of “war protests”... selling the army defective equipment.
{Aid, comfort, enemies... is this treason?}
Thanks for the ping!
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