Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

$18 Million to Redesign Recovery.gov
Redstate ^ | 07/09/09 | James Richardson

Posted on 07/09/2009 3:05:33 PM PDT by james.richardson

Reminiscent of the no-bid, cost-plus contracts awarded in the Bush administration to defense contractors, ABC News reported last night the Obama Administration awarded a 5 year $18 million contract to Smartronix, a Maryland-based IT firm with connections to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, for the redesign of Recovery.gov.

Launched in February to track the expenditures of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Recovery.gov was to be the pinnacle of web-enabled transparency, according to President Barack Obama.

“The site is the tip of the iceberg for the effort that will go into taking spending tracking and accountability to the next level,” one administration official said of their intended level of transparency.

But now, it seem, the administration has failed to deliver on two pledges central to the Obama campaign’s rhetoric: fiscal responsibility and unrivaled transparency.

An acerbic Ed Morrissey asks, “Since when does it cost $18 million for a website, even one with a database requiring updates on a quarterly basis?”

Not often.

FedSpending.org, launched in October 2006 with a meager three-year $334,272 grant from the Sunlight Foundation, is a voluminous online database of all federal grants and contracts. And, unlike Recovery.gov, the website monitors the entire federal budget, and does so at a fraction of the projected cost of Recovery.gov.

Of course, the revelation that the private sector outperforms the federal government is not new. Recovery.org, a project of Onvia, monitors the flow of recovery funds from the federal government to private businesses in real-time, unlike its overpriced government counterpart which reports spending 100 days after-the-fact, thereby enabling wasteful or fraudulent spending.

Onvia’s CEO Mike Pickett estimated in May his company spent approximately $20,000 to build Recovery.org’s tracking infrastructure, a far cry from the inflated contract awarded by Obama’s White House.

By contrast, spending $18 million on redesigning an already-functioning website makes Ted Stevens’ $315 million “Bridge to Nowhere” project appear like a fiscally-sound endeavor.

Assuming, however, that the White House got a bargain on Recovery.gov’s redesign, the public is still, largely, in the dark on both how and where that $18 million will be spent, which, in and of itself, is comically ironic when one considers the intended aim of the website, that is, to provide information to the public to monitor stimulus spending.

Assuming, as the generous people we are, again that the White House got a bargain on Recovery.gov’s redesign and now that Smartronix will make the rebuilding process open and transparent, there is still the troubling issue of why. Why was Smartronix awarded the contract?

The Washington Examiner’s David Freddoso notes an important political connection between the Maryland-based firm and Congressman Hoyer as a potential explanation. Smartronix’s President and Vice President have together given $19,000 to Hoyer’s campaign coffers since 1999, according to FEC reports.

You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours make sure you get a $18 million contract to redesign a government website.

Uneasy with the prospect of the White House awarding offensively high contracts to the politically well-connected, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele goes in for the kill.

“Vice President Biden warned us that there would be ‘waste’ in the stimulus bill. The Obama administration is devoting $18 million dollars to create a government website to show Americans just where their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent. This is unreal and outrageous.”

“If the Obama administration is willing to devote $18 million in taxpayer dollars to a website, imagine what government-run health care will charge taxpayers for an MRI,” he said.

Cross-posted at Skepticians.com.

Follow James on Twitter.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: democrats; obama; spending; teaparty
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-40 last
To: Robbin

Nothing like Eighteen Million Dollars for Nothing yo help the bottom line and employee moral! Ehh! Stinks the High Heavens!! and enjoy the looting amd plundering of America from your pile silver:-)


21 posted on 07/09/2009 6:00:19 PM PDT by True Republican Patriot (May GOD Continue to BLESS Our Great President George W. Bush!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: james.richardson

I look forward to seeing what $18 million buys the government — I know what I could do with a fraction of that.


22 posted on 07/09/2009 6:08:52 PM PDT by Naspino (Not creative enough to have a tagline.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JohnBrowdie

You left out the $3 Billion in ACORN and another $2-3 Billion in Highjacked State Funds like in PA.NJ, and CA that flowed to OBOZO under the table and another $3-4 Billion in FREE MEDIA PROPAGANDA Grom NBC,ABC and CBS!!!
And them the Village Idiot almost LOST except McPAIN Saved Him by suspending his campaign and NOT SUPPORTING SARAH PALIN!! OBOZO IS A LOOSER HIS WHOLE LIFE, Except for this Freak Accident!!


23 posted on 07/09/2009 6:10:41 PM PDT by True Republican Patriot (May GOD Continue to BLESS Our Great President George W. Bush!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: james.richardson
"The site is the tip of the iceberg for the effort that will go into taking spending tracking and accountability to the next level."

The $18MM site redesign is the tip of the iceberg of the level of corruption, fraud and waste of tax payer $$$'s. Chump change!

How on earth does the redesign of the Porkulus I website cost $18 million?? LMAO...They can start with tracking and accounting for the wasted $18 mil to redesign a frickin website. The corruption, fraud and outright theft of taxpayer's dollars is just revolting. PIGS!

24 posted on 07/09/2009 6:21:48 PM PDT by kara2008 (Government cannot be the solution when government is the problem)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: paulycy

That logo should be on a t-shirt.


25 posted on 07/09/2009 7:28:15 PM PDT by Amazon7 (FR is my homepage.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Amazon7

26 posted on 07/09/2009 7:30:23 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: james.richardson

Oh boy. This is good ad material.


27 posted on 07/09/2009 8:22:41 PM PDT by keats5 (Not all of us are hypnotized.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; Berosus; bigheadfred; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; ...
...the Obama Administration awarded a 5 year $18 million contract to Smartronix, a Maryland-based IT firm with connections to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, for the redesign of Recovery.gov. Launched in February to track the expenditures of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009... the administration has failed to deliver on two pledges central to the Obama campaign's rhetoric: fiscal responsibility and unrivaled transparency... FedSpending.org, launched in October 2006 with a meager three-year $334,272 grant from the Sunlight Foundation, is a voluminous online database of all federal grants and contracts. And, unlike Recovery.gov, the website monitors the entire federal budget, and does so at a fraction of the projected cost of Recovery.gov. Of course, the revelation that the private sector outperforms the federal government is not new. Recovery.org, a project of Onvia, monitors the flow of recovery funds from the federal government to private businesses in real-time, unlike its overpriced government counterpart which reports spending 100 days after-the-fact, thereby enabling wasteful or fraudulent spending.

28 posted on 07/09/2009 8:37:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: True Republican Patriot

You left out the $3 Billion
__________
I thought it was 4.5 BILLION.


29 posted on 07/09/2009 9:37:39 PM PDT by mojitojoe (All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: mojitojoe

ZOWWL! YEP! I stand corrected with my deep apoloies! Add another 1.5 Billion dollars to the cossst of buying the White House, the Ultimate Pay to Play Scam!


30 posted on 07/09/2009 9:51:46 PM PDT by True Republican Patriot (May GOD Continue to BLESS Our Great President George W. Bush!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: True Republican Patriot

Add another 1.5 Billion dollars to the cossst of buying the White House, the Ultimate Pay to Play Scam!
_____________
You got that right!!! Does anyone think for one minute if he hadn’t bought the MSM and had 750 MILLION dollars that that POS would be in the WH now? No way in hell.


31 posted on 07/10/2009 12:09:11 AM PDT by mojitojoe (All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

Maybe after the makeover, Biden will be able to remember the website’s name.


32 posted on 07/10/2009 2:33:51 AM PDT by Berosus (I wish I had as much faith in God as liberals have in government.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: Berosus

;’)


33 posted on 07/10/2009 4:53:13 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: acw011

To start with 19K over 10 years is nothing to a congressman, and the company didn’t give it, the owner that lives in Maryland did. You also have no clue what it costs to produce software for the government, and unless you know the particulars of the contract, you’re blowing smoke out your butt. I have a degree and 30 years experience of software development for the military. Do you?
You are clueless...


34 posted on 07/10/2009 5:49:36 AM PDT by Robbin (If Sarah isnÂ’t welcome, IÂ’m not welcome, itÂ’s just that simpleÂ…)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: Hoodat

You don’t buy influence for 19K over a 10 year period....


35 posted on 07/10/2009 5:51:32 AM PDT by Robbin (If Sarah isnÂ’t welcome, IÂ’m not welcome, itÂ’s just that simpleÂ…)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: james.richardson

What an elitist pig.

I agree with what Newt said. They think if they appoint a czar/make a web page the task is done. Obama needs impeached for many reasons but ONE is that he is not qualified.


36 posted on 07/10/2009 6:20:23 AM PDT by Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mojitojoe

Lets NOT forget how the Media was bragging about the Huge Palestinian Phone Banks that were calling U.S. Voters and trying to covince them to Vote for OBOZO HUSSEIN direct from the MidEast! Was this Legal? MAY GOD HELP US and OUR AMERICA NOW!


37 posted on 07/10/2009 6:21:37 AM PDT by True Republican Patriot (May GOD Continue to BLESS Our Great President George W. Bush!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: True Republican Patriot

Obama is truly anti-american, anti-Christ.


38 posted on 07/10/2009 6:25:47 AM PDT by Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: Robbin

Whatever -

Enjoy your welfare - no need to thank me.


39 posted on 07/10/2009 8:04:54 AM PDT by acw011 (Great Goooogly Mooogly!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: Robbin

I think some posters are beating up on you un-fairly. Where I do not know the lifecycle cost of the software your company plans to deploy, I do know that most likely within that 18 mil is most likely the final product, periodic code releases, bug fixes, support and I would have to guess that infrastructure is in there somewhere as well (if not VM’s or bare metal servers, at least projected bandwidth fees)..


40 posted on 07/13/2009 6:22:58 PM PDT by Michael Barnes
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-40 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson