[Real Cynic No More]

What do you want to bet that Gallup wanted to contract based on a time and materials basis, and the DOJ insisted on a lump sum arrangement? Now that Gallup performed for lower costs than estimated, the DOJ doesn’t like the Lump Sum payment deal they contracted for?

That’s usually how such disputes originate. One party doesn’t like the deal they coerced the other into.

[In Maryland]

"What do you want to bet that Gallup wanted to contract based on a time and materials basis, and the DOJ insisted on a lump sum arrangement? Now that Gallup performed for lower costs than estimated, the DOJ doesn’t like the Lump Sum payment deal they contracted for?

And in creating an estimate for a fixed-price contract, a businessman would be CRAZY not to include a reserve (an amount above the base estimate) to cover unanticipated circumstances. IF anyone in this administration had ever run a business, they might understand that!