FEMA | The Contracting Education Academy

December 2, 2015 By AMK

Government ends oversight of Gallup

Federal government oversight of The Gallup Organization, put in place as the consulting and polling company looked to settle allegations that it conducted business unethically, has ended early after a government official said he views Gallup as a responsible company.

Gallup entered a three-year agreement on April 19, 2013 with the Department of Homeland Security ahead of a July 2013 settlement of a whistleblower lawsuit.

On Oct. 9, 2014, less than halfway through the three-year term, the government granted Clifton’s request for an early termination of the agreement, according to a letter recently released to The World-Herald by the Federal Emergency Management Agency following a public records request. The request was made in August 2014.

“I believe that the measures you have implemented has set Gallup on a course that will make it a model company, and that the Government can view Gallup as a responsible company regarding contracts and contracts under federal grants,” wrote Michael D. Russell, senior counselor to the Homeland Security Department’s Under Secretary for Management, in the letter to Clifton.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.kearneyhub.com/news/regional/government-ends-oversight-of-gallup/article_6b71e7e6-8d35-11e5-b1e6-8b1e7b00cda9.html

August 27, 2014 By AMK

FEMA’s 50% rule costing gov’t hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments

Hundreds of millions of dollars were lost due to a misinterpretation of a Federal Emergency Management Agency rule that funds the replacement or repair of facilities after a natural disaster, according to a recent Homeland Security Department inspector general report.

FEMA’s public assistance program provides financial assistance for people in the aftermath of hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and terrorists attack. The agency spends around $10 billion every year for the Disaster Relief Fund to help people rebuild after a natural disaster.

Under the 50 percent rule, FEMA will replace a facility if the estimated cost of repair exceeds 50 percent of the estimated cost to replace it.

But applying FEMA’s 50 percent repair or replace rule correctly can be very difficult and susceptible to error, misinterpretation and manipulation, the report dated Aug. 7 said.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/ig-femas-50-percent-rule-costing-govt-hundreds-millions-dollars-overpayment/2014-08-21

July 25, 2014 By AMK

Government’s biggest failures: 2001-2014

With scandals at agencies ranging from the IRS to the Veterans Affairs Department fresh in the public’s mind, a longtime scholar of federal management has published a new assessment of government’s failures since 2001.

In the paper, called A Cascade of Failures: Why Government Fails, and How to Stop It, Paul C. Light, the Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service at New York University, examines 41 stories that resonated with the public in a major way, using the Pew Research Center’s News Interest Index as a yardstick. The nonpartisan index, which has been published since 1986, attempts to measure how closely Americans are following stories covered by news organizations.

“Federal failures have become so common that they are less of a shock to the public than an expectation,” Light writes. At the same time, he adds, “I did not write this paper as yet another cudgel against ‘big government.’ As I have long argued, the federal government creates miracles every day, often in spite of tighter budgets, persistent criticism and complex missions.”

Light concludes in the study that government failures have been increasing over time, from an average of 1.6 per year from 1986 to 2001 to 3 per year after that.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2014/07/governments-biggest-failures-2001-2014/88678/

For the full list of 41 failures Light assessed, click here.

May 27, 2014 By AMK

Contractor suspensions and debarments doubled over the last 4 years

The number of contractor suspensions and debarments government-wide have doubled since fiscal 2009 because agencies have developed better management tools and a more active referral process, a May 21 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says.

Agencies can use suspension and debarment to exclude individuals, contractors and grantees from receiving future contracts, grants and other federal assistance due to various types of misconduct.

A previous GAO report found agencies issuing the most procurement related suspensions and debarments shared common characteristics: dedicated staff, detailed policies and procedures, and an active referral process.

Many agencies that previously faltered in rooting out contractor misconduct have taken the lead from those stronger agencies, the latest report says.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/gao-contractor-suspensions-and-debarments-have-doubled-over-last-4-years/2014-05-22

March 7, 2014 By AMK

FEMA raises ‘small’ threshold for public assistance grants

The dollar threshold for a disaster recovery project considered “small” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has gone up by more than half, to $120,000.

Small construction projects that FEMA funds through public assistance grants after presidentially declared major disasters are subject to significantly fewer paperwork and inspection requirements. The state, local and tribal governments and some nonprofits eligible to receive FEMA grants for rebuilding disaster-damaged facilities get the money upfront when the project is considered small, rather than having to wait until after FEMA can process documented proof of costs incurred.

A FEMA analysis from earlier this year concluded that over the past seven years, 88 percent of projects have been small – and despite that overwhelming percentage, they’ve consumed only 15 percent of public assistance grant dollars. Under the new threshold, that number would have been 93 percent of all projects and 20 percent of grant money – the latter also being the median percentage of small project amount dollars over the past seven years.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/fema-raises-small-threshold-public-assistance-grants/2014-03-03

Federal government oversight of The Gallup Organization, put in place as the consulting and polling company looked to settle allegations that it conducted business unethically, has ended early after a government official said he views Gallup as a responsible company.

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