You get what you pay for
October 1st, 2009 | Procurement State | Posted by Elise Castelli
The State Department “got what it paid for” when it hired embattled contractor ArmorGroup North America to provide security to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, a new report from the Wartime Contracting Commission found.
Unfortunately, the commission also found State had little choice because federal law prohibits the department from choosing security contractors based on performance rather than cost. According to the report:
Unlike other federal agencies, the U.S. Department of State is forbidden by law to select anything but the lowest price and ‘technically acceptable’ offer when awarding contracts to protect its overseas buildings — even if this means passing up offers from firms offering higher quality and better experience. In contingency operations like those in Iraq and Afghanistan, this prohibition can have negative consequences for security, wartime mission objectives, and America’s image.”
The report comes on the heels of revelations by the Project on Government Oversight that employees of ArmorGroup threw alcohol-fueled parties and forced subordinates to engage in lewd behavior that resulted in high staff turnover and placed embassy officials at risk.
The commission recommended removing the low-price requirement to allow State to select the contractor that will provide the best value.
Tags: ArmorGroup, contractors, POGO, private security, Wartiime Contracting Commission
More investigations into State Department guard contract
September 4th, 2009 | Procurement State | Posted by Elise Castelli
The Wartime Contracting Commission is the latest body to announce it will investigate the State Department’s oversight of a controversial contract for private guard services in Afghanistan.
The congressionally chartered commission called a hearing for Sept. 14 in the wake of a Sept. 1 Project on Government Oversight letter to the department alleging employees of the private security contractor Armour Group North America engaged in lewd acts and hazed junior employees, compromising the security of U.S. diplomats at the embassy in Kabul.
The hearing will focus on “the underlying questions of what the State Department contract require[s] of contract-employee conduct, how thorough its contractor-selection process is, how contract performance is monitored, and how shortcomings are addressed,” Commission Co-chair Michael Thibault said.
Co-Chair Christopher Shays said federal departments need to ensure “contractors are doing thorough vetting, ensuring training and compliance with codes of conduct, and enforcing contract terms that represent the high ideals of America.”
Free Firefox browser currently too expensive for State
July 14th, 2009 | Information Technology State | Posted by Elise Castelli
BoingBoing, the self-proclaimed “directory of wonderful things,†points out an interesting exchange in a State Department town hall meeting Sec. Hillary Clinton and Undersecretary for Management Patrick Kennedy held Friday. Here is what BoingBoing quoted from the meeting’s transcript:
MS. GREENBERG: Okay. Our next question comes from Jim Finkle:
Can you please let the staff use an alternative web browser called Firefox? I just – (applause) – I just moved to the State Department from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and was surprised that State doesn’t use this browser. It was approved for the entire intelligence community, so I don’t understand why State can’t use it. It’s a much safer program. Thank you. (Applause.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, apparently, there’s a lot of support for this suggestion. (Laughter.) I don’t know the answer. Pat, do you know the answer? (Laughter.)
UNDER SECRETARY KENNEDY: The answer is at the moment, it’s an expense question. We can -
QUESTION: It’s free. (Laughter.)
While today’s BoingBoing post ends there, we here at FedLine wanted to bring you the next line in the conversation– Kennedy’s explanation of what he meant by “it’s an expense question.â€
From the transcript posted on the State Department’s Web site:
UNDER SECRETARY KENNEDY: Nothing is free. (Laughter.) It’s a question of the resources to manage multiple systems. It is something we’re looking at. And thanks to the Secretary, there is a significant increase in the 2010 budget request that’s pending for what is called the Capital Investment Fund, by which we fund our information technology operations. With the Secretary’s continuing pushing, we’re hoping to get that increase in the Capital Investment Fund. And with those additional resources, we will be able to add multiple programs to it.
Yes, you’re correct; it’s free, but it has to be administered, the patches have to be loaded. It may seem small, but when you’re running a worldwide operation and trying to push, as the Secretary rightly said, out FOBs and other devices, you’re caught in the terrible bind of triage of trying to get the most out that you can, but knowing you can’t do everything at once.
What say you, dear readers, of Kennedy’s points about cost, budget and management?
Tags: capital investments, Firefox
Supplemental bill to close pay gap for overseas diplomats
June 25th, 2009 | State | Posted by Steve Losey
The $106 billion war supplemental bill President Barack Obama signed yesterday will start closing the pay gap between Foreign Service officers in Washington and overseas beginning this fiscal year. The bill for the first time authorizes diplomats abroad to receive the same 23.1 percent locality payment they would receive if they were stationed in the Washington area.
The bill does not spell out how much the State Department and other foreign affairs agencies such as the Agency for International Development should pay Foreign Service officers this year. The American Foreign Service Association suggested closing the gap by one-third — or 7.7 percent — in fiscal 2009, and similar increases in fiscal 2010 and 2011.
Tags: Foreign Service, overseas pay gap, State
New green goals coming
April 22nd, 2009 | Agency Management Executive Office of the President Facilities Fleet Management State | Posted by Tim Kauffman
The White House is developing an executive order that will set new goals for greening federal agencies, the administration’s top environmental policy adviser said this afternoon.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality is working with several agencies to draft the new presidential directive, council chairwoman Nancy Sutley said during an Earth Day event at the State Department. Sutley did not say when the order will be issued.
Existing laws and executive orders already require agencies to cut their energy and water consumption, increase their use of renewable energy, purchase environmentally preferable products and buy alternative fuel vehicles. Sutley said the new order will go even further.
The order will closely integrate federal greening actions and set new goals for energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy, the purchase of fuel-efficient cars, water conservation and encourage overall sustainability.
For those of you who read your Federal Times closely each week, Sutley’s comments should come as no surprise. We reported this week that the administration was reviewing all existing goals to determine which ones should be updated, modified or otherwise revised to meet the Obama administration’s green government commitments.
Tags: conservation, Energy, environment, green
"Civilian surge" planned for Afghanistan
March 18th, 2009 | State | Posted by Steve Losey
The Washington Post says President Barack Obama is planning to deploy hundreds of diplomats and other federal employees to Afghanistan as part of a major effort to bolster reconstruction efforts in the war-torn country.
The Post reports that aside from senior State Department diplomats, “other civilian officials are to be drawn from government departments such as Agriculture and Justice, and hundreds of new ‘full-time, temporary’ positions are planned” under a new strategy expected to be approved next week.
During last year’s presidential campaign, Obama promised to refocus U.S. attention on Afghanistan, where the Taliban is regaining strength and Afghan president Hamid Karzai’s government is struggling.
Tags: Afghanistan, Agriculture, Justice, President Barack Obama, State
Clinton on private security
February 5th, 2009 | State | Posted by Elise Castelli
Yesterday, Secretary Hillary Clinton held a town hall meeting with State Department employees. One human resources intern, Chris Dilworth, had a very pointed question for her: Will you ban private security contractors?
Clinton, after noting that private security contracts are a concern and the contract with the controversial Blackwater Worldwide will be terminated, had this to say:
I certainly am of the mind that we should, insofar as possible, diminish our reliance on private security contractors. Whether we can go all the way to banning, under current circumstances, seems unlikely, but we ought to be engaged in a very careful review of where they should and shouldn’t be used, and under what circumstances. And that’s what we’re doing right now.
Hillary Clinton: Rock star?
January 22nd, 2009 | State | Posted by Tim Kauffman
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was greeted like a rock star today when she made her first appearance at the department’s D.C. headquarters.
Hillary Clinton greets employees at Foggy Bottom.
Clinton arrived this morning to thunderous applause outside the C Street entrance and, once inside, waded through a camera-toting crowd numbering well into the hundreds, taking time to shake hands with employees eager to get their first look at the new boss.  The applause didn’t die down for more than three minutes, at which point the brief lull gave way to another round of hoots and hollars.
“We love you Madam Secretary!” one female employee shouted.
“Thank you,” a jovial Clinton replied.
Clinton said she was “thrilled beyond words” to become the 67th Secretary of State. She thanked employees for the warm reception and said she was looking forward to sharing with them a great adventure, but cautioned that the work before them would not be easy.
This is going to be a challenging time and it will require 21st century tools and solutions to meet our problems and seize our opportunities. I’m going to be asking a lot of you. I want you to think outside the proverbial box. I want you to give me the best advice you can. I want you to understand there is nothing that I welcome more than a good debate and the kind of dialogue that will make us better.Â
Clinton spoke for about 10 minutes, then spent another six or so minutes shaking as many hands as she could.
The department’s skilled video team captured the entire event, presented for you below.
Clinton confirmed, holding on Holder
January 21st, 2009 | Justice State Transition | Posted by Gregg Carlstrom
The Senate just voted to confirm Hillary Clinton as the secretary of state. The final vote was 94-to-2: Only Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Jim DeMint, R-S.C., voted ‘nay.’
But the Senate Judiciary committee is postponing its vote on Eric Holder’s nomination as attorney general. The Republicans on the committee apparently asked for the delay. Holder has proved controversial because of decisions he made as a deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration.
Tags: Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton
Senate committee approves Clinton nomination
January 15th, 2009 | State | Posted by Steve Losey
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning approved Hillary Clinton’s nomination to be Secretary of State on a 16 to 1 vote. Clinton must now face a vote before the entire Senate, but she enjoys strong support among her former colleagues and her confirmation is expected.
Tags: Hillary Clinton, State, Transition