News summaries
NASA's outsourcing may benefit large contractors
Despite the Obama administration's multibillion dollar bet that a
scrappy band of entrepreneurs can revitalize the U.S. manned space
program, its budget also offers sweeteners to some of the nation's
largest aerospace contractors. The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration's proposed $19 billion spending plan for the fiscal year
starting Oct. 1 includes early seed money for development of pioneering
technologies to deliver cargo and astronauts to Earth orbit and beyond.
But two of the five initial recipients hardly fit the mold of hungry
start-ups: Boeing Co., one of NASA's premier suppliers, and United
Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin Corp rocket joint venture
that currently has a virtual monopoly launching U.S. military and spy
satellites.
The Wall Street Journal
Dems target GOP privatization plans
Democratic Party officials believe they have a major opening in the
upcoming budget wars after two Republican congressmen laid out
deficit-reduction proposals that rely on the privatization of Social
Security and Medicare.
Huffington Post
AZ: State sends out inquiries about the privatizing of prisons
The Arizona Department of Administration released a Request for
Information Monday, seeking to determine if there is interest from
private prison companies to operate Arizona prison complexes in Douglas
and Safford....“We will know before the end of February whether there
is any interest by private companies in operating these two prisons,”
ADC Director Charles L. Ryan said. “We will await the responses and
conduct an evaluation before proceeding.”
Douglas Dispatch
IN: Amendment would take the bite out of oversight bill
Legislators would not have the power to force the cancellation of
private contracts, but would still get to take a long look at how
effectively Indiana's human services agency is administering benefits
such as Medicaid and food stamps if an amendment state Rep. Gail
Riecken, D-Evansville, plans to offer later today is adopted. Riecken
said she will offer the amendment to House Bill 1003, which
she authored, because she thinks the change would give the bill a
better chance of winning bipartisan backing. The amendment removes some
of the bite from the bill as it is, but would keep in place its added
oversight....Riecken said she considers such an oversight committee
necessary because last year, three legislative panels held summer
hearings on the since-cancelled 10-year, $1.34 billion modernization
contract led by IBM Corp., but no final report was ever produced.
Evansville Courier and Press
OH: Naming rights one option for train service
Ohio is looking at other states for creative ways to pay for a new
passenger train service connecting Cleveland and Cincinnati, hoping to
minimize political fights over the issue. Everything from advertising,
naming rights and franchise fees for Wi-Fi and food service is on the
table, said Stu Nicholson, spokesman for the Ohio Rail Development
Commission, the state agency in charge of the project...."These days,
you have to be creative when you're looking for revenue," said Patricia
Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail
Authority.
Business Week
NY: M.T.A. fails to honestly rate contractors’ work
Outside contractors working on the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority’s biggest projects are routinely given positive evaluations
despite mediocre work, in part to preserve business relationships, an
investigation by the authority’s inspector general has found.... The
authority is constantly under fire for rampant delays and ballooning
budgets on its major construction projects, including the Second Avenue
subway, which are often handled nearly entirely by private
contractors....“Too often we have let our contractors slide when they
fail to perform, and that is why we have accepted the I.G.’s
recommendations and are working to implement them,” Mr. Walder said
Tuesday in a prepared statement.
The New York Times
KS: Strapped KC schools look at outsourcing
Outsourcing support staff employees will be further reviewed by the
Kansas City, Kan., School District Board of Education. During a special
budget meeting Tuesday, the board asked staff to prepare a request for
proposals that could allow private companies the chance to bid on
positions held by custodians, security officers, nutritional services
workers and bus drivers...That action came after an informal cost
estimate showed that the district could save millions of dollars by
outsourcing some services. One estimate projected a $3 million to $4
million savings a year in custodial services. Outsourcing security
officers could save an estimated $740,000 a year.
The Kansas City Star
