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<DIV>Bill London is correct:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<H4>CONTRACTOR TO BLAME?</H4>
<P></P>
<H2>Switch to private maintenance company may have left Walter Reed Army Medical
Center understaffed</H2></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><EM>The Washington Post</EM><BR><BR>March 11, 2007<BR><BR>WASHINGTON - The
scandal over dilapidated housing for outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center has focused attention on the decision to replace Army employees who
maintained the hospital with a contractor connected to the Bush administration
and to a Halliburton subsidiary.<BR><BR>Commanders say the move left the
building maintenance staff undermanned. <BR><BR>The Post has reported that in
addition to bureaucratic delays in medical care, outpatients are housed in older
buildings that have black mold, cockroaches, leaky plumbing, broken elevators
and other problems. <BR><BR>Some Democratic lawmakers have questioned hiring IAP
Worldwide Services, which won a $120-million contract last year to maintain and
operate Walter Reed facilities. <BR><BR>The decision reversed a 2004 finding by
the Army that it would be more cost-effective to keep the work in-house. After
IAP protested, Army auditors ruled that the cost estimates offered by in-house
federal workers were too low. <BR><BR>On Friday, the American Federation of
Government Employees, the largest federal workers union, blamed pressure put on
the Army from the White House's Office of Management and Budget for the decision
to privatize its civilian workforce. <BR><BR>"Left to its own devices, the Army
would likely have suspended this privatization effort," union president John
Gage said in a statement. <BR><BR>IAP did not take over management until last
month. While awaiting the takeover, the number of maintenance workers at Walter
Reed dropped from 180 to 100, and the hospital found it hard to hire
replacements. <BR><BR>Maj. Gen. George Weightman, Walter Reed's previous
commander, said the privatization "absolutely" contributed to the problems.
<BR><BR>IAP said in a statement it has "responded with a sense of urgency to
address maintenance concerns." The White House did not comment. <BR><BR>IAP is
owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, an asset management firm chaired by
former Treasury secretary John Snow. The company is headed by two former
high-ranking executives of KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>____________________________________</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV id=articleHeader>
<H1>Privatizing of Walter Reed scrutinized</H1>
<H2>Some say move added to problems</H2>
<DIV id=articleBodyTop>
<DIV id=articleBodyImageH><SPAN id=articleImageH></SPAN>Lieutenant General Kevin
Kiley and Major General George Weightman at a House subcommittee hearing earlier
this week at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. </DIV>
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</DIV>
<P class=byline><SPAN>By Steve Vogel, Washington Post | </SPAN> <SPAN
class=date>March 11, 2007</SPAN></P></DIV>
<DIV id=articleGraphs>
<DIV id=page1>
<P>WASHINGTON -- The scandal over treatment of outpatients at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center has focused attention on the Army's decision to privatize the
facilities-support workforce at the hospital, a move commanders say left the
building maintenance crew understaffed.</P>
<P>Some Democratic lawmakers have questioned the decision to hire IAP Worldwide
Services, a contractor with connections to the Bush administration and to KBR, a
<ORG value="HAL" idsrc="NYSE">Halliburton</ORG> subsidiary.</P>
<P>Last year, IAP won a $120 million contract to maintain and operate Walter
Reed facilities. The decision reversed a 2004 finding by the Army that it would
be more cost-effective to keep the work in-house.</P>
<P>After IAP protested, Army auditors ruled that the cost estimates offered by
in-house federal workers were too low. They had to submit a new bid, which added
23 employees and $16 million to their cost, according to the Army.</P>
<P>Last week, the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest
federal workers union, blamed pressure on the Army from the White House's Office
of Management and Budget for the decision to privatize its civilian
workforce.</P>
<P>"Left to its own devices, the Army would likely have suspended this
privatization effort," said John Gage, president of the organization. "However,
the political pressure from OMB left Army officials with no choice but to go
forward, even if that resulted in unsatisfactory care to the nation's
veterans."</P>
<P>The Army selected IAP for the five-year deal in January 2006, but IAP did not
take over management until last month. During that period, the number of
facilities management workers at Walter Reed dropped from about 180 to 100, and
the hospital found it hard to hire replacements.</P>
<P>Major General George Weightman, who was Walter Reed's commander until he was
relieved last week, testified last week that the privatization -- in combination
with a decision by the Pentagon in 2005 to close Walter Reed by 2011 --
"absolutely" contributed to the problems.</P>
<P>IAP said in a statement it has "responded with a sense of urgency to address
maintenance concerns throughout the [Walter Reed] complex."</P>
<P>Senator Barbara Mikulski, Democrat of Maryland, charged that the Bush
administration had unfairly blamed federal workers for problems "that are a
direct result of the Bush administration's contracting out policy."</P>
<P>The White House did not respond to a request for comment.</P>
<P>IAP, based in Cape Canaveral, has provided such services to the government as
delivering ice in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina and helping maintain
Afghanistan's air traffic control system. In 2006, the firm had $393 million in
military contracts, according to Pentagon data.</P>
<P>IAP is owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, an asset-management firm
chaired by John Snow, former Treasury secretary . The company is headed by two
former high-ranking executives of KBR, formerly known as Kellogg Brown &
Root.</P>
<P>Al Neffgen, IAP's chief executive, was chief operating officer for a KBR
division before joining IAP in 2004. IAP's president, Dave Swindle, is a former
KBR vice president.</P>
<P>The company has worked at Walter Reed since 2003, providing housekeepers,
computer analysts, and clerks under a Treasury contract.</P>
<P>In a separate development, Representative Harry Mitchell, Democrat of
Arizona, said yesterday that the mold-covered walls, rodent infestations, and
other problems uncovered recently at Walter Reed reveal "a catastrophic failure
of leadership" by the Bush administration.</P>
<P>In the Democrats' weekly radio address, Mitchell said Congress is acting
quickly to hold the administration accountable for underfunding and mismanaging
the veterans healthcare system.</P>
<P>Mitchell's comments come after a week of congressional hearings on reports of
shoddy outpatient healthcare at Walter Reed.</P>
<P>Army and administration officials have said they are working to fix the
problems . Caseworkers, financial specialists, and others have been added to
work with injured soldiers' families.</P>
<P>Mitchell said the Bush administration has tried to care for veterans "on the
cheap."</P>
<P>Democrats have provided about $3.5 billion above the president's budget
request in the emergency war funding bill, which House members will vote on
soon, to deal with the health care problems faced by veterans, he said.</P>
<P><SPAN class=tagline>Material from the Associated Press was included in this
report. </SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message -----
<DIV>From: "Bill London" <<A
href="mailto:london@moscow.com">london@moscow.com</A>></DIV>
<DIV>To: "Pat Kraut" <<A
href="mailto:pkraut@moscow.com">pkraut@moscow.com</A>>; "vision2020" <<A
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A>></DIV>
<DIV>Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 12:13 PM</DIV>
<DIV>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] [Spam] Shameful Neglect and a Shameful
Government</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>> Actually, the mess at Walter Reed is an example of a
well-run government<BR>> program being outsourced to private
industry.<BR>> The US Army was FORCED by the White House to turn over Walter
Reed services<BR>> to Halliburton.<BR>> BL<BR>> <BR>> <BR>>
<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> ----- Original Message ----- <BR>> From: "Pat
Kraut" <<A href="mailto:pkraut@moscow.com">pkraut@moscow.com</A>><BR>>
To: "vision2020" <<A
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A>><BR>> Sent:
Monday, March 12, 2007 6:59 PM<BR>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] [Spam] Shameful
Neglect and a Shameful Government<BR>> <BR>> <BR>>> It is just a
wonderful example of a government run health
plan!!<BR>>><BR>>><BR>>><BR>>> ----- Original Message
----- <BR>>> From: "Sue Hovey" <<A
href="mailto:suehovey@moscow.com">suehovey@moscow.com</A>><BR>>> To:
"lfalen" <<A href="mailto:lfalen@turbonet.com">lfalen@turbonet.com</A>>;
<<A
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A>><BR>>>
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 4:38 PM<BR>>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020]
[Spam] Shameful Neglect and a Shameful<BR>>
Government<BR>>><BR>>><BR>>> I agree. This last wave of
neglect at Walter Reed only highlights what we<BR>>> have been hearing for
the past couple of years.<BR>>><BR>>> Sue<BR>>> ----- Original
Message ----- <BR>>> From: "lfalen" <<A
href="mailto:lfalen@turbonet.com">lfalen@turbonet.com</A>><BR>>> To:
"Sue Hovey" <<A
href="mailto:suehovey@moscow.com">suehovey@moscow.com</A>>; <<A
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A>><BR>>>
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 11:20 AM<BR>>> Subject: Re: [Spam]
[Vision2020] Shameful Neglect and a Shameful<BR>>
Government<BR>>><BR>>><BR>>> > Sue<BR>>>
><BR>>> > I agree that something is wrong with the way we care for
veterans. I get<BR>>> > solicitations for support from six of seven
organizations that help<BR>>> > veterans. I support some of these as I
can. However I thing that is it<BR>> the<BR>>> > responsibility of
the government to provide our veterans with top notch<BR>>> > care. It
is a disgrace that they have to ask for private funding.<BR>>> >
Roger<BR>>> > -----Original message-----<BR>>> > From: "Sue
Hovey" <A href="mailto:suehovey@moscow.com">suehovey@moscow.com</A><BR>>>
> Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:50:56 -0700<BR>>> > To: <A
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>>> >
Subject: [Spam] [Vision2020] Shameful Neglect and a Shameful
Government<BR>>> ><BR>>> >> >From a Letter to the Editor
in West Hawaii Today: (March 12, 2007)<BR>>> >><BR>>>
>> My former husband recently passed away after losing a
40-year-long<BR>>> >> battle against the effects of the Vietnam
War.<BR>>> >> Mike suffered from Non-Hodgkins
lymphoma, which physically weakened<BR>>> >> him, and Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder and acute alcoholism that<BR>>> >> mentally crippled
him. The former caused him to finally be unable to<BR>>> >>
wield the framers hammer that had always provided his living. The<BR>>
latter<BR>>> >> made it impossible for him to be in the company of
the family that he<BR>>> >> loved.<BR>>>
>> Towards the end of his life Mike finally sought the
help of the<BR>>> >> Veteran's Administration. This was the
act of a desperate man as he'd<BR>>> >> always said that he never
wanted another thing from the U S Government.<BR>>> >> The long
lines and endless paperwork were more than he could tolerate<BR>>
and<BR>>> >> he died alone at a campsite in the snow.<BR>>>
>> I traveled to Oregon with our grown children to take care
of Mike's<BR>>> >> funeral arrangements. He wanted to be
scattered on "his" mountain.<BR>>> >> The one thig
that he had counted on the government to do for him was<BR>>> >>
denied. The Veteran's Administration will not cremate one of their
own<BR>>> >> unless they are receiving monetary benefits, are an
officer, or if the<BR>>> >> veteran actually dies in one of their
hospitals. Mike would have<BR>>> >> received benefits if he
could have held on for another six months and<BR>> his<BR>>> >>
claim had been settled. It would have been settled in his favor<BR>>
because<BR>>> >> his type of lymphoma is a direct result of the
Agent Orange he had been<BR>>> >> showered with at age
18.<BR>>> >> Shame on the United States
government. It killed this man<BR>> twice--once<BR>>> >> in
Vietnam and again on a lonely, snowy mountain.<BR>>> >>
While the veterans did not bury Mike, they did provide his son with
a<BR>>> >> full-sized United States flag. A flag of loosely
woven fabric and<BR>>> >> labeled with a large "MADE IN CHINA"
tag.<BR>>> >><BR>>> >> Lisa Angelo Wyrick<BR>>>
>> Kailua-Kona<BR>>> >><BR>>> >><BR>>>
>><BR>>> ><BR>>> ><BR>>> ><BR>>> > --
<BR>>> > No virus found in this incoming message.<BR>>> >
Checked by AVG Free Edition.<BR>>> > Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database:
268.18.9/719 - Release Date:<BR>> 3/12/2007<BR>>> > 8:41
AM<BR>>> ><BR>>> ><BR>>><BR>>>
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