This is the question worth asking every time a story like this comes out: if there’s no money for your health care, your kids’ schools, or the programs your family depends on, where is it going?
The Trump Administration just paid $17.4 million to fix two decorative fountains outside the White House. Three years ago, the same job was estimated at $3.3 million.
And guess what?
The construction company that got the contract is the same one building Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom, and they got it without any competitive bidding whatsoever. The contract wasn’t even posted publicly, as required by federal law.
So how do you get from $3.3 million to $17.4 million? They added 27% for inflation. Then they added another 24% for inflation again.
Then they tacked on additional charges that federal contracting experts said they had never seen before in their careers.
And the justification for bypassing the normal bidding process entirely? The fountains needed to be ready for America’s 250th anniversary. It’s worth noting that these fountains haven’t worked for nearly a decade. If the repairs were truly that urgent, why are they only fixing them now, and why are taxpayers footing a surcharge for the rush?
You are paying for this.
Link via NY Times
The National Park Service increased the value of the contract several times over and then awarded it to Maryland-based Clark Construction, in a process that experts said was highly unusual.
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