Heckuva Job: Contractor Behind Obamacare Website Awarded $7 Million in Federal Contracts Since October 1

Cronyism at "work"?

Reason

The Obamacare website's roll out has been almost universally seen as a disaster. But that doesn't mean the contractor behind the fiasco can't still gorge at the federal trough.

From Fox News:

CGI Federal Inc, the company that created large parts of the error-plagued ObamaCare exchange website, which it says it is scrambling to fix, has recently been awarded several other government contracts.

Since the ObamaCare exchange website launched on Oct. 1, government officials have signed at least five different agreements with CGI totaling $7 million, according to USASpending.gov, a government website that lists government contracts. The contracts were for computer and software development at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Meanwhile, Democrat Senator Barbara Mikulski, who is not up for re-election until 2016, said in a hearing that the rollout of Obamacare has created "fear, doubt, and a crisis of confidence." Obamacare may also be to blame for CNN's recent abysmal ratings and the doctor shortage Obamacare is helping exacerbate could in turn exacerbate Obamacare's problems.

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Comments

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Once again showing that there is no peak derp. Especially when dealing with the Gov.

[waffles]

If they had spend 70 million or 700 million it would be 10 to 100 times more fixed right now. You people just don't understand reality-based solutions.

[Dweebston]

According to WAPO, Feds spent $174 million on the site and IT support, which presumably doesn't include any of the inevitable post-rollout fixes. But you're right, clearly if we'd spent two or twenty billion dollars, we'd have a functional website.

(Yes I know we're being facetious.)

[Episiarch]

Now that's some serious cronyism. CGI completely fucks up the Obamacare rollout, resulting in a PR disaster for the administration, and they still get more contracts. I wonder how much the CEO of CGI contributed to Obama's campaigns. I'm guessing it was a lot.

[Marshall Gill]

It appears that cronyism (and failure) is all that CGI knows. Their track record up north is pathetic.

Sorry about the source.

http://www.nationalreview.com/.....mark-steyn

[Episiarch]

Yeah, I had heard about that. I'm very curious to know how CGI greases both the Canadian and US politicians so well. Because when you can let a $2 million project balloon to $2 billion, you are milking the politicians like a champ.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I think the phrase you're looking for is "milking the politician's prostates like a champ"

Subtle difference.

[Paul.]

you are milking the politicians like a champ.

Why do I feel like the one getting milked?

[Episiarch]

Because when cronies milk the politicians, the politicians milk you. And fuck you. How's that feel? Oh, I already know, since I'm getting fucked too.

[Sevo]

..."Because when you can let a $2 million project balloon to $2 billion, you are milking the politicians like a champ."

Forgive my cynicism, but I wonder how much of the money ended up either back in a politico's pocket or at least in the campaign fund.

[Bill Dalasio]

Oddly, probably not that much. The funny thing about politicians isn't that they can be bought. It's how ridiculously cheaply they can be bought. A couple of hundred grand, distributed properly, buys you a contract in the hundreds of millions. Or an ambassadorship.

[John]

They don't grease the US ones. The CEO is one of Michelle's class mates from Princeton. I the US at least, this is just straight up upper class twits taking care of one another at our expense.

[Killazontherun]

I've seen a report that Valerie Jarret's daughter holds a top position there to which I'm sure she is an indispensable talent with near supernatural gifts to make it rain.

[Ketogenic Paleo]

Indeed, CGI is so Canadian their name is French: Conseillers en Gestion et Informatique. Their most famous government project was for the Canadian Firearms Registry.

That explains everything.

[tarran]

Hookers and Lady Gaga tickets....

[Tonio]

Maybe it was CGI's fuckup, or maybe they were just doing what the contract said. Will be interesting to see if the truth ever outs.

It is also possible that the contract was so fucked up that CGI is the only one who can fix the system (ie, they got to hold on to the code, employees had non-compete clauses, etc).

Finally, it is possible that this is hush money to keep CGI from spilling the beans and take the blame.

[Episiarch]

I have a suspicion that the very successful crony companies have figured out that politicians are morons. If you just tell them what they want to hear and make them feel like they are powerful and special, they can probably fleece the retards for obscene amounts of taxpayer money, and then just make excuses that are again tailored to salving politician egos when it all goes massively over budget.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I have a suspicion that the very successful crony companies have figured out that politicians are morons.

Especially when it comes to technology. I am fairly certain, I could write a proposal for a website and use nothing but made up tech-jargon to sell it.

"Our goal would be to create a complex super widget with the capability of prefluxing the damma stream to the benefit of the government."

I'd get $7 mil easy.

[Episiarch]

NEEDZ MOAR ASSKISSING

I'd bet some money that the key to being a successful crony company is learning to stroke the politicians' and bureaucrats' egos just the right way.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

"Our goal would be to create a complex super widget with the capability of prefluxing the damma stream. This would increase the greatness of His Wonderfulness the Honorable Holiness Barack Obama and all who follow him. The complex super widget would be second only to the brilliance of those who decide such things."

Better?

[Episiarch]

I don't think you're grasping how much asskissing Obama requires. You're going to need to get your whole head up there.

[tarran]

... so, like, eight Lady Gaga tickets?

[Killazontherun]

I really wished the Drudge site would stop featuring pictures of Lady Gaga. The latest one makes my eyes bleed. That is one ugly tranny.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Well, shit. I didn't think I was going to have to get Warty's help on this. He's the only one I know that can shove things that far up people's asses.

Maybe the $7m isn't worth it after all. Sorry, Warty, I know you were looking forward to that.

[John]

I have a suspicion that the very successful crony companies have figured out that politicians are morons. If you just tell them what they want to hear and make them feel like they are powerful and special,

Your suspicion is correct. Anyone who works in the federal government doing any kind of high level operations will tell you "never let the politicals be alone with the contractors". Political people will believe any dog and pony show they see and immediately want to buy the product behind it.

For example, the infamous nudie scnaners were sold to the feds because their rep was former DHS head Michael Chertoff. Chertoff, because he is one of the top men, got exclusive access to the panicked people in the Obama administration just after the underwear bomber plot and sold them the scanners even though they wouldn't have stopped the plot. Chertoff is one of the Vulcan smart people and knew exactly how to play those people. His client made millions selling an ultimately worthless piece of equipment.

[NoVAHockey]

I lot of what i do is educating congress, but not making it seem like i'm educating congress.

[John]

I haven't dealt with Congress members very much. But I have with their staffs. Some of the committee staff people are smart and know something. But the member staff seem to always be noxious 20 somethings who are dangerously stupid and uninformed about nearly everything.

[Kaptious Kristen]

One of my college friends is a lawyer on a committee staff and had worked for a particular Senator for many years (started as an LA in his office in the early 90's). She is a full-on Koolaid drinker who wholeheartedly believes what they do up there is for the good of the nation. I'm just always WTFing in her general direction.

[John]

It is easy to drink the Koolaid if you work in Congress. They never see what comes out the other side from the laws they write. The amount of cynicism varies inversely with how far you are from the tip of the spear.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

As a Canadian lemme say: Suckers!

Ike got you by the balls.

[Marshall Gill]

As a Canadian lemme say: Suckers!

Read Steyn's column above. You are only saying that because CGI fucked the Canadian taxpayers to the tune of $2B. Misery loves company.

[Paul.]

That's $2b Canadian...

[Marshall Gill]

So like Tree Fity, then?

[Ketogenic Paleo]

Ah yes, I remember that time when people joked about how worthless CAD$ was compared to USD$.

[Jordan]

Ike got you by the balls.

One game of kick-the-baby will sort him out.

[BakedPenguin]

Ike got you by the balls.

"Kick the baby!"

[BakedPenguin]

Damn it. PWND.

[The Late P Brooks]

They'll totally get it right next time.

[Brett L]

I have this football, would you be interested in kicking it?

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Yeah, totally for sure this time. I mean, it's just basic math that tells us Time+Money=Competence. Right?

[Paul.]

CGI Federal Inc, the company that created large parts of the error-plagued ObamaCare exchange website, which it says it is scrambling to fix, has recently been awarded several other government contracts.

And why not. Obamacare is working exactly as designed.

[Kid Xenocles]

Look, we all make mistakes, so it stands to reason that we all make about the same number of mistakes in our lifetimes. These guys already made a ton of mistakes on this project, so that means they don't have as many mistakes left to make in the future. Thus they're more likely to do it right than a firm that has made fewer mistakes so far. It's all very mathematical, so I don't blame you for not understanding it.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Hmm, maybe my math was a little off. Seems I forgot to factor in rate of failure...

[Killazontherun]

I remember when I was twelve and my bro was nineteen and he was on shore leave. We played one on one soccer. He won like seven games in a row. I told him that statistically, he was doomed. If he kept winning the odds would pile up in my favor if he didn't save his pride and forfeit. Called my bluff and he won the next six games before getting bored with it.

[Spoonman.]

My HS biology teacher taught a good phrase about this.

"Probability has no memory."

[The Late P Brooks]

Just imagine the hit to "full faith and credit" we'd take if we refused to pay them.

It's a risk no civilized nation could afford to take.

[The Late P Brooks]

I have this football, would you be interested in kicking it?

*jumps up and down excitedly*

[The Rt. Hon. Serious Man, Visc]

AAAARRRGGHHHH!!!! *crash*

[Kaptious Kristen]

The unions are hatin' on Obamacare, so Mikulski, union tool, must hate on it, too.

[Swiss Servator, Sail Genfersee]

Will her head asplode, being pulled one way by unions, the other by the Party?

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Nah. She's not up for re-election until 2016. She has plenty of time for people to forget her actions before the next election. Even if the party abandons her, she'll have a nice cushy union position to "retire" to.

[John]

And she is from Maryland. Hard to imagine that state voting her out.

But the fact that she is saying anything shows how badly this thing is hurting Dem supporters.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Oh, I definitely think this is telling. Obama's supporters are starting to realize that he is quickly becoming toxic. They can't keep their heads buried forever and think they'll come out smelling like a rose. (See Epi and I's exchange from above to find out where their heads are buried)

[John]

And there are a ton of them who are really hurt by this. All of these gentry liberals with their Obama stickers on the Prius and their sense of smug superiority are finding out that they are the ones expected to pay for this. They are not happy. They were assured the "rich" or the "tea baggers" would be the ones hurt.

[dinkster]

Was the time given for proper development enough for anyone to do the site correctly?

[Spoonman.]

There isn't such a thing as the site working correctly. P Brooks, I think, links to the general schematic for it, and it's insane.

[John]

They are never going to fix it. I know everyone things they will fix it and then somehow make this thing look good and then get single payer and a 70 vote majority in the Senate or something. But I don't think they ever even fix the web site. It will be April and people will be paying the penaltax for not having insurance they were unable to buy.

[Tman]

Has anyone talked about the literal bailout for Health Insurance companies if costs reach a certain point that's written in to the ACA yet?

This thing just gets worse and worse every day.

As McIntyre describes in more detail, the "action" involves a 50 percent bailout for costs that exceed 103% of the insurers' cost target, and an 80% bailout for costs that exceed 108% of target. If a plan undershoots its cost target, it has to pay HHS according to a similar formula for costs below 97 percent and 92 percent. Section 1342 of the ACA states that the "target" amount is the total of all premiums paid minus administrative costs ? that is, it's the break-even point for the plan.

http://www.conservativeintel.c.....6r136.dpuf

[Killazontherun]

And yet, it is seditious to oppose this law.

[John]

Congress will never agree to single payer. But they will never let the insurance companies go broke. This is going to be TARP all over again. This whole thing is going to end up being a giant theft from the American public for the benefit of the insurance companies.

But Obama cares. He cares about you and is fighting the fat cats on your behalf.

[Tman]

It's already a giant theft from the American public for the benefit of the insurance companies. The question now is how much more they can massage the numbers in order to cash out on a bailout.

[John]

You have to give them credit, it was a hell of a con. Obama managed to convince his brain dead supporters this thing was about them.

[joebanana]

I want to know who got the kickback on the $700 million dollar web site? Something that should have cost $1000, ends up with an absurd price. Who is stupid enough to believe a web site cost that much? Obama voters, that's who.