GovernmentExecutive.com

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Kevin Arvay, a satellite communications consultant based in Leesburg, Va., started calling federal agencies charged with cleanup and reconstruction. He thought he could help build their communications systems.

Arvay is still waiting for a return call. "It's frustrating, because you're sitting here knowing you can do something," he said.

Like hundreds of other small contractors, Arvay wants to be part of the enormous relief effort, but he has had difficulty getting the right people on the phone. As in many emergency situations, contracts are being awarded quickly, outside the normal competitive process, meaning that relationships matter as much as skills. Small companies could have a tough time winning government business in this environment.

Rich Johnson, director of contracting for the Army Corps of Engineers' Mississippi Valley Division, which is responsible for part of the cleanup in the Gulf Coast region, said his agency has tried to reach out to smaller, local businesses. In an effort to move quickly, the agency has used "letter contracts," which are awarded without competition, for those local businesses that were able to respond.

But Johnson said that when cleanup needs exceeded expectations, his team had to rely in some cases on bigger companies. He said he is collecting information on how much of the Army Corps' work is going to small and local businesses, but doesn't yet have the data.

Because big contractors often have the connections and resources to respond quickly in emergency situations, they often win large contracts. Halliburton Co., Bechtel Corp., the Shaw Group Inc., and Fluor Corp. are among the large companies currently working in the Gulf Coast.

In addition to issuing big contracts, agencies involved in the relief effort have relied on additions to previously awarded contracts. For example, a subsidiary of Pitney Bowes, a Stamford, Conn.-based document management company, held a contract with the Postal Service to handle change-of-address services. After Hurricane Katrina, the service asked Pitney Bowes to set up a special program for people who were forced to move because of the hurricane. According to Pitney Bowes, 150,000 people have used the new program.

Mui Erkun, chief of staff in the office of the chief procurement officer at the Homeland Security Department, which oversees emergency disaster relief, said small businesses should contact large prime contractors as well as local agencies charged with cleanup, to seek work. Homeland Security's Web site lists its prime contractors.

"DHS' philosophy is to give opportunities to every company that's capable of providing these services," Erkun said in a conference call hosted by TargetGov, a company that helps contractors win government work.

"One phone call or e-mail here or there just won't do it," TargetGov founder Gloria Berthold told the participants in the conference call. "You need to put together a cohesive strategy that will help you identify the prime contractors and people in agencies that are decision makers."

But some small business advocates, including Rep. Nydia Velasquez, D-N.Y., have argued that small firms should not have to settle for subcontracts. Such agreements give small firms less control over their work, she has said.

For now, contractors like Arvay are continuing to make phone calls. "Unless we work for large companies, it's hard for us to get a break out there," he said.

COMMENTS

• As usual the people at the Corps are crying foul. You totally miss the point - as usual for the Corps. The point is not the use of the big contractors - it is the fact that there were no bids! Of course the big guys will get the contracts but the cost may be lower if it is bid and not just simply awarded! Of course I would not expect the U.S. Army Corps to know that. Their major concern is to eliminate the work of running a bid process and get the contracts out fast and easy - even if they waste my money or build levees to specs that cannot standup to the eventual outcome. taxpayer Posted October 19, 2005 7:18 AM
• Contract Specialist, With the exception of the partison hack slant (no previous administration has done it before so it isn't solely a fault of this one) I like your idea. It is refreshingly far-sighted and therefore probably doomed to failure. "Considering hurricanes happen every year in this area and scientists (oh, wait, this administration doesn't do science) have predicted that they will become more numerous and more dangerous, why weren't contingency contracts competed, awarded, and put in place to prepare?" If you are serious about wanting to make a solid contribution to national preparedness, please submit your suggestion up your chain of command. Regarding what entity will get the contract(s), I suggest it will be the pet corporations of the contracting officials that have decision making authority. If you are worried that it will be Halliburton, et al, then don't bother until you have an administration that you can support ideologically. (But be prepared, because it still may go to them as one of the few that brings significant experience to the table on that kind of scale...) Good luck, it is an idea that has great merit and I hope you get recognized for it both professionally and monitarily. Skeptical Posted October 3, 2005 8:29 AM
• This article is just like most liberal media garbage that inundates the US public. Why not look into what the Halliburton’s of the world are doing? Are they making a difference in the Gulf region? How would we know? The liberal media and Gov Exec are more interested in bashing the positive work that is being performed by Government Agencies and Private Sector contractors. Get off your liberal duffs and do some real investigative reporting instead of recycling the lies that come from AP, New York Times, etc. Stephen S. Premo Posted September 30, 2005 7:20 AM