Monday December 3, 2012, 1:40 pm


Mother Jones
10 Corporations That Still Get New Government Contracts, Despite Alleged Misconduct
The EPA blocked BP from new government contracts, but many other companies have been cited for problems.

By Kate Sheppard | Fri Nov. 30, 2012 11:12 AM PST

The EPA surprised quite a few people on Wednesday when it announced sanctions on BP related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. BP won't be allowed to get any new government contracts until it cleans up its act, the agency said.

This was announced in a short press release that wasn't really very specific about what that penalty means in practice. It could bar the company from new contracts for as long as 18 months [1]—and potentially longer, if there are ongoing legal proceedings against the company. And it's not just BP's Gulf of Mexico affiliate—this suspension applies to all of BP's affiliates, barring the company from billions of dollars [2] in potential future contracts.

This has been a long-time coming for BP. As a ProPublica piece from May 2010 noted, the company was already in trouble before spill [3]:

Over the past 10 years, BP has paid tens of millions of dollars in fines and been implicated in four separate instances of criminal misconduct that could have prompted this far more serious action. Until now, the company's executives and their lawyers have fended off such a penalty by promising that BP would change its ways.

But many companies with federal contracts have been cited for misconduct. Apparently you just have to be really, really bad—like, 26-people-dead, Gulf-ecosystem-destroyed, lying-to-Congress bad [4]—in order to get barred like BP did. The government regularly blocks companies from getting new contracts; there were 5,838 [5] suspensions, proposed debarments, and debarments in 2011, an increase over previous years, but most of them are much smaller companies.

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) maintains a database of contractors [6] that have been cited for misconduct, including environmental, labor, and financial legal violations. But as POGO points out [7], "very few large contractors have been suspended or debarred over the years." BP tops the list with 62 instances of misconduct [8] or alleged misconduct since 1995, but here are the ten other big companies right behind BP that are still allowed to obtain government contracts:

Exxon Mobil [9], 59 instances of alleged misconduct
Lockheed Martin [10], 58 instances
Boeing Company [11], 46 instances
General Electric [12], 44 instances
Honeywell International [13], 41 instances
ChevronTexaco Corporation [14], 37 instances
Northrop Grumman [15], 35 instances
Fluor Corporation [16], 34 instances
Royal Dutch Shell PLC [17], 34 instances
GlaxoSmithKline [18], 33 instances


Source URL: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/11/BP-corporations-misconduct-government-contracts

Links:
[1] http://www.acquisition.gov/far/current/html/Subpart%209_4.html#wp1083280
[2] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703630304575270822261954614.html?mod=WSJ_business_LeadStoryCollection
[3] http://www.propublica.org/article/epa-officials-weighing-sanctions-against-bps-us-operations
[4] http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/11/bp-criminal-settlement-enough
[5] http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2012/09/report-shows-suspensions-and-debarments-on-the-rise.html
[6] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/
[7] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,72,217,html
[8] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=61&ranking=65
[9] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=23&ranking=124
[10] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=38&ranking=1
[11] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=13&ranking=2
[12] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=27&ranking=19
[13] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=30
[14] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=140&ranking=132
[15] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=42&ranking=3
[16] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=25&ranking=34
[17] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=71&ranking=64
[18] http://www.contractormisconduct.org/index.cfm/1,73,221,html?ContractorID=138

Monday December 3, 2012, 1:44 pm

Wonder why ???

Monday December 3, 2012, 2:15 pm
Good question Paul. It would be interesting to know whether or not someone in Congress intervened on their behalf to get some allegations dismissed or reduced sanctions.

Monday December 3, 2012, 2:43 pm
Very funny - I just saw this in my email from MoJo and went to post it. Due to the way Windows 7 operates, your news page, J.L., is my fastest portal to Care2 on this computer. And what did I see but this story right at the top! Thanks for posting! I hope it is widely read. Including by employees of these corporations.

Monday December 3, 2012, 3:10 pm
To err is human, to forgive, divine--but this is ridiculous!

Monday December 3, 2012, 4:54 pm
Thanks for sharing your story Joanne! LOL? You are welcome and I share your hopes.
I agree Barbara--wholeheartedly!

Monday December 3, 2012, 6:21 pm

If anyone really wants to know about the many and vast misdeeds and corruption of BP and other major OIL companies than they should read: "Vultures Picnic" by Greg Palast. He traveled the world investigating the far flung filth of BP and other OIL companies. This is not even the skim off the top. (alliteration intentional) We are supposed to be relived because of 4.5 billion dollar fine? That doesn't cause them to break a sweat. What's a couple years to a company like BP? Can't get contracts in the BP name, no big deal they can use one of many other corporate names, and they do and will continue to do just that.

Monday December 3, 2012, 6:46 pm
Thanks for the extra resource for factual information Kit! It can be hard to confirm subsidiary and affiliate relationships these days--even for the folks with contract responsibilities doing their due diligence to try to ensure none slip in. You cannot currently send a star to Kit because you have done so within the last week.

Monday December 3, 2012, 9:15 pm
Thanks J.L. for the post. The suspension is only temporary and is only for new contracts. BP will still receive government money for the ones they already have. The ban should have been permanent in my opinion. According to an article at Firedoglake.com by David Dayen:
"Clearly BP won’t go broke without those new contracts. And we don’t know how long the suspension will last. But for now, this cuts off a key profit center for the company, perhaps to gain leverage in the ultimate disbursement of civil penalties."
Read and noted.

Monday December 3, 2012, 9:22 pm
Thanks for sharing the additional analysis of this news with us John! You cannot currently send a star to John because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 12:45 am
Thanks for posting this for us.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 3:56 am
I want to see the day government contracts go to a hemp farms instead!

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 3:57 am
Thanks.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 4:38 am
Noted and am already used to this sh__ going on all over.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 6:48 am
You are welcome Roger and John.
You cannot currently send a star to Gloria because you have done so within the last week.
You cannot currently send a star to Giana because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 6:59 am
Any corporation that doesn't live up to the terms of a contract should be fined a crippling amount of money and banned for at least 2 years from any government contract. For a second violation they should receive a permanent ban. And all corporate donations to politicians should be permanently banned and the justices who decided Citizen's United should be jailed for life for sedition.

What, me angry? 8^)

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 8:06 am
I think many of us share your views and feelings Robert. I suspect if we as individuals landed a government contract we'd be subject to such sanctions for comparable performance issues. Green star coming your way.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 9:05 am
Ty for posting J L ~

Sending a Green Star is a simple way to say "Thank you"
You cannot currently send a star to J.L. because you have done so within the last week.

"The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace, and conspire against it in times of adversity. The banking powers are more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. They denounce as public enemies, all who question their methods or throw light upon their crimes."

"I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me and the bankers in the rear. Of the two, the one at my rear is my greatest foe. [As a further undesirable consequence of the war...] Corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow. The money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in the hands of a few, and the Republic is destroyed." —Pres. Abraham Lincoln

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 9:20 am
You are welcome Elle (and thanks for wanting to send a star--the feeling is mutual:You cannot currently send a star to Elle because you have done so within the last week.!)
Lincoln's words should serve as a reminder of all the dangers we are currently facing with this undemocratic transfer of power to corporations.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 2:56 pm
Surprised not! Disgusted as always.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 4:29 pm
BP along with a few others on that list shouldn't even be allowed to operate on the planet. I think it's grounds to get the permanent boot when you take down the whole cost of a country's way of life, kill hundreds of thousands of innocent animals, ruin what used to be the most beautiful coastline in the world, not to mention the nightmare on the ecosystems of the whole globe. This is just my opinion but wow, I mean really? How in the heck can you EVER trust a company that lies and lies and lies, did I mention lies? The very fact that BP is still in business is something I can't even wrap my mind around.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 4:47 pm
You cannot currently send a star to Cheryl because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 4:58 pm
I was surprised not to see Blackwater on that list....as well as Halliburton. So, corporations get cited for misconduct & violations, (I didn't see that they were financially penalized), and continue to reap gov't benefits. Protesters rally in the streets and get arrested. O.K. Got it.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 5:06 pm
Nice choices for comparisons to make the points Lois! You cannot currently send a star to Lois because you have done so within the last week.

Tuesday December 4, 2012, 11:26 pm
Great post and comments J.L. A., but money frequently speaks louder than anything else.

Wednesday December 5, 2012, 7:53 am
Too true Mary. You cannot currently send a star to Mary because you have done so within the last week.

Wednesday December 5, 2012, 2:06 pm
Noted thanks for sharing

Wednesday December 5, 2012, 2:18 pm
You are welcome Aaron.

Friday December 7, 2012, 9:53 am
The list explains it all. They are military suppliers, Big Oil and Big Pharma. Massive political campaign contributors that have bought our government.

Friday December 7, 2012, 11:36 am
So true Hartson. You cannot currently send a star to Hartson because you have done so within the last week.