THE PEACOCK REPORT (TPR)

US-Funded Kenyan AIDS Project Could Be Cash Cow for Multinational High Tech Firms

Though the U.S. may consider suspending some financial assistance that it sends to Kenya, such a freeze is not slated to affect a large-scale HIV/AIDS initiative that the U.S. plans to embark upon in that embattled African nation, a State Department spokesman said today. Consequently, multinational corporations such as Lockheed Martin, MAERSK Line, Bearing Point, and Chemonics likely are breathing a sigh of relief, as the technology divisions of those companies are seeking a piece of the $500,000,000 "Pharma Project" pie.

Dozens of representatives from these and other government contractors in Nov. 2007 attended a State Dept. conference in Nairobi to discuss potential contracting opportunities related to the endeavor, according to documents that The Peacock Report located through a routine search of the FedBizOpps database. However, this half-billion-dollar segment of the Pharma Project "will not entail actually procuring laboratory materials and equipment such as rapid test kits, reagents or machines," a presolicitation document shows. On the contrary, the document notes that funds instead will be used "to establish and operate a safe, secure, reliable, and sustainable supply-chain management system [emphasis added] to forecast, procure, store, and distribute the drugs, supplies, and equipment needed to provide care and treatment of persons with HIV/AIDS in Kenya."

Navy Cracking Down on Steroid Use

The U.S. Navy is stepping up efforts to clamp down on steroid use by agency personnel, recent contracting documents show. The Naval Logistics Medical Command, through its Ft. Detrick, Md.-based Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, is assessing the availability of qualified labs capable of conducting about 400 steroid-specific urine-specimen analyses annually over the next five years. According to a sources-sought notice dated Dec. 12 and located via a routine search of the FedBizOpps database, the endeavor aims to detect the use of performance-enhancing drugs listed in the Anabolic Steroid Act of 2004, such as 19-nor-androsterone, Boldenone, Nandrolone, Stanozolol, Methandienone, Drostanonlone, Trenbolone, Methenolone, as well as other compounds. Though unconnected to the recent spate of high-profile cases in the media, the stepped-up testing coincides with the release of a Major League Baseball report revealing pervasive steroid use among professional ball players (see Steroid Report Names Star Players; Washington Post, 12/14/2007; free registration required).

Army to Outsource 'Wounded Soldier' Call-Center Ops

The U.S. Army Contracting Agency intends to partially outsource call-center operations for its Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline project, an initiative that it launched earlier this year in the aftermath of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal.

It should be noted that the Army officially unveiled the call center initiative in March -- around the same time the Pentagon hired a Beltway public relations firm following revelations of substandard health care provided to soldiers returning home from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan (see TPR, March 24, Pentagon Hires P.R. Firm to Put Spin on Soldier Healthcare Debacle).

According to a presolicitation notice dated Aug. 10, the goal of creating the call center was to:

[P]rovide a toll free call line for Army families, Soldiers, Retirees, Veterans, and Disabled Soldiers (beneficiaries) who are seeking information, submitting suggestions, registering complaints, or raising issues about their outpatient medical care. The Call Center is aimed at instilling confidence in our Army and the American people that the Army Medical Department delivers exceptional service and care.

The extent of the outsourcing has not been disclosed; the notice only says that this latest contracting action is being undertaken "in support" of the Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline endeavor. Eligibility to compete for the new contract will be"limited to Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Concerns only," the document emphasizes. Further details will become available when the Army releases a formal Request for Proposals "on or around Aug. 24."

SOCOM 'Wounded Warrior' Mentor Project to be Launched at Walter Reed

The U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is launching a project -- known as the Warrior Wellness Pilot Program -- to reintegrate injured soldiers from this elite Dept. of Defense agency into mainstream society. SOCOM will outsource development and management of the program to a private contractor, who will be tasked with recruiting "casualty mentors" and engaging in community outreach to increase employment opportunities for "wounded warriors" returning to civilian life. The pilot project initially will focus on soldiers staying at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where the recent scandal over substandard conditions has tainted the reputation of the high-profile hospital and has led to the ouster of Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey.

According to a "statement of work" that The Peacock Report located during a routine search of the FedBizOpps contracting database, SOCOM's vision for the project -- which it launched prior to large-scale public knowledge of the allegedly atrocious conditions at Walter Reed, is to:

[S]upport Special Operations Forces (SOF) Wounded Warriors and their families for life. The USSOCOM Care Coalition strengthens the readiness of special operations by advocating for SOF wounded warriors, supporting SOF component family programs, and partnering with both government and non-government organizations to ensure existing support and benefits are provided to SOF wounded warriors who have led the fight on the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).

The agency currently is assessing proposals for the pilot, which it hopes to begin as early as April. It initially will award a one-year contract to a private firm capable of carrying out the initiative.

Let the Hearings Begin!

This week marks the beginning of congressional hearings on waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars -- three federal- government issues that The Peacock Report targets most frequently. For more information on these events, which begin Tuesday, Feb. 6, go to the website of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The focus of the hearings will be on Iraqi reconstruction, Homeland Security contracting, and prescription drug pricing.

Updated Link To Katrina-Related Contracting Document

A TPR news brief on Hurricane Katrina-related federal genetic-research has been updated with a new link to the source planning document. Readers whom recently accessed the March 17, 2006 piece, NIH Seeks Post-Katrina Human Test Subjects for Genetic Study encountered a dead link to the government contracting database known as FedBizOpps, which under standard operating procedure routinely archives those documents and changes their links.

Readers are encouraged to write to stevepeacock@yahoo.com if they encounter such links and need assistance in finding the relocated documents. With your help, TPR can keep those links updated to the best of its ability and can better serve the public interest.

Healthcare Is Going to the Dogs -- Literally

The following commentary is intended as satire, but was produced in response to an actual U.S. government project.

Pundits hastily and unfairly criticized President Bush this week for what they characterized as a lack of leadership regarding healthcare in the United States. Following his State of the Union address, in which the President exhorted Congress to slam the brakes on runaway medical-malpractice insurance costs, critics hammered him for leaving the healthcare issue otherwise untouched. How can Bush speak only of tort reform, they asked, while our healthcare system is going to the dogs?

Well, they’re only half right. While the system indeed is going to the dogs, the Bush Administration – recognizing that medical security is a matter of national security – is taking swift action to address such concerns. Remaining ever so humble and compassionate, the Administration has launched an initiative for which no press releases have been written and, hence, no articles have appeared in the media. Not only are Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld & Co. wisely spending billions of our tax dollars to protect us from the imminent threat of WMDs, they have quietly entered into the medical and political lexicon the new acronym of MWDs – Military Working Dogs.

Specifically, the Dept. of Defense (DoD) is planning to spend up to $25 million to construct an MWD hospital. In Texas, coincidentally, yee-haw.