A marketing firm with close ties to the president got a plum no-bid
contract for $100,000 to design the “Let’s Move” logo for Michelle
Obama’s childhood obesity campaign, according to government documents obtained by Judicial Watch.
The arrangement violates federal contracting rules and is even
acknowledged by federal officials as an “unauthorized commitment,” the
records obtained by JW show. As a result the agency that illegally
awarded the contract, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),
prepared a “request for ratification of an unauthorized commitment” to
legitimize the expenditure. The justification provided to JW as part of
the records is that the program was too important and time-sensitive for
the official who awarded the no-bid deal to research the rules.
In all, JW obtained 44 pages of documents from the USDA, the agency
largely in charge of distributing funds for the First Lady’s $4.5
billion measure (Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act)
to revolutionize the inner-city diet and conquer childhood obesity.
Among the documents is a scathing electronic mail exchange between the
USDA Deputy Director (Jodey Edwards) in the Office of Procurement &
Property Management and an agency administrative officer named Yvette
Ward. Edwards asks “What did we get for our money … any deliverable? I
know this is an unauthorized commitment: however the contractor still
must provide evidence of what is being paid for …”
The firm that raked in the cash is Shepardson, Stern & Kaminsky
(SS+K), which had previously served as the official agency for Obama for
America’s youth initiatives in both 2008 and 2012. SS+K also received a
sweet $2 million deal from the Obama Department of Education for the
“TEACH” teacher recruitment campaign in 2010. Before the Obama
administration started doling out money to the little-known firm, it had
landed only one government contract—awarded in 2002 by the Department
of Defense—worth $50,000.
The SS+K team that worked on “Let’s Move” consisted of the following:
Robert Shepardson a partner in the firm who previously led SS+K’s work
on Obama political campaigns; Marty Cooke, who is no
longer with SS+K but served as creative director during Obama’s 2008
presidential campaign; Rebecca Matovic, a partner who also did work for
the Gates Foundation, the Environmental Defense Fund, George Soros’ Open
Society Foundation, and the governments of Bolivia and Colombia.
The USDA official who inappropriately authorized the no-bid “Let’s
Move” slogan deal appears to have been a political appointee named David
Lazarus, the records obtained by JW show. Lazarus is a former senior
advisor to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack who previously served as National
Rural Vote Deputy Director for Obama for America and as an advisor to
the Obama-Biden transition team.
Not surprisingly, no significant action was taken against the parties
responsible for the violation. Senior procurement officials simply
spoke with the offender to “explain the procurement process,” according
to the records. Training on procurement rules was subsequently provided
to all senior advisors, the files further reveal, adding this: “The
Senior Procurement Executive had intended to provide this seminar as
part of the training that was given to new incoming political appointees
at the start of the administration, but thought administrative
oversight this wasn’t done.”
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- This site is the inspiration of a former reporter/photographer for one of New England's largest daily newspapers and for various magazines. The intent is to direct readers to interesting political articles, and we urge you to visit the source sites. Any comments may be noted on site or directed to KarisChaf at gmail.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013
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