The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The U.S. Debt Crisis Showdown

Great article Karen ! This Tea Party movement is losing steam with the general population. Hopefully because of this current impass, will show the general public the ignorance in their position.

Good article.  I don't like to sound negative about our government because we should all have respect for our country but this is really looking like a circus to the rest of the world right now. 

If the outcome weren't so serious this would make for great comedy. What we are witnessing here is tragic comedy. The Republican Party has been taken over by the lunatic fringe of the conservative right. Speaker Boehner's days are numbered, mark my words. He doesn't have the power to whip his own caucus to vote for any plan that is reasonable and balanced. His only chance of getting a bill out of the House is with Democrat votes. As we speak, the Senate is trying to fashion a bill that will gain enough support in that body that can get enough support from Republicans, who are threatening filibuster. Even if a "compromise" can be fashioned in the Senate, it only takes ONE extremist to derail the process. (Think Rand Paul.) Furthermore, any agreement passed by the Senate must go back to the House where the Speaker will need Democrats to pass the bill. It will never be enough of a compromise for the lunatic fringe that is the Tea Party. Any one who claims that the Democrats have not been bargaining in good faith and with a willingness to compromise on the issues is delusional. If no reasonable bill can be fashioned, the President should invoke the 14th Amendment provision and borrow what is needed to avert default and pay the bills that Congress has already authorized. The people that are adamant about not raising the debt ceiling don't seem to understand is that at the end of the day we will need to borrow regardless of the outcome. Jeopardizing the US credit rating will most likely end up costing more to borrow the same amount of money required to pay the bills, adding to the long term debt. What a brilliant strategy.

And here is a sense of what's in the Senate "compromise." permalink
This won't fly either.

Hey Karen, I wanted to post this to demonstrate that there are other options" when it comes to Debt Compromise. This fairly long , but trimmed down information constitutes less than 1% of the DOD budget for the Month of July 2011. This info is" unclassified" and taken from the DOD awards public site.It is mind boggling to see the actual amounts of money they pass out each month, and many are questionable. #toc, .toc, .mw-warning { border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); padding: 5px; font-size: 95%; }#toc h2, .toc h2 { display: inline; border: medium none; padding: 0pt; font-size: 100%; font-weight: bold; }#toc #toctitle, .toc #toctitle, #toc .toctitle, .toc .toctitle { text-align: center; }#toc ul, .toc ul { list-style-type: none; list-style-image: none; margin-left: 0pt; padding-left: 0pt; text-align: left; }#toc ul ul, .toc ul ul { margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 2em; }#toc .toctoggle, .toc .toctoggle { font-size: 94%; }body { text-indent: 0in; text-align: left; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; font-variant: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; widows: 2; font-family: 'Nimbus Roman No9 L'; }table { }td { border-collapse: collapse; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; }p, h1, h2, h3, li { color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Nimbus Roman No9 L'; font-size: 14pt; text-align: left; } DOD Expenditures: July 2011“ 1% of total for July 2011

• Guild Associates, Inc., Dublin, Ohio, was awarded a $27,378,573 firm-fixed-price contract.  The award will provide for the procurement of 75 Mobile Integrated Remains Collection Systems to provide mortuary service capabilities.  Work will be performed in Dublin, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of July 22, 2014.  One bid was solicited, with one bid received.  The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Natick, Mass., is the contracting activity (W911QY-11-D-0008).

• MSE Technology Application, Inc., Butte, Mont., was awarded a $22,739,109 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract.  The award will provide for the hypersonic weapons testing, development, and support program.  Work location will be determined on a task order basis, with an estimated completion date of July 27, 2016.  One bid was solicited, with one bid received.  The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-11-D-0086).

• BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Co., North Charleston, S.C. (W911QY-11-D-0039); Smith’s Detection, Edgewood, Md. (W911QY-11-D-0038); DRS C3 & Aviation Company, Gaithersburg, Md. (W911QY-11-D-0035); ITT, Colorado Springs, Colo. (W911QY-11-D-0032); International Logistics Systems, Glen Rock, Pa. (W911QY-11-D-0031); STS International, Inc., Berkeley Springs, W.Va. (W911QY-11-D-0029); ICx Technologies, Inc., Stillwater, Okla. (W911QY-11-D-0028); SRI International, Princeton, N.J. (W911QY-11-D-0025); Science Applications International Corp., Huntsville, Ala. (W911QY-11-D-0024); Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Huntsville, Ala. (W911QY-11-D-0023); Lockheed Martin Corp., Las Vegas, Nev. (W911QY-11-D-0022); Evergreen Fire and Security, Tacoma, Wash. (W911QY-11-D-0041); PKMM, Inc., Las Vegas, Nev. (W911QY-11-D-0040); Murtech, Glen Burnie, Md. (W911QY-11-D-0036); Epiphany Mission Support Solutions, Middleburg, Va. (W911QY-11-D-0034); Ideal Innovations, Inc., Arlington, Va. (W911QY-11-D-0033); STS International, Inc., Berkeley Springs, W.Va. (W911QY-11-D-0030); International Logistics Systems, Glen Rock, Pa. (W911QY-11-D-0027); and Advanced Technology Systems Co., Arlington, Va. (W911QY-11-D-0026), were awarded a $997,000,000 firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract divided between 16 contractors.  The award will provide for the procurement of various components or systems for force protection measures in theater and throughout the continental United States.  Work will be performed at the vendor’s listed city, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2017.  There were 27 bids solicited, and 27 bids received.  The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity.

• NAVMAR Applied Sciences Corp.*, Warminster, Pa., is being awarded a $74,878,971 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research project under Topics 92-170, N94-178, and AF083-006 for the development and use of the Persistent Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Systems.  This effort includes field service representative support; delivery, installation, operation, and maintenance of hardware; continued testing; engineering services; modeling, simulation, analysis; systems engineering and integration.  Work will be performed in Afghanistan (35 percent); Yuma, Ariz. (30 percent); Patuxent River, Md. (20 percent); Warminster, Pa. (10 percent); and Johnstown, Pa. (5 percent).  Work is expected to be completed in July 2013.  Contract funds in the amount of $30,000,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This Phase III contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-5.  The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, N.J., is the contracting activity (N68335-11-C-0038).

• Smiths Detection, Inc., Edgewood, Md., is being awarded a $69,811,290 firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of Rugged Mobile Non-Intrusive Inspection Systems (RMNIIS).  The procurement is for 10 RMNIIS with a maximum ceiling of 45 RMNIIS.  The contract includes spare parts, outside the continental United States installation, maintenance, sustainment, training, and provisional technical data.  Work will be performed in Afghanistan, and is expected to be completed July 2013.  Contract funds in the amount of $12,000,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was competitively procured through full and open competition, with three offers received.  The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity (M67854-11-D-5022).

• EDO Communications & Countermeasures Systems, Inc., Thousand Oaks, Calif., is being awarded a $6,632,535 firm-fixed-price contract to supply 56 high power radar signal simulators.  WRALC/GRVKAB, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity (FA8532-11-C-0004)

• CH2M Hill, Inc., Boise, Idaho, was awarded a $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract.  The award will provide for the architecture and engineering services primarily for the Walla Walla, Wash., district.  Work location will be determined with each task order, with an estimated completion date of July 21, 2016.  The bid was solicited through the Internet, with nine bids received.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla, Wash., is the contracting activity (W912EF-11-D-0003).

• Trieco TT Sustainable Resources, J.V.*, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $50,000,000 for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and underground storage tank studies.  No task orders are being issued at this time.  All work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps installations including, but not limited to, locations in California (85 percent), Arizona (5 percent), Colorado (2 percent), Nevada (2 percent), New Mexico (1 percent), Utah (1 percent), Washington (1 percent) and other Department of Defense installations nationwide (3 percent).  Work is expected to be completed by July 2016.  Contract funds in the amount of $5,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 14 proposals received.  The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62473-11-D-2205).

• Intelligent Software Solutions, Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo., is being awarded a $49,999,989 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide software maintenance and enhancements to Web-Enabled Temporal Analysis System tool kit baselines. The Air Force Research Laboratory/RIKF, Rome, N.Y., is the contracting activity (FA8750-09-D-0022/0014).

• Rockwell Collins, Inc., Government Systems, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is being awarded a $35,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract modification to develop, demonstrate, and transition Tactical Targeting Network technology and related interoperable technologies such as Quint Network technology to support information exchange between the tactical edge platforms and users within the Department of Defense. This action increases the maximum ordering amount from $49,900,000 to $85,400,000. The Air Force Research Laboratory/RIKD, Rome, N.Y., is the contracting activity (FA8750-10-D-0042, Modification No. PO0005).

• Trieco TT Sustainable Resources, J.V.*, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity architect-engineering contract with a maximum amount of $50,000,000 for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and underground storage tank studies.  No task orders are being issued at this time.  All work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps installations including, but not limited to, locations in California (85 percent), Arizona (5 percent), Colorado (2 percent), Nevada (2 percent), New Mexico (1 percent), Utah (1 percent), Washington (1 percent) and other Department of Defense installations nationwide (3 percent).  Work is expected to be completed by July 2016.  Contract funds in the amount of $5,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 14 proposals received.  The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N62473-11-D-2205)

• Hamilton Sunstrand Corp., Windsor Locks, Conn., was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $37,704,099 for control indicators.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using service is Army.  The date of performance completion is July 29, 2016.  The Defense Logistics Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (SPRRA1-11-D-0064)

• Lockheed Martin Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif., is modifying a $24,509,183 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a contract modification of the existing engineering, manufacturing and development contract for the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) high component.  This fiscal 2011 contract action will incorporate both hardware and software modifications which provide the groundwork for the overall SBIRS Survivable/Endurable Evolution (S2E2) program upgrade for fiscal 2012 and beyond.  The contractor will perform a fiscal 2011 antenna platform subsystems vendor selection and provide sustainment support to the SBIRS program with a mobile ground system second path radio upgrade and S2E2 fiscal 2011 engineering and labs development.  Work will be performed in Boulder, Colo., and is expected to be completed December 2012.  The Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (F04701-95-0017)

• Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean, Va. (H92222-11-D-0037) ; Dell Services Federal Government, Perot Systems Government Services Inc., Fairfax, Va. (H92222-11-D-0038); and DRS Technical Services Inc., Herndon, Va. (H92222-11-D-0039), were each awarded a $362,000,000, multiple award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with firm-fixed-price and cost-plus fixed-fee line items for Special Operations Forces Information Technology Enterprise Contracts (SITEC) specialty services in support of U.S. Special Operations Command. Under the SITEC Specialty Services contract, the contractor will assist the government in performing the daily operations necessary to facilitate USSOCOM's ongoing ability to effectively and efficiently optimize delivery and performance of specialty services to sustain and maintain USSOCOM's global enterprise IT specialty services environment. The work will be performed primarily at MacDill AFB, Fla., with limited performance in and outside the United States.  The anticipated total contract period of performance is five years. USSOCOM is the contracting activity.

• URS Federal Support Services, Inc., Germantown, Md. (W911S0-11-D-0047); Calibre Systems, Inc., Alexandria, Va. (W911S0-11-D-0046); Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Va. (W911S0-11-D-0039); and Parsons Infrastructure, Washington, D.C. (W911S0-11-D-0038), were awarded a $24,544,671 firm-fixed-price, multiple-award-task-order contract.  The award will provide for the support services to develop, deliver and enable an operationally relevant and totally integrated live, virtual, constructive and gaming training environment.  Work location will be determined with each task order, with an estimated completion date of July 21, 2016.  The bid was solicited through the Internet, with four bids received.  The U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity

• The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded an $119,415,215 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of two Lot 86 Harpoon missile bodies; two exercise Grade B canister All Up Round (AUR); eight anti-submarine rocket AUR; and associated hardware for the government of Taiwan.  In addition, this contract provides for the procurement of four exercise air launch and associated hardware for the government of Taiwan (two) and India (two); 20 tatical air launch AUR for the government of India; 20 tactical light weight canister AUR for the government of Egypt; and Harpoon-associated hardware for the governments of Singapore, Japan, Australia, Korea and Canada.  Work will be performed in St. Charles, Mo. (43.5 percent); McKinney, Texas (13.5 percent); Toledo, Ohio (6.0 percent); Motherwell, United Kingdom (4.4 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (3.6 percent); Lititz, Pa. (3.5 percent); Elkton, Md. (3.0 percent); Grove, Okla. (2.6 percent); Black Mountain, N.C. (2.2 percent); Middletown, Conn. (1.8 percent); Kirkwood, Mo. (1.6 percent); Galena, Kan. (1.5 percent); Joplin, Mo. (1.3 percent); Huntsville, Ala. (1.1 percent); Chandler, Ariz. (1.0 percent); Palo Alto, Calif. (0.8 percent); McCalester, Okla. (0.8 percent); El Paso, Texas (0.7 percent); Clearwater, Fla. (0.7 percent); Lancaster, Pa. (0.7 percent); Estill Springs, Tenn. (0.6 percent); and various location in and outside the continental U.S. (5.1 percent).  Work is expected to be completed in July 2012.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract combines purchases for the governments of Taiwan ($26,939,620; 22.5 percent); India ($35,107,410; 29.4 percent); Egypt ($51,197,160; 42.9 percent); Singapore ($404,441; 0.3 percent); Japan ($2,051,762; 1.7 percent); Australia ($1,883,516; 1.6 percent); Korea ($1,155,312; 1.0 percent); and Canada ($675,994; 0.6 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program.  This contact was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-11-C-0300).

• Aquate Corp., Huntsville, Ala., is being awarded a $44,590,377 cost-plus-fixed-fee/hybrid-cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price completion contract to provide work efforts for procurement, total package fielding, and sustainment support of state-of-the-art commercial-off-the-shelf equipment in support of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives used by responders for combating weapons of mass effect. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., and is expected to be completed by June 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, Indian Head, Md., is the contracting activity (N00174-11-C-0037).

• FSCX, Inc., Lawton, Okla., is being awarded a firm-fixed-price contract in the amount of $17,560,721 for a base year and four one-year option periods for survival evasion resistance escape instruction support in support of U.S. Army Special Operations Command.  The work will be performed in Fort Bragg, N.C., and surrounding areas and is expected to expire in July 2016.  This contract was awarded as a service disable veteran owned small business set-aside.  U.S. Army Special Operations Command is the contracting activity (H92239-11-C-0011).

• Kalman & Company, Inc., Virginia Beach, Va., is being awarded $7,543,595 for task order #0039 under previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (M67854-03-A-5158) to provide business and analytical support to the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense’s (JPEO-CBD) Transformational Medical Technologies (TMT) Program. Objectives of this initiative include the development of acquisition documentation and providing scientific subject matter expertise supporting the advanced development of medical systems, medical countermeasures, and rapid response-biosurveillance system capabilities.  Objectives also include development of acquisition program metrics and objectives and risk analyses that support current and planned acquisition programs and lead to concise business case analyses identifying cost and performance projections, schedule impacts, and sustainment/ lifecycle considerations.  Work will be performedin Falls Church, Va., and work is expected to be completed in July 18, 2012.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

Great article Karen. I particularly enjoyed your comparison to diners, but I would point out that, sadly, in actual fact what the TEA party has tried to do is not only refuse to put more into the pot, but take some of their money OUT of it. The government gains money through taxes, and the TEA party won out on their sticking point of no tax increases, particularly for the Job Makers who can most afford to pay more in tax. They are not actually creating the jobs, mind you, because what made them rich, and keeps them that way, is a sense of what is the best way to earn and save money. Outsourcing, therefore, to countries where labour costs are cheaper, is generally a more desirable course of action for them; why pay an American citizen a living wage when you can pay a child in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Asia or South America with pocket change to do the same job? Have tax breaks actually helped job-creation surpass job-loss, or more importantly overcome the damage already done by jobs previously lost? If not, clearly, tax-breaks for the super rich do not pay off. So why continue with a failed experiment? The government is still be spending beyond its means, with no new sources of income, but the rich funders of Senator so-and-so are happy that they do not have to pay any more taxes. There are no increases in revenue, and the money is gone, how spending less will solve everything is beyond me, when things have gone so far beyond mere cost cutting, all this eleventh hour agreement has done is make the politicians look like spoiled children, and defer the issue for a little while... In the fiasco over the last few weeks, trying to sort this out before the deadline, I did not see much Good, but Bad and Ugly were there in full force to make up for it….