In Kentucky Hills, a Homeland Security Bonanza

[cal04]

The Department of Homeland Security has invested tens of millions of dollars and countless hours of labor over the last four years on a seemingly simple task: creating a tamperproof identification card for airport, rail and maritime
workers. Yet nearly two years past a planned deadline, production of the card, known as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, has yet to begin. Instead, the road to delivering this critical anti-terrorism tool has taken a series of detours to locations, companies and groups often linked to Representative Harold Rogers, a Kentucky Republican who is the powerful chairman of the House subcommittee that controls the Homeland Security budget.

It is a route that has benefited Mr. Rogers, creating jobs in his home district and profits for companies that are donors to his political causes. The congressman has also taken 11 trips — including six to Hawaii — on the tab of an organization that until this week was to profit from a no-bid contract Mr. Rogers helped arranged. Work has even been set aside for a tiny start-up company in Kentucky that employs John Rogers, the congressman's son.

"Something stinks in Corbin," said Jay M. Meier, senior securities analyst at MJSK Equity Research in Minneapolis, which follows the identification card industry, referring to the Kentucky community of 8,000 that has perhaps benefited the most from Mr. Roger's interventions. "And it is the sickest example of what is wrong with our homeland security agenda that I can find."

Mr. Rogers said that any mandates imposed on the TWIC program, as it is commonly called, have been motivated by a desire to end the delays. "I have been extremely frustrated with the slow, wandering pace of the program," he said in a statement. He declined to comment further beyond the statement, which was issued on Thursday. Asked about the legislative mandates and the delays in starting up the program, Darrin Kayser, a Homeland Security spokesman, said, "We are not going to get into finger-pointing back and forth." He added, "This has languished for too long."


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/washington/14rogers.html?hp&ex=1147579200&en=739a63dc78ec08c2&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[WhiteTara]

1. all these guys are just the low hanging fruit too

can you imagine what we will uncover when we have real investigations? Maybe those detention centers being "built" by KBR will come in handy because there are so many of these criminals ruining, I mean running our country.
:grr:

[eppur_se_muova]

7. "low hanging fruit"...OK, I feel a Jimmy-Jeff joke coming here... nt

[bumponalog]

2. Jeebus

I'm trying to think of examples of corruption equivalent to today's republican party, and I am coming up empty. It's "kiss the ring, grab some cash" on the grandest scale.

[rodeodance]

4. grab the cash (from his own committee chairmanship)--and capture votes.

[rodeodance]

3. of course he is upset with delays---more chance of oversite catching up

to him. And I do hope someone digs deep on this one!



.Mr. Rogers said that any mandates imposed on the TWIC program, as it is commonly called, have been motivated by a desire to end the delays. "I have been extremely frustrated with the slow, wandering pace of the program," he said in a statement.

[alfredo]

5. Sure hope Wilkes and Abramoff had him on speed dial.

[Rose Siding]

6. His son got a 4 million dollar contract!

-for a company that hired him on-

snip>One of the companies, Senture, which sells call-center services, had a particularly close relationship with Mr. Rogers. Senture had just opened its doors in May 2003, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that Mr. Rogers attended. In 2004, Mr. Rogers arranged the financing for a $4 million Homeland Security contract for Senture to field calls from truckers.Now, Senture would land even more department work, as BearingPoint, a Virginia company hired in 2004 to test prototype transportation worker cards selected Senture to set up a call center for the test. About the time that contract was first advertised, but before it was awarded, John Rogers, the congressman's son, was hired by Senture as a computer systems administrator.

[jarab]

8. This KY-5 is my district ....

And, for the life of me, I can't understand why we keep electing an R.
Perhaps this pork is the only reason needed. They "all" do it.
As an aside, I look to the day when we have registrations like Breathitt Co, Ky (also in the fifth); 10 thousand registered Dems and 400 Rs. (no error)....
They vote the person in this race, apparently ... and party affiliations are reserved for other offices. We need better candidates.
Hal Rogers has opposition (how much?) in the fall, but not in next week's primary. I don't believe the seat is sufficiently contested to become ours.
...O...

[Melsky]

9. Privatization is so efficient, isn't it

a fast flow of taxpayer money into the pockets of crooks.