SBA Rescinds USAID Contracting Authority Following $550 Million Bribery Scandal

Following the huge $550 million bribery scandal involving an officer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and two contractors, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced its decision to rescind the independent contracting authority of the agency, according to press release published through Fox2Now.com.

For the newcomers reading this, the USAID global scandal happened months ago and there was a list of overseas projects of questionable and wrongful purposes that were funded with American taxpayers’ money. USAID has formally shut down and was incorporated into the State Department. The latest USAID scandal that involved bribery had four people pleading guilty.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the press release published through Fox2Now.com. Some parts in boldface.

Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced its decision to rescind the independent 8(a) contracting authority of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The decision comes after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) uncovered a massive $550 million bribery scandal involving a USAID contracting officer and two 8(a) contractors. Last fiscal year, USAID obligated $3.6 billion through SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program.

“Under the Trump Administration, the SBA will not tolerate the abuse of the government contracting process,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “The decision to revoke USAID’s independent 8(a) contracting authority is necessary to prevent further wrongdoing by an agency with a well-documented record of waste, criminal fraud, and bribery. Taxpayers will no longer foot the bill for outright corruption perpetrated by those entrusted with Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars.”

The 8(a) Business Development Program is a government contracting program governed by the SBA, designed to help socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses access sole-source and competitive set-aside contracts within the federal marketplace. SBA authorizes federal agencies to execute contracts to 8(a) certified businesses on its behalf. But today, SBA sent notice to USAID that the agency is no longer authorized to award or execute independent 8(a) contracts based on findings of rampant fraud and abuse at the agency.

Last month, a DOJ investigation revealed that over $550 million in government contracts were fraudulently steered through bribery of a USAID contracting officer. One 8(a) contractor, despite being officially flagged by USAID as lacking “honesty or integrity,” went on to be awarded an additional $800 million federal contract to evaluate “the root causes of irregular migration from Central America.”

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think the Trump administration and United States federal departments still have a long way to find and capture those who were illegally involved with USAID funding? Do you think that there is a trail of USAID money that went into the pockets of Leftists, woke activists, anarchists, thieves and Islamic terrorists around the world?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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