DOGE Takes Credit for Ending Already Defunct Contracts

Title: DOGE Claims Savings Amid Controversy of Misinformation in Federal Contracting

In a surprising turn of events, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk’s restructuring team, recently announced the cancellation of a long-standing U.S. Coast Guard contract that had initially been set in motion during the George W. Bush presidency. This contract, valued at $144,000, was completed by June 30, 2005. According to DOGE, by "canceling" this long-expired contract, they had saved American taxpayers a staggering $53.7 million.

However, this claim has bewildered federal contracting experts. Even after DOGE deleted several erroneous claims from its website last week, reports surfaced of new inaccuracies. The New York Times revealed that some of the contracts DOGE took credit for had already expired or were terminated under previous administrations. Experts quickly pointed out that the purported savings from these cancellations were misleading, with Lisa Shea Mundt, a federal spending analyst, asserting that “the money’s been spent. Period. Point blank.”

Despite the blunders, DOGE has undeniably implemented some significant cuts within the federal government, marked by mass layoffs and the cancellation of ongoing contracts, alongside a push that has led to the disbanding of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Nonetheless, the persistence of inaccuracies in DOGE’s claims raises serious questions about the reliability of the information being disseminated by the Musk team. Were they being misled by other government departments, or did they simply lack a deep understanding of federal operations required to make effective cuts without causing chaos?

Eric Franklin, CEO of Erimax, a company that advises the government on contracting procedures, expressed concern regarding DOGE’s approach, suggesting they are "like a bull in a china shop" and warning that their activities result in creating a “big mess.”

In response to the mounting criticism, a senior White House official offered a partial explanation regarding the discrepancies on DOGE’s "wall of receipts," stating that the information was supplied by various federal agencies, which also have staff embedded from the Musk team. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, conveyed that DOGE made efforts to verify the accuracy of the claims but did not elaborate on the cause of the high error rate.

The rush for budget cuts has created pressure for agencies to identify reductions to showcase, with DOGE even instituting a "leaderboard" ranking which tracks agencies based on their eliminations. The urgency appears to have led to poor management and oversight of the claims posted on their website.

Analysis of DOGE’s cancellations unveils troubling patterns. The administration has claimed a comprehensive savings of $65 billion through cuts to contracts, leases, federal employee redundancies, and other budget applications, but has only disclosed two categories: contracts and leases, amounting to approximately $10 billion, substantially underwhelming compared to the total claimed.

Initially, DOGE published a list of about 1,100 canceled contracts, but experts quickly pointed out significant errors in the largest claims. For example, a contract initially believed to be worth $8 million was mistakenly listed as being valued at $8 billion. Further, one $655 million contract was counted three times, and another contract related to the Social Security Administration was mistakenly claimed to have been fully canceled when, in fact, only an interior component had been discontinued.

After facing scrutiny, DOGE revised the claimed savings from five erroneous cuts, reducing the total from approximately $10 billion to around $19 million. Strikingly, in the same time frame, they added another 1,100 new canceled contracts to their list, with many having elapsed before the current administration took office.

Among these inaccuracies, DOGE claimed credit for canceling a Treasury Department contract worth $1.9 billion related to IRS technology, which had already been terminated under President Biden’s administration. In another instance, DOGE took credit for two Coast Guard contracts with a vendor initially settled during the Bush administration, despite both being concluded long before the current regime took control. Federal contracting data confirmed that the associated spending agreements had already been fully executed with no outstanding liabilities.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin noted, without explanation, that they were thrilled about the purported $106 million savings, altogether unbothered by the confusion surrounding their claims.

Moreover, DOGE’s website experienced issues with erroneous links, claiming significant savings from canceled contracts, but redirecting to unrelated agreements that did not correlate to the stated savings. In response to inquiries about these discrepancies, a Health and Human Services official mentioned that DOGE was working on rectifying the information on its website.

As these revelations unfold, the overarching concern remains: while DOGE may have taken steps to streamline government spending, the persistent inaccuracies and lack of coherent data tracking raise major red flags about their competency and the credibility of their claims. The pressure for drastic alterations within the federal structure and the associated potential for mismanagement could have far-reaching implications for the effectiveness and integrity of government operations as a whole.