A report by Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee released on Friday finds that the Trump administration paid more than $ 500 million for fans and was slow to respond to an offer to accelerate shipments in the early days of the outbreak of coronavirus.
The report reveals that the Trump administration paid manufacturer Philips $ 15,000 per fan, more than any other U.S. buyer. Some buyers who bought just one fan negotiated prices as low as $ 9,327 per fan, according to the report.
The committee said the administration failed to negotiate the price drop and called the talks “inept negotiations led by White House official Peter Navarro.”
“The Trump Administration’s mishandling of the acquisition of fans for the nation’s arsenal cost the American people dearly during the worst public health crisis of our generation,” the representative said. Raja Krishnamoorthi
Subramanian (Raja) Raja Krishnamoorthi Milley confirms that soldiers deployed to DC amid riots received bayonets. Democrats are seeking information about the Treasury administration of the ‘opportunity zone’ program. (D-Ill.), Said the chairman of the oversight and reform subcommittee that made the report, in a statement.
“The Administration not only jeopardized the health and safety of the American people – But he wasted over half a trillion dollars that could have been used to better support our nation’s crisis response efforts. “
While there was a fight for fans in the first few weeks of the US coronavirus outbreak and fear of running out of ventilation, the situation in fans has stabilized since then and there are no documented cases of people needing a fan they didn’t get it.
Still, in addition to the overpayment, the committee’s report also said the administration did not accept an offer from Philips to expedite fan shipments under an existing contract from the start.
Krishnamoorthi also said the fan experience raised questions about the other ways the administration has been mishandling contracts.
Frans van Houten, CEO of Philips, said the company had not raised prices for its fans to benefit from the crisis, noting that it has had a four-fold increase in production since March.
“We do not recognize the findings of the subcommittee report, and we believe that not all of the information we provide has been reflected in the report,” it said in a statement. “I would like to clarify that Philips has never raised prices to benefit from the crisis situation.”
On January 21, a Philips official emailed an official from the Department of Health and Human Services: “Please let us know how we can help you or if you can expect the need to expedite any shipping,” according to one of the emails. electronic obtained by the committee.
But the report found that management did not respond to this offer for six weeks, until it finally asked about speeding up production on March 4.
The White House criticized the report in a statement.
“This partisan report is nothing more than a trick that is only intended to politicize the coronavirus,” said White House spokesman Judd Deere. “Because of the president’s leadership, the United States leads the world in the production and acquisition of fans.” No American who needed a fan was denied one, and no American who needed a fan in the future will be denied one. Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for this misleading and inaccurate report. “
Philips had an existing contract for fans first made under the Obama administration, according to the report. The Trump administration granted an extension to this contract, but then negotiated a new contract, where the report says the government overpaid.
The original contract was for 10,000 fans and was made in 2014. It was delayed, but an extension given by the Obama administration had a November 2019 deadline, the committee said, in time for the pandemic.
The Trump administration granted three additional extensions in 2017 and 2018, according to the report. “If the Trump Administration had forced Philips to abide by the terms of the Obama-era contract, the country would have had 10,000 fans it needed when the coronavirus crisis occurred,” the committee said.
Updated at 10:17 am
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