“…awarded a $55 million contract for N95s this month to Panthera Worldwide LLC, which is in the business of tactical training. One of its owners said last year that Panthera’s parent company had not had any employees since May 2018, according to sworn testimony.”
“It also has no history of manufacturing or procuring medical equipment…”
“Panthera Worldwide’s parent company filed for bankruptcy last fall…”
“The FEMA contract with Panthera, which was awarded without competitive bidding, has a start date of April 1…”
“…contract is for 10 million masks…”
“The price that FEMA is paying Panthera per mask, about $5.50, is significantly higher than what the government pays companies such as 3M, which charges as little as 63 cents per N95 mask, with an average cost of about $1.50 for more advanced models, according to a price index.
“Prestige Ameritech, the largest domestic mask manufacturer, is charging FEMA about 80 cents per mask for the government’s order of 12 million N95 respirators, part of a $9.5 million contract that started April 7.”
“Beyond the premium the federal government is paying to Panthera, the decision to award a contract to an insolvent organization with no apparent expertise in the given field struck experts as unusual.”
“Something is amiss there,” said Chuck Hagel, a former defense secretary and Republican senator from Nebraska. “This is not how the government procures training or any type of supplies. You just wouldn’t do business with somebody like that.”
danelabonte 