Letters
Letters Contract hit Nancy Watzman and your editors were entirely too eager to paint contractors in a bad light in "Out of House, Out of Mind" [April]. In the article, the table of contents...
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...CH2M HILL was accused, without basis, of including the items mentioned in your article in its calculations of the overhead rate it charged on federal government contracts...
...CH2M HILL never charged the government for the items in question (liquor, chocolates, sports tickets, etc...
...But Mr...
...A whole different set of regulations—known as the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)—govern contracting practices...
...Horan writes that Hussein "ruled" and Jordan "controlled" the same territories that Israel "occupied...
...ISSN 0043-0633...
...I was one of the physicians interviewed by Mr...
...If all 500 had rushed to the aid of the sick man, they would have smothered or trampled him to death...
...Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope._ Otherwise occupied Deborah Horan's "The Promised Land Grab" [May] brought to mind Bertrand Russell's rib-tickling definition: "I am firm...
...Printed in U.S.A...
...Finally, as to the matter of the EPA owing CH2M Hill $500,000, it is true that the EPA came to a settlement with the company in late March—around the same time my article went to press...
...As to whether CH2M Hill ever charged these items to the government, an excerpt from a November 13, 1992 letter from CH2M Hill president Ralph Peterson and CH2M Hill Inc...
...but we don't read or hear the word "occupation" there, do we...
...The blam-able person was the proctor or professor who refused to return the time of the students who helped...
...RONALD D. MICHAELSON Executive Director, Illinois State Board of Elections Defense appeals About Charles Peters' item on the law students who witnessed an epileptic seizure while taking an exam [Tilting at Windmills, May]: It was not only "a bit severe," it was stupid...
...Obviously, one country's control is another country's occupation, even if it has not been legally established to whom the land belongs...
...For Canadian and foreign subscriptions, add $7 for surface delivery...
...It seems to have become the P.C...
...as stated in Ms...
...I have become sick of smart-aleck, snide generalizations, such as yours, about lawyers...
...and possessions: one year, $35...
...CH2M Hill was in the habit of giving the EPA what is known as a voluntary discount, something that many contractors do...
...New York, NY 2 The Washington Monthly/June 1993 The Washington Monthly Editor in Chief Charles Peters Publisher Mary T. Beiro Editors Christopher Georges, Jon Meacham, David Segal Contributing Editors Jonathan Alter, Thomas N. Bethell, Tom Bethell, Taylor Branch, Matthew Cooper, Gregg Easterbrook, James Fallows, Paul Glastris, Mickey Kaus, Phil Keisling, Michael Kinsley, Nicholas Lemann, Suzannah Lessard, Arthur Levine, Timothy Noah, Joseph Nocera, Leonard Reed, John Rothchild, Jonathan Rowe, Walter Shapiro, Scott Shuger, Steven Waldman Editorial Advisory Board Graham Allison, James David Barber, Edgar Cahn, David Halberstam, Murray Kempton, Richard Reeves, Hugh Sidey Production Manager Sridhar Tallapragada Advertising Director Jennifer L. Schindeler Assistant to the Editor Pam Matthews Interns Marion Davis, Jennifer Elsea, Rebecca Evans, Ann O'Hanlon, Nicholas Joseph, John Zebrowski Proofers Nancy Ayala, Gladys Banta, Elyse Berkman, John Kalajian, Linda Mclntyre, Jack Shellenberger, Nina Teicholz.Valerie Worthington Subscription rates: U.S...
...BERNARD ADELMAN Winthrop, MA States rights I read with great interest Scott Greenberger's piece "The Sleaze in Statehouses" [April...
...The author replies: Richard Raymond writes that CH2M Hill was never accused of charging the government for liquor, chocolates, sports tickets, and so on, but rather of including these items in its overhead rate...
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...Watzman's article, nor was it ever alleged to have done so...
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...I do not...
...RICHARD RAYMOND Corvalis, OR Mr...
...Published monthly except combined July/August and January/February issues by The Washington Monthly Company, 1611 Connecticut Ave...
...In fact, it never did...
...This intense activity is in stark contrast to the impotency of Congress in enacting reform legislation...
...It seems to me, as it did to the General Accounting Office, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, that there isn't a whole lot of difference between charging the government for these items directly or as part of the overhead cost...
...I would never have consented to discuss my views had I known that by voicing my complaints with the present health care system I would build a soapbox from which to call for a one-payer, Canadian-style health care system while brusquely dismissing other viable options...
...The article should have read, "Poor and near poor families with children have seen their incomes fall since the early seventies...
...Despite the large increase in PAC money, the soft money abuses, and the obvious advantages enjoyed by incumbents, the last time Congress amended the Federal Election Campaign act was 1979, over a decade ago...
...two years, $66...
...In my opinion, the concluding section of the article leaves the reader with the implicit impression that I support such a Canadian system...
...The IRS simply looked at whether CH2M Hill was operating within the tax code...
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...Many states are actively wrestling with issues such as how to control the expenditure of surplus funds, restrictions on the frequency of fund-raising, spending limits, public funding programs (now used by about half of all states), contribution limits, and a host of others...
...MICHAEL J. CHANDLER...
...Had I been asked for my opinion regarding any of the health care reform measures now under consideration, in many quarters, I would have been happy to discuss my views...
...Investigations by the Internal Revenue Service showed no impropriety, and detailed investigations over many months by the EPA showed that not only did CH2M HILL not charge any of the items mentioned in your article to the government, but that CH2M HILL significantly undercharged the government...
...Raymond refers to have nothing to do with determining the appropriateness of charging liquor and reindeer suits to the government...
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...Since the words "occupied territories" connote illegal possession, one would expect fair-minded non-Arabs to use a neutral term, like "administered territories...
...When you represent allegation as fact, and, even worse, when you don't even get the allegations right, you deceive your readers, jeopardize your own standing as a reputable source of information, and do a disservice to the targets of your misrepresentation...
...LAURA ROPER Washington, D.C...
...Several states, including Georgia, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Iowa and Nebraska, have recently enacted meaningful campaign finance reform legislation...
...After investigation into CH2M practices, the company decided to reduce its voluntary discount—which is why, technically, the books now show the company "undercharging" the government...
...The EPA actually owes CH2M HILL more than $500,000...
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...After all, Israel's claim to the territories is at least as legitimate as Russia's claim to the Kurile Islands, China's to Tibet, England's to the Falklands, the Dutch's to the "ABC" Antilles, et al...
...I have had the opportunity to monitor campaign finance reform in all 50 states during the last five years, and, frankly, I am impressed with what's happened...
...Raymond is an employee of CH2M HILL...
...In direct terms, we are talking about reindeer suits and similar expenditures...
...It is unlikely, though, that I will ever consent to another "journalistic" interview...
...Second class postage paid at Mechanicsburg, PA...
...he is a pig-headed fool," when Ms...
...I am the widow of a lawyer in a leading Washington law firm who, as associate and as partner, spent countless hours on pro bono work and on other projects, largely in Southeast, Washington, of social usefulness to the least fortunate of the District's residents...
...thing to make fun of them...
...Correction: Due to an editing error, Jonathan Rauch's book review, "Vintage Whine," [May] incorrectly stated that family income had fallen since the early seventies...
...Meanwhile, the states continue to act...
...three years, $92...
...While many of his points are well taken, I'm afraid he's guilty of using too broad a brush when he asserts that "state campaign finance laws make the besieged federal rules look downright draconian...
...In the article, the table of contents teaser, and the bold pull quote on page 37, you seriously misrepresent the facts...
...June 1993/The Washington Monthly 3...
...president Lyle G. Hassebrouk to the EPA's then-Chief Financial Officer, Christian Holmes, may help clarify matters: We understand as we did not previously that despite our good intentions and what we believe to be correct interpretation of the law, some of our billing practices are at odds with evolving norms and standards for federal contracts...[T]he first area of increased awareness on our part relates to certain costs related to employee morale, including employee entertainment...
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...The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigations that Mr...
...Reprints of articles are available to individuals or schools at $1.50 each (prepaid...
...I suppose that if Palestine (Israel and Jordan) becomes, like Gaul, tripartite, the third part will be called Utbot—"Used to be Occupied Territory," or maybe Nut—"Now Unoccupied Territory...
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...Raymond was not at all clear about where the $500,000 figure came from...
...air mail delivery add $32...
...Doctored evidence I am writing in response to "Bad Forms" [Christopher Georges, April...
...Georges, and though I was quoted accurately and in context, I agreed to speak with Mr...
...Georges believing that my practical experience with medical/bureaucratic problems might help your readers better understand some of the practical difficulties doctors face daily...
...you are stubborn...
Vol. 25 • June 1993 • No. 6
