Federal agencies turn to untested suppliers for big PPE contracts

CNN — Facing a supply crunch for sorely needed medical equipment like masks and gowns, the federal government has turned to a long list of untested suppliers – some of which have failed to deliver. “The health and safety of our first responders depends on obtaining a sufficient quantity of these essential N95 masks and other personal protective equipment.” Former White House official wins contract A handful of the first-time contracts have gone to firms run by people who have donated to or worked for President Donald Trump, including a $3.24 million deal for masks awarded to Fuentes’ company, Zach Fuentes LLC. IHS spokesman Josh Barnett said that 247,000 of the masks delivered by Fuentes’ company are “non-medical” masks that the agency has accepted but decided not to use in a surgical environment – although the contract never specified that the company would provide medical masks. A federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said that while the company had not met the “expected delivery date” of May 15, the agency has “given the high demand for N95 masks during this unprecedented time, mutually agreed to receive the product in the near future.” Some new suppliers fail to deliver CNN’s analysis covered more than 18,000 original contracts in the Federal Procurement Data System that were marked as related to the government’s response to Covid-19 since mid-March. “The businesspeople who sell PPE to the government, particularly the middlemen who are in it for the immediate profit, can expect confidently to make a bundle – if not a killing.” Other first-time suppliers that fell through include a $14.55 million contract for N95 masks from the VA to Bayhill Defense, a Pennsylvania company run by a 30-year-old former star defensive back on the University of Pittsburgh’s football team.