Steve Peacock's U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor

Disturbing Truth Behind Obama's Travel Madness (WND)

My latest from WND. -- S.P.

Supporters of Barack Obama tout his dedication to the responsibilities of the presidency by noting that he had taken 96 days of vacation at the point in his term that President George W. Bush had taken a reported 335.

But they admit that 51 of Bush’s trips were to his Texas ranch, while records show that Obama’s destinations have ranged from exotic European and African locales to pricey digs to Hawaii, where he’s sometimes traveled separately from his family, effectively doubling transportation costs for taxpayers.

The records released are partial, meaning no firm travel-expense total can be assembled. But individual cases are revealing.

Continued at WND.com...

ALSO SEE: CNN Rips Off U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor Story on Biden's Plush Parisian Jaunt

 more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/11/the-disturbing-truth-behind-obamas-travel-junkets/#SMBd76Lp60bvCSCW.99

U.S. Extends Program to Reduce School Dropout Rate

A U.S. government effort to discourage students from dropping out of secondary and even primary  school has been extended, giving a federal contractor two more years to achieve the Obama Administration's goals in this program. The initiative, however, focuses on students in the Middle East and Asia.

Creative Associates International since 2010 has carried out the School Dropout Prevention Pilot program (SDPP) in Cambodia, India, Tajikistan, and Timor Leste on behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which awarded Creative a three-year task order with a $51.5 million maximum ceiling.

The contract balance is projected to remain around $25.5 million by September, necessitating no additional program costs, according to a Justification & Approval for Other Than Full & Open Competition (J&A) document that U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor located through routine database research.

The J&A claims that opening up the project to competitive bidding would have interfered with ongoing research, data collection, and program-implementation, subsequently resulting in unnecessary costs to the government.

FOR FURTHER COVERAGE OF THE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, PLEASE VISIT THE MONITOR'S USAID PAGE.

ALSO SEE THE MONITOR'S EDUCATION PAGE.

- See more at: /education/#sthash.nYLHoHjp.dpuf

Patriot Update: ExxonMobil Gets Freebie as 'Obama Finances Energy, Port Project Trips to India'

Obama Finances Energy, Port Project Trips to India

By Steve Peacock; PatriotUpdate.com, Nov. 28, 2012

In the days and weeks after Hurricane Sandy wrecked ports, resorts, and power lines across the mid-Atlantic coast, the Obama administration launched multiple projects targeting the revitalization of such infrastructure. Not in seaside New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, but in cities across India: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Mumbai…

Upon closer inspection, however, Patriot Update has discovered that taxpayers will foot the bill for industry trips to India—trips taken on behalf of a consortium whose members include multinationals such as ExxonMobil, GE, and IBM.

Continued...

USAID to Meet with Contractors for India 'Climate Change' Plan

A $21-$24 million "climate change" project is gaining steam in India, where on Wednesday (Nov. 9) U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) representatives will meet with potential contractors for the endeavor. As U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor previously reported, the agency's Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment, or PACE-D, as it is known,  seeks to “accelerate India’s transition to a high performing, low emissions and energy secure economy…” ("U.S. Taxpayers to Finance New Overseas 'Climate Change' Project," Aug. 12, 2011).

USAID and interested vendors will gather at the Maidens Hotel in the city of Delhi from 10 a.m.-noon.

FOR COVERAGE OF RELATED ISSUES, GO TO THE MONITOR'S ENVIRONMENTAL PAGE.

FOR ADDITIONAL COVERAGE OF THE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, PLEASE VISIT THE MONITOR'S USAID PAGE.

ALSO SEE THE MONITOR'S INDIA PAGE.

USTDA to Fund Study of India Energy Project

The U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) is weighing whether it should help finance a “smart grid” energy project in India; however, prior to making that decision, the agency will award a consulting contract to a U.S. vendor to assess the viability of the endeavor.

North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL), a joint venture between Tata Power Company and the Government of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, requested USTDA assistance in order to help modernize the region’s electrical distribution system.

According to the project synopsis/solicitation (#2011-31017A):

The proposed project has been identified by NDPL as a top priority and is designed to improve the efficiency and reliability of its one-million customer distribution system and to help provide application models for other distribution networks in India. The Feasibility Study would develop requirements and specifications for a smart grid implementation roadmap for NDPL and would address a range of improvements and investments including integrating smart meters and automated meter reading into NDPL's distribution system as well as greater system integration with distributed generators and other smart grid applications.

The North Delhi Power Limited Smart Grid Project, as it is known, would receive a $686,447 USTDA-funded grant to pay the selected contractor for the feasibility study.

FOR COVERAGE OF RELATED ISSUES, GO TO THE MONITOR'S ENVIRONMENTAL PAGE.

FOR ADDITIONAL COVERAGE OF THE U.S. TRADE & DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, PLEASE VISIT THE MONITOR'S USTDA PAGE.

ALSO SEE THE MONITOR'S INDIA PAGE.

U.S. Taxpayers to Finance New Overseas 'Climate Change' Project

A new U.S.-financed “energy and climate change program” of unspecified proportions is about to be unveiled—this time in India.

According to a presolicitation notice dated Aug. 12, a goal of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) endeavor is to “accelerate India’s transition to a high performing, low emissions and energy secure economy…”

USAID said it will award contracts to private vendors to carry out the five-year program, titled “Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment,” also known as “PACE-D.”

The notice listed three key components of the project: (1) Improved end use energy efficiency; (2) Increased supply of renewable energy and adoption; and: (3) Accelerated deployment of cleaner fossil technologies and management systems.

Other than stating that the focus will be on “creating enabling environment by strengthening policy and regulatory institutions, increasing finance and enhancing institutional and human capacity,” the agency revealed little else about the initiative, other than alerting industry to the anticipated release of a more detailed Request for Proposals around Sept. 6.

Source document: Solicitation #SOL-386-11-000002.

FOR COVERAGE OF RELATED ISSUES, GO TO THE MONITOR'S ENVIRONMENTAL PAGE.

FOR ADDITIONAL COVERAGE OF THE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, PLEASE VISIT THE MONITOR'S USAID PAGE.