MRJ said:
Government contracting out work????? That's a joke. Yes, the government does it all the time. There is absolutely no contract here. The elements of a contract are missing.
No meeting of the minds.
No "consideration" (money or something of value changing hands.)
Further there was no process that normally should take place in government contracting. No published specifications. No bidding process. And the "consortium" this "contract" as you call is supposedly with does not even exist yet.
No, the USDA just anointed someone to do the program. By the way, just how are the operators going to get paid? By collecting fees (taxes-since it is government mandated). Fees not specifically authorized by any representative body. No referendum (like the checkoff). No accountability.
If this were a case of a competitively bid contract, you might have an argument--but it isn't.
I believe you have the cart before the horse here. Where did you read that USDA has "anointed" anyone, much less NCBA (as I believe you imply)?
Possibly, I mis-lead you a bit in stating "it is the gov't contracting out work". What I meant, since no contract has been awarded, is that, should this consortium carrying out NAIS requirements happen, it WOULD BE contracting, IN EFFECT, to do the work for the government. Nothing like that has happened as yet, and my mistake was in thinking everyone knew that.
My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that NCBA is working to present a model, or pilot project, WITH THEIR OWN MONEY. With the objective of demonstrating that it can be done. BTW, my understanding is that there are other organizations involved in that, not just NCBA.
The NCBA goal, I believe, is NOT for NCBA to run, manage, or operate the program, should the pilot project be successful, but that a NEW group comprised of REPRESENTATIVES from ALL species requiring identification under NAIS. That group and or government would determine who would pay and how. It would operate as a non-profit organization to keep costs as low as possible.
MRJ