The Environmental Protection Agency is being criticized for hiring a conservative opposition firm with a record of attacking Republican critics to track news coverage of the agency.
The Environmental Working Group and American Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog, asked the EPA inspector general on Monday to start an immediate investigation into the agency's award of a contract to Virginia-based Definers Public Affairs.
The contract, reported Friday and later confirmed that same day, was for $120,000 to track 24-hour media coverage.
"The contract award was handled through the EPA Office of Acquisition Management and was $87,000 cheaper than our previous media monitoring vendor while offering 24-7 news alerts once a story goes public,” EPA spokeswoman Nancy Grantham said Friday.
The Environmental Working Group and American Oversight letter lists a number of questionable elements about the Definers deal, noting that both the New York Times and Mother Jones reported it was a no-bid contract with no other vendors allowed to make offers.
The letter also says the company uses a designation typically used by a minority-owned business. The groups noted that neither of the firm's founders appears to be from a minority group.
The groups also point out that an advocacy group started by one of the PR firm's owners had openly advocated for EPA head Scott Pruitt to be confirmed, which the letter to the inspector general's office said raises serious questions about whether the firm was a previous acquaintance of the EPA administrator.
The EPA refuted the claim that no other bidders had participated in the contract.
“When the government seeks to sole-source a contract, notice must be placed on Fedconnect or Fedbizops so other vendors have an opportunity to provide documentation of their ability to provide the services outlined in the contract scope of work," Grantham said in an email. "In this case, one additional vendor responded with their qualifications and the media/news clips contract was awarded to Definers.”
Ken Cook, president of Environmental Working Group, said the contract to Definers is the latest indication that Pruitt, with his outside allies, is "building an enemies list that could be used to punish EPA employees who have simply questioned his and the Trump administration’s policies."
Cook said Pruitt's contracts, not only with Definers, but another to build a soundproof private phone booth, has resulted in $145,000 in taxpayer funds being used "to keep his work hidden from the public eye and silence anyone who seeks to challenge it.”
