Wednesday, 4 October 2017

The IRS Just Hired Equifax To Handle Our Personal Information. No, Seriously.

quote [ As part of a no-bid contract no less.

According to a contract award for Equifax’s data services which appeared on the Federal Business Opportunities database on September 30 (the last day of the fiscal year), credit agency will “verify taxpayer identity” and “assist in ongoing identity verification and validations” at the IRS. The notice describes the contract as a “sole source order,” which means the IRS believes Equifax is the only company deemed capable of providing the service. ]

Facepalm, headdesk, WTF could ever go wrong?

[SFW] [business] [+6 WTF]
[by knumbknutz@8:00pmGMT]

Comments

steele said @ 9:23pm GMT on 4th Oct [Score:4]
C18H27NO3 said @ 9:48pm GMT on 4th Oct
That's fucking priceless
rylex said @ 10:58pm GMT on 4th Oct
nothing is priceless to uncle pennybags!!
blacksun said @ 12:14am GMT on 5th Oct
Please let this become a thing. At all public hearings with bankers, lobbyists, etc..
robotroadkill said @ 12:54am GMT on 5th Oct
Is it real?
steele said @ 2:17am GMT on 5th Oct
I don't think that person is actually from monopoly, but yes, they're real.
robotroadkill said @ 3:28am GMT on 5th Oct
Awesome.
mechavolt said @ 8:44pm GMT on 4th Oct
This is misleading. Equifax already had an existing contract with the IRS, and this is a renewal of that contract that has been in the works since the hack was made public. Now, we can talk about whether Equifax is still trustworthy enough to have the contract renew, but let's not get fake outraged at the IRS for this.
Taxman said @ 12:20am GMT on 5th Oct
Sole source over $1 million requires a pretty strong "sole source justification" with procurement. I'm betting that they re-bid the contract, there was a protest, and the only way to maintain the work being done was to stick with the horse they're already riding. The alternative would be to do a shut down protest where work stops. That means contractors stop work, no longer can charge hours, and you can guess how long they stick around to see how it turns out. All that training, knowledge, and experience walks out the door.

I'm betting it's just a bridge or extension to cover the protest.

Also, the contractors that actually do the work that the contract requires are usually NOT direct employees of the agency that holds the contract. If the contract were to switch hands (again, usually) the previous contractors are offered the positions that they already hold (why would we train new people every time a contract changed hands?) and just start being managed by the new agency. They (the working contractors) don't have any loyalty or connection with the managing agency's other business ventures (or screw-ups therein).

I can't speak for all agencies, but that's how it works with this one.
Taxman said[1] @ 12:28am GMT on 5th Oct
Actually, confirmed it's just a bridge to cover a protest:

Synopsis:
Added: Sep 30, 2017 4:30 pm
This action was to establish an order for third party data services from Equifax to verify taxpayer identity and to assist in ongoing identity verification and validations needs of the Service. A sole source order is required to cover the timeframe needed to resolve the protest on contract TIRNO-17-Z-00024. This is considered a critical service that cannot lapse.
midden said @ 12:41am GMT on 5th Oct
That's pretty much what I've seen. A big Prime A loses a huge contract renewal made up of a zillion smaller contracts. Big Prime B wins the contract and hires many of the same subcontractors that had been doing the actual work under A. Sometimes it's even a requirement of the bid that specific subs stay on for continuity. Sometimes it's because Prime A has obviously been mismanaging the contract, but the sub'ed companies are obviously doing their jobs and even taking up the slack that the Prime should have been handling. It can get messy.
arrowhen said @ 2:03am GMT on 5th Oct
Username checks out.
mechanical contrivance said @ 8:59pm GMT on 4th Oct
Why does the IRS need outside help for this?
zenviper said @ 11:45pm GMT on 4th Oct
I don't know at all but I wonder how well funded they are. Republicans hate the IRS so I bet their staffing budget isn't booming.
Hugh E. said @ 12:32am GMT on 5th Oct
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) budget has been cut by 18 percent since 2010, after adjusting for inflation, and the agency has lost roughly 13,000 employees — around 14 percent of its workforce.

- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
HoZay said @ 5:49am GMT on 5th Oct
Probably to weaken the IRS employees union. A large part of the Republican drive for smaller government is taking jobs away from union workers.

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