My friend Jonathon Long has a blog that frequently discusses government contract and procurement issues. This time he takes on the issue of set asides for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and their business (yes business), UNICOR that is a protected source of procurement for many products used by military personnel including uniforms and helmets. We discussed this issue over the summer. It is our position that incarceration of those convicted of crimes is a burden that must be borne by society through its government administered institutions. The moment incarceration becomes a profit generating enterprise it becomes vulnerable to corruption. UNICOR uses prison labor to produce a wide variety of products. They pay prisoners pennies for their work. Oftentimes, UNICOR products cost more than their commercial counterparts. You do the math. What’s more, PPE produced by UNICOR has failed in the past. Set asides, that guarantee contracts to UNICOR should stop. If they want the business, they should competitively bid like everyone else and be required to pay a minimum wage for their laborers.
Read his blog post here jonathandouglaslong.wordpress.com.
