{"id":250275,"date":"2016-06-16T20:22:56","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T20:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/when-shuttling-between-the-public-and-private-sectors-actually-helped-cut-defense-spending\/"},"modified":"2016-06-16T20:22:56","modified_gmt":"2016-06-16T20:22:56","slug":"when-shuttling-between-the-public-and-private-sectors-actually-helped-cut-defense-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/when-shuttling-between-the-public-and-private-sectors-actually-helped-cut-defense-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"When Shuttling Between the Public and Private Sectors Actually Helped Cut Defense Spending"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Usually it just stovepipes influence from Wall Street to the government.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy <\/span>Russ Wellen<\/a><\/span>,

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\"A<\/p>\n

A Pentagon official uses his knowledge of how defense contractors work to keep costs down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cSome of the nation\u2019s leading defense companies are declaring war on a powerful enemy \u2014 an obscure Pentagon official named Shay Assad who has helped cut more than $500 million from military contracts with his aggressive scrutiny of their costs,\u201d writes Ellen Mitchell at Politico<\/a> magazine. \u201cThe industry\u2019s tactics include blanketing congressional committees with proposals that would make it harder for Assad and his contracting officers to get detailed breakdowns of the companies\u2019 expenses.\u201d But Assad (no relation to the Bashar of the same name!) is undaunted: He knows contracts. Assad spent much of his career at Raytheon contractor where, before he became Chief Operating Officer of its engineering and construction business, was the Senior Vice President, Contracts. \u201cAs such,\u201d according to his biography, \u201c he was\u00a0responsible for the contract negotiation and administration activities ($20 Billion) in all of Raytheon\u2019s businesses \u2013 both government and commercial.<\/p>\n

Assad told Ms. Mitchell:<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s just not true that we are negotiating profit rates that are lower than what we had been doing in the past. \u2026 I know, because I was on the other side of the table. I\u2019m very aware of what industry and major corporations were negotiating for profit rates versus what we presently do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Obviously, it depends on the integrity of the individual. But there are instances when corporate executives can succeed in government positions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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