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U.S. firm accused of plagiarizing bid for Puerto Rico food supply contract

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Atlanta-based company that failed to deliver millions of emergency meals to Puerto Ricans struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria may have plagiarized its winning bid to secure a $156 million food supply contract, U.S. lawmakers said on Friday

Democrats on the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs said in a statement that the nine-page proposal made by Tribute Contracting appeared largely to have been “plagiarized from several sources readily available on the internet.”

The allegation marked the latest twist in the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency’s contract with Tribute, which the agency known as FEMA eventually canceled.

Democrats on the U.S. House Oversight Committee earlier this month revealed Tribute had signed up to deliver 30 million meals in Puerto Rico, but provided just 50,000 before FEMA scrapped the deal.

The issue has become a referendum of sorts on the federal government's response in Puerto Rico, where thousands remain without power five months after the island's worst natural disaster in 90 years. The U.S. territory is also struggling through the largest government bankruptcy in U.S. history, with some $120 billion of combined bond and pension debt.


Source :- yahoonews

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