Editor's note: The United States Constitution holds that our government is "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It is crucial that "we, the people" keep a watchful eye on the institutions that make up our government.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday examined how CDC gave $10 million in business without competition to Celerant Consulting, a firm associated with and recommended by Atlanta business leader James Down, who served as a management adviser at no cost for agency director Julie Gerberding.

Down recommended Celerant to overhaul CDC's procurement and grants office in October 2003, four months after the consulting firm in a press release announced that Down would become a member of its U.S. advisory board.

CDC declined to release documents to the Journal-Constitution relating Celerant. However, a CDC public relations risk-management analysis obtained by the Journal-Constitution said there was no "assurance that CDC received the best-value solution to its concerns because (of the) inappropriate procurement process used" and noted a "potential conflict of interest between external individual serving as adviser to CDC and Celerant."

An e-mail sent to agency employees by Donna Garland, chief of CDC's Office of Enterprise Communications, said the analysis was "an internal document that was not using the facts, but conjecture."

CDC officials on Friday said that although some mistakes were made in the contracting process, the agency believes that it followed proper procedures and that taxpayers were well-served. Celerant said in a statement that its "business relationship with the CDC was legal and proper" and added that it never had any relationship with Down.

Celerant and Down contend the 2003 press release regarding his membership on the advisory board was issued mistakenly.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Friday said he will ask CDC to provide information on its contracting with Celerant and will request that the Government Accountability Office conduct a further examination of the agency's contracting procedures

(Young, Atlanta Journal-Constitution 06 Dec 2006)

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