At HUD, It's 'Portrait Portrait On The Wall'

Your implication that Mr. Duffy won "a lottery" and insinuation that political connections were involved in awarding this contract belittles the artist's work and talents - a quick review of his work online demonstrates why he got the job. Give credit where it's due.

"I don't care about that damn iceberg, Lt. Small, get those painters up here to touch up the deckchairs immediately!"

Given that Mr. Jackson has been largely invisible to the public during the last 6 years, his portrait should probably be a blank canvas!

I am once again appalled by others' sense of priorities. That much $ to hang a painting somewhere when I do not have a house to hang anyting or SS disability benefits. I am grateful that "what goes around ---comes around". God bless you, but not your misguided interests,

To meet the protocols the administration has established I think they should contract this out overseas. There are really good Korean portrait from photo artists who would probably do all five & frame them for less than $10,000 and take less than a month to finish. Oh well, at least the artist will spend the money and perhaps pay taxes in the U.S.

Perhaps those at HUD should be concerned with getting their personnel and fiscal house in order before they reward themselves with posteritorial honor.
Given their gotcha attitude toward local housing agencies, maybe they should also do some overall cleaning out of the HUD buildings across the country on the top floors not unlike the 10th floor on 7th Street in Washington, starting with Indianapolis.

Let's give more local control-they don't care about getting their pictures on the wall-just helping people with housing needs.

Perhaps those at HUD should be concerned with getting their personnel and fiscal house in order before they reward themselves with posteritorial honor.
Given their gotcha attitude toward local housing agencies, maybe they should also do some overall cleaning out of the HUD buildings across the country on the top floors not unlike the 10th floor on 7th Street in Washington, starting with Indianapolis.

Let's give more local control-they don't care about getting their pictures on the wall-just helping people with housing needs.

if he wants to keep his contract, the artist better not say anything negative about Bush: http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2006/05/08/story1.html

Jackson: "being poor is a state of mind, not a condition."
http://financialservices.house.gov/pr052004.html

Daniel Duffy has a job ahead of him. As the contract states, " HUD will then "endeavor to complete review and approval within five calendar days." If anyone can obtain HUD approval of anything within 5 days, I'd like to talk with him.
30 days is the "norm" on almost anything. And some HUD employees have said they do not even look at a request until the 30th day arrives.

Outrageous!

Why not spend the $100,000 helping poor Americans? It seems that color photographs (nicely framed) would suffice with respect to recognizing past/present HUD Secretaries.

Also, what about the other painting contract HUD awarded this summer? The "no bid" contract to finish the "Silent Sam" Pierce oil painting?? Silent but deadly???

Great comments so far! HUD should help poor Americans instead of wasting taxpayers dollars on $100,000 oil painting contracts and $500,000 plus annual travel budgets for Secretary Jackson!! For $600,000 a lot of Katrina aid could have been dispensed!!! Shame on HUD. Too bad the HUD Inspector General is asleep at the wheel (perhaps the Lunesta was prescribed by the Bush Administration?).

Was the urgency documented? For example, under a fixed-price contract, where the period of performance is very short, the government pays a dear premium for the quick turn-around. Consider if the artist was given until November 30th to complete the paintings, then the price would have been significantly less. Kudos to Annette above for mentioning the HUD IG, the IG should request the documentation from the contracts department and others regarding the urgency and justification for paying the premium reflected in the short period of performance - if it even exists. This smells like a case of waste and abuse. A. Tiddle, Washington, DC

This news bothers me and I am a Republican. I think that the President should ask Secretary Jackson to step down. Our government can and should do better than this!

As a democrat I would like to say that the goverment makes oil paintings of many dignataries and has always done that. People here are overacting.

Yes, sadly this is a case of bad government!

As a life-long Republican, this story makes me sick. This is just another case of BIG government wasting money - NOT a core value of the Republican Party!

why does HUD have a house and I don't?

The rushed painting/contracting deadline looks suspiciously like an end of fiscal year 'use it or lose it' spending spree.

whew, at least the portraits will go up. now, what's this buzz about a housing bubble?

It's just crazy, straight out insane--who in the whole country outside of "Phonso" (what W calls him) Jackson's office wanted, let alone asked for, a $20,000 oil painting of Phonso Jackson, let alone Jack Kemp or any of those other guys? If you asked 100 people on the street who the secretary of HUD was, I don't suppose 95 could tell you--even less if you go back an administration or two. Ah, hell, sell another $100k in bonds to China, worry about the interest later.

Why does this shock anyone? The republics have no clue. Look at Tony Snow. He leaves because he can't support his family on $185,000.00. (Plus all the other frills). These are the people who oppose a minimum wage of $8.75 per hour!!

I agree with the above comments. I think that referring to Daniel Mark Duffy as a "lucky winner" belittles his artistic abilities. The person who designed Washington D.C. could, I guess be referred to as a "lucky winner", as they chose the winner through a contest. I also agree that it is appalling the priorities of politicians and such. Giving a portrait such priority when they still haven't fully responded to crisises such as Katrina is absurd.

Great blog - I hope that members of Congress read this! Even the Onion's fiction can't top this true story: "Phonso the Clown travels the world on half-million-dollars-plus (per year) while Katrina victims continue to suffer!"

Congress: End HUD now!

Also, "Phonso the Clown spends $100,000 on oil paintings while Katrina victims continue to suffer!"

Or, "Phonso the Clown leases yet another SUV with custom outfitting for DC Metro romps!"

The hits keep coming!!!

to Donald Stevens Burns:

Thank you, I'm still laughing my azz off.

Why doesn't Jackson just pay him out of his own pocket.I see that he got a $400,000 kickback on a contract in New Orleans to build some homes there.

Miss Akers sleuthing seems to conveniently not include the fact that all of the federal Departments have oil portraits of their cabinet secretaries and at the State Department, they also includes deputy secretaries. Furthermore, the Environmental and Protection agency(EPA) recently had 11 portraits done of their former administrators and the current one since their were none ever done.Seems to be a double standard here to embarass Secreatry Jackson and what is the basis for it??

This is really shameful but for those outside of the Federal Government, you are lucky you don't see the sad, disgusting waste of our tax dollars that goes on every day, at much higher cost to the American people than these ridiculous paintings. I work for the USA and I get more sickened by the waste & abuse every day of my working life.

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