Need some more prayers

[rodheadlee]

I feel funny asking you all to pray about money but if the Coast Guard doesn't pay their bill pretty soon they're going to take our company down and about six or seven families with it. The work has been long done on three different vessels, approved and the boats are gone and they're just dragging their feet. I don't want to get into their lengthy excuses and supposedly all the head guys know clean back to Baltimore. We just need our check so we can keep working. I've worked for this company for three and a half years and I just moved all my stuff up here from Southern California. I don't know what's going to happen if we don't get paid soon. Thanks for your prayers I appreciate you all.

Edited to add: we are the only approved coast guard repair facility within 300 miles of either direction.

Edited June 11 by rodheadlee

[Tony uk]

Pray assured 

[manol]

Will do!

Not sure if this would be of any use, but just in case:

One of my family members was a career Marine. On rare occasions when he wasn't getting something that really mattered from his commanding officer he'd go to THEIR commanding officer. And he would do so not with just a complaint, but also with a SOLUTION. 

In theory your congressional representative is further up the chain of command.  And it sounds like this is affecting multiple companies in their congressional district.  Maybe contact their office? 

[Calm]

9 hours ago, manol said:

Will do!

Not sure if this would be of any use, but just in case:

One of my family members was a career Marine. On rare occasions when he wasn't getting something that really mattered from his commanding officer he'd go to THEIR commanding officer. And he would do so not with just a complaint, but also with a SOLUTION. 

In theory your congressional representative is further up the chain of command.  And it sounds like this is affecting multiple companies in their congressional district.  Maybe contact their office? 

I have no clue if that will work, but something similar worked for us when both the Canadian and US governments were screwing around with our residency.  We worked on it off and on for ten years, they lost the paperwork again and told us we had to start from scratch.  The university got my husband hooked up with our Minister of Parliment and 6 months later we were official with us doing nothing, but signing some papers and driving down to the border to walk around the flag (do not ask me why, it seemed like nonsense to me, why couldn’t we go to embassy territory in Calgary or just use our US birth records or latest visa records showing where we entered the country? Originally they wanted us to go to Texas…no one told us the same thing, which was one of the main reasons it took so long.)

Edited June 12 by Calm

[Pyreaux]

I will. For some reason, I'm already getting a comforting feeling.

My dad's company has been struggling since he got sick. So perhaps, RodheadLee, I might ask a little prayer for CSP Electronics, I guess all the Gulf boats struggling to pay them also.

Edited June 13 by Pyreaux

[bluebell]

Prayers!  That is unacceptable!

[Tacenda]

We're living in un-chartered territory it seems. I hope yours and our prayers will work, or whatever can happen to help the Coast Guard pay the bills.

I didn't know much about this until I read this article which mentions the government shutdown. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coast-guard-crisis-dhs-shutdown-halts-pay-in-may-cuts-power-strains-missions/

[rodheadlee]

No joy yet.

[rodheadlee]

21 hours ago, Tacenda said:

We're living in un-chartered territory it seems. I hope yours and our prayers will work, or whatever can happen to help the Coast Guard pay the bills.

I didn't know much about this until I read this article which mentions the government shutdown. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coast-guard-crisis-dhs-shutdown-halts-pay-in-may-cuts-power-strains-missions/

I thought they got funded?

[bluebell]

1 hour ago, rodheadlee said:

No joy yet.

No excuse.  That should be illegal.

[Calm]

9 hours ago, rodheadlee said:

I thought they got funded?

Looks like they got refunded April 30. I asked AI why delays might still be happening as I have no knowledge in this, just guesses and AI can do better than me even if it makes stuff up.  Whatever the reason, that won’t stop you guys from going under if your creditors aren’t understanding or the employees have to find jobs that pay now! and so have to walk.  I really hope that doesn’t happen.  I think manol’s suggestion is still the best.

• Budget Lapses & Backlogs: Government shutdowns halt non-emergency maintenance operations and freeze discretionary spending. When funding resumes, agencies face a massive administrative backlog, causing delays in clearing invoices. [1, 2, 3]
• Incomplete or Improper Invoices: Under Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), the government requires precise billing. Missing labor categories, incorrect rates, or lack of supporting timesheets/receipts will cause an invoice to be rejected. [1, 2, 3]
• Reassignment or Absence of Point-of-Contacts (POCs): Delays commonly occur if the Contracting Officer (CO) or the official responsible for accepting the work leaves, retires, or is reassigned. If contract responsibilities are not smoothly transferred, payment approvals stall. [1]
• Compliance and Auditing: Large repair contracts demand high-level compliance reviews. Agencies often delay disbursements to complete audits verifying that the specific boat or facility repairs meet required safety and operational standards. [1]
• Quarterly Disbursement Schedules: Federal agencies operate under strict budget allotments. If an invoice misses a specific quarterly disbursement deadline or is submitted near the end of the fiscal year, contractors may have to wait for the next budget cycle to process

 

[Calm]

Chat’s suggestions:

steps:

1. Confirm invoice status
   • Verify that the invoices were received and accepted in the government’s payment system.
   • Ask whether they are awaiting approval, certification, funding, or processing.
   • Many payment delays stem from an administrative hold rather than a funding problem.
2. Contact the Contracting Officer directly
   • The CO has the authority to resolve many payment issues or at least identify where the bottleneck is.
   • Written communication is preferable so there is a record.
3. Invoke Prompt Payment Act provisions
   • Federal agencies are generally required to pay valid invoices within specified timeframes.
   • Interest can accrue on late payments in many circumstances.
   • Simply asking whether Prompt Payment Act interest is being tracked sometimes motivates a closer look at the file.
4. Escalate within the contracting chain
   • If the CO is unresponsive, your friend can ask for the contracting office supervisor or chief of contracting.
5. Contact the agency Ombudsman or Small Business Office
   • If your friend’s company is a small business, many federal agencies have offices that help resolve contracting problems.
6. Congressional inquiry
   • If the invoices are significantly overdue and normal channels are failing, contacting the office of the company’s U.S. Representative or Senator can sometimes prompt an agency status review. This does not guarantee payment, but agencies usually respond quickly to congressional inquiries.

[rodheadlee]

We got one draw from them. I got 4 paychecks dropped on me today. Thanks for your prayers!

[manol]

12 minutes ago, rodheadlee said:

We got one draw from them. I got 4 paychecks dropped on me today. Thanks for your prayers!

That's great!  We are very happy for you!

[Calm]

29 minutes ago, rodheadlee said:

We got one draw from them. I got 4 paychecks dropped on me today. Thanks for your prayers!

So glad to hear that?