As the problems pile up for HealthCare.gov, attention is now turning to the relationship between the Canadian company largely responsible for the website and the Obama administration.
Top officials at CGI Federal, a lead contractor tasked with developing the site, have a three-decade link to the Obamas. Toni Townes-Whitley, a senior vice president at CGI Federal, is also a Princeton University classmate of first lady Michelle Obama — and a political donor.
Mike Caddell, a spokesman for Princeton University, confirmed to FoxNews.com that Townes-Whitley went to the school and graduated in 1985. According to a Princeton alumni publication in 1998, Townes-Whitley also volunteered for the Peace Corps and was stationed in West Africa. She raised six children before returning to work.
Both Townes-Whitley and Michelle Obama are members of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni.
According to Federal Election Commission Records, Townes-Whitley gave $500 in 2011 and 2012 to Obama’s reelection campaign, and another $1,000 to the Obama Victory Fund.
Election records also show that Townes-Whitley’s boss, George Schindler, the president for U.S. and Canada for CGI Federal’s parent company CGI Group, became an Obama 2012 campaign donor after his company won the ObamaCare contract.
But according to OpenSecrets.org, which tracks campaign donations, CGI Group was fairly even-handed when doling out political contributions.
Reps. Frank Wolf of Virginia and Kay Granger of Texas were among the Republican politicians who received donations from the company during the 2012 election cycle.
CGI, a relatively unknown company to many in the U.S., gained national attention after problems with HealthCare.gov turned out to be much more than a short-term glitch. Since its debut on Oct. 1, the software code and basic infrastructure of the site’s design have been sharply criticized.
According to a document obtained by the fiscal conservative group FreedomWorks, CGI Federal also was hired by New York housing officials in May to help distribute $1.7 billion in federal Superstorm Sandy relief money.
According to the document, the company, a U.S. subsidiary of the Canada-based CGI Group, states CGI Federal was paid $49,000 for a short-term deal and will get $4.3 million through 2016.
