(CNN) The company that failed to deliver nearly all of the hot meals it promised to Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria plagiarized the bid that won it the $156 million contract from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a letter penned by three senators this week.

Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Gary Peters of Michigan say that Tribute Contracting LLC -- which lost its contract in October after just 20 days because it had delivered only 50,000 of the 30 million meals promised -- lifted paragraphs from two other companies related to logistics and delivery. The senators sent the letter through their spots on the Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, on which McCaskill is the top Democrat.

According to the letter dated Thursday to FEMA administrator Brock Long, Tribute had no experience in delivery contracts of this scale, and a history of canceled federal contracts that were smaller than the one in Puerto Rico. The senators also accuse Tribute of lying about its relationship with a logistics company.

"Unfortunately, this contract seems to be further evidence of systematic weakness in FEMA's contracting process," the letter says, citing another government contract that was canceled for failure to deliver emergency tarps in November. "FEMA's decision to award a $156 million contract to Tribute underscores this concern, and raises additional questions about FEMA's contract award process."

The senators are asking FEMA to provide answers by March 15 about how Tribute won this contract, and how the company was vetted.

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