Contract abuses

In looking over the most recent list of Open FAR Cases I stumbled upon one pending issue that has the potential to make life more difficult (and possibly more expensive) for Federal Contracting Officers.Case 2008-032 is listed on page 11 of the September 11, 2009 report. It involves a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2009. In particular, it addresses Section 865 of that statute and seeks to prevent “Abuse of Interagency Contracts”. These are the agreements that allow Contracting Officers to “piggy-back” on the good work of others in sister agencies - rather than having to reinvent the wheel in satisfying their own, similar requirements. The text of the statute is here for your reading pleasure.

For my money, the most offensive of the legislation’s requirements is that a formal business case be drafted prior to the creation of any interagency contract. Here again we are taking steps to lengthen purchasing cycle time and limiting the ability of COs to benefit from the efforts and expertise of their peers, all while adding another new reporting requirement to the already understaffed 1102 series.

I look forward to the report required by the legislation, which hopes to help policymakers better understand the use, costs, and benefits of these agreements. But am I the only one wondering if it may have been wiser to await the report’s findings before mandating a burdensome fix to a problem that may (or may not) exist?

Hopefully regulators will find a gentle way to implement the new law. Keep your fingers crossed. The case is currently being considered by CAAC.