In March 2009, President Obama sent a memorandum to the Heads of the Executive Department and Agencies outlining his plan to reform government contracting. Here is a link to a presidential press/media fact sheet on this memo. The intent of his memo is to call attention to the use of sole source and limited source contracting vehicles (that would include multiple award task/delivery order contracts), the need for greater contract management and oversight and the need to define "inherently governmental activities" that should not be outsourced.
Within the memo is a call to action for the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance on how to award better contracts by July 1, 2009. That dealine is fast approaching. It would be great to be able to solve the government contracting problem with a piece of guidance written in less than 4 months.
September 30, 2009 is the date we will get the answers to these age-old contracting dilemmas (the answers are both basic and complicated, to say the least):
- How to use and manage sole-source and other types of noncompetitive contracts and to maximize the use of full and open competition and other competitive procurement processes;
- How to use and oversee all contract types, in full consideration of the agency’s needs, and to minimize risk and maximize the value of government contracts generally;
- Is there sufficient capacity and ability of the Federal acquisition workforce to develop, manage, and oversee acquisitions appropriately; and
- When is (or is not) governmental outsourcing for services appropriate.
Can't wait for the answers. Stay tuned.
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