Obama Administration Revisions to Federal Procurement Policy
This post was written by Lorraine Mullings Campos.
On March 4, 2009, the White House ordered what some believe are significant changes in federal contracting practices. The White House memorandum shows an intent to reduce federal outsourcing and the use of cost-reimbursement contracts. However, federal acquisition policy already embraces the values set forth in the memorandum. For example, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires agencies to issue written findings to support the use of “other than full and open competition” (i.e. sole source contracts) in awarding contracts. Similarly, cost-reimbursement contracts are to be used only where, for example, “the work to be performed is such that it is neither feasible nor effective to devise predetermined objective incentive targets applicable to cost, technical performance, or schedule . . . .” Thus, the FAR already implements the policy objectives expressed in President Obama’s memorandum. A Reed Smith alert regarding the policy is available here.
