Principles of Procurement and Contracting Reform Despite disagreements about the specific causes of our nation’s federal contracting problems, Secretary Napolitano endeavored near the end of the session to describe ten key principles that had emerged during the discussion: 1. The group strongly agreed that within the federal contracting system there must be three basic presumptions: a. A presumption for fixed price contracts unless a strong need for a cost-plus contract can be demonstrated; b. A presumption of a competitive process unless a strong need for a no-bid contract can be demonstrated; c. A presumption of prototyping before procurement (“fly before you buy”). 2. Independent cost assessment should be made at the time requirements for contract are set. 3. The current bias against full-time employees rather than contractors (even when employees are less expensive) should be reduced by controlling budgets rather than head count. 4. Security clearance procedures should be streamlined so federal employees can be hired more quickly and so contracts will not be the only option when quick action is needed. 5. Security clearance portability should be provided so federal employees can take their clearance from one job to another. 6. The number of well-trained procurement professionals should be increased so that contract requirements can be set more clearly and contracts monitored more effectively, reducing the need for expensive change orders. 7. Full transparency on federal contracts should be required. 8. Standards for contractors, taking into account compliance with the law and employment practices (benefits, hours, etc.), should be established and enforced. 9. Small business and minority bidding should be encouraged to increase competition. 10. Goldwater-Nichols for joint service cooperation in the military should be enforced and a civilian counterpart for inter-agency cooperation to eliminate duplication should be established. _______________________________ i.
Nunn-McCurdy requires that Congress is notified every time there is a cost overrun of a certain percent-age of the original contract.
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