Better Gum'int Contracting?

Given the truly horrific problems circling the Obama Administration – war, unemployment, home repossessions, a sharp business downturn, a global financial meltdown, medical insurance reform, global warming – it is a welcome surprise that the President has found time to promise reform of the buying habits of the federal government.

There certainly is room for improvement and those of us who have been involved in federal contracting wish him well as he attempts to instill such good habits as more competitive bidding,
speedier awards, and better oversight of contract execution.

But pardon us if our next reaction is to chant that old oxymoron, "deja vu all over again."

For these are not new notions. That does not make them less welcome, only less easily implemented than most citizens are apt to believe. Intuitively we assume that government agencies can buy stuff like we do. Not possible. Consider the following fable, which assumes we have to buy the way government agencies are required to.

Joe Average has decided to buy a car for his daughter who leaves for college next month on a hard earned full scholarship. He wants one that is economical and safe; nothing flashy, maybe even a little stodgy, but a nice fun color. He decides on a new car for the smell, because she deserves it, and for the warranty in case she forgets to add oil.

Joe kicks some tires, reads the literature, dickers uneasily with smooth salespersons who do this for a living all day and makes his choice. The chosen vehicle is on the lot and he arranges for a big red bow and a Sunday morning surprise delivery.

Next day Joe gets a call: "Mr Average, this is the County Office of Consumer Procurement Review. We have been informed that Aceman Used Cars, a duly qualified competitor, has protested your decision to buy a new car on a sole source basis."

"Nonsense!" Joe protests, "I shopped around. Besides, I don’t do business with those lowlifes."

"Did you solicit uniform proposals from all licensed county new and used car dealers based on a timely written request for proposal, score and rank their bids and select from among the top three contenders?"

"Well, yeah, sort of. I don’t want a used car. They don’t smell right."

"Mr. Average, the state law authorizing county offices like mine explicitly disallows such subjective criteria as smell under the competitive bidding rules now governing all major consumer purchases. I’m afraid I must advise the DMV not to license your new vehicle on grounds of an insufficiently competitive procurement.

"What do you expect me to do? My daughter leaves for college in a month. She needs wheels."

"You should call the nearest DMV office within three days and register for a class on vehicle procurement. After you successfully complete the class my office will assign the next available procurement officer to your case and help you conduct a lawful competitive bidding process that gives every licensed car dealer an equal shot at your business. I can’t guarantee your daughter will have her car in a month, but it shouldn’t be too long. Perhaps you could buy her a bicycle for now."

About now you are probably wishing Joe would say, "Buzz off, Buster! It’s my money!"

That’s exactly right and it’s also the rub: you can do any wise or foolish thing you want with your own money. But those who conduct the public’s business on the public’s dime do not have that luxury. When they assume otherwise we rightly call it corruption.

Above all governments must honor the mantra of competition, even if the time honored slogan, "The customer is always right," is turned on its head in the process. Instead, "Suppliers are always eligible (the occasional convicted felon aside)."

Unlike you and me, government offices cannot dismiss a product or a source on the basis of a smell test. They may also have to give legally required consideration to union shops, minority businesses and local suppliers; not to mention unofficial concern for the supporters of legislators with control over their budgets.

Nor is the process necessarily over once a contract is duly signed. For all but the smallest buys at least one higher ranking official must "review and approve" in his own sweet time. And if the procurement is big enough at least one losing bidder will protest if only to give the errant government agency something to think about for the next go round.

That’s the government procurement game by the book, Mr President, and again we wish you well. But that book is hard to rewrite in a fundamental way.