Public Contract Management

What's New? | Federal Portals for Contracts, Grants, and Expenditure Tracking | Procurement Glossary | Public Contract Law | Internet Resources on Federal Contract Management | Professional Assocations in Government Contracting | State & Local Contracting Resources

What's New?

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Issues Series of Reports on Contract Challenges in Iraq
October 30, 2009. The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction has issued his latest quarterly report to Congress with a broad-based discussion of the current state of policy and development in the country as well as reports on recent audits.
   Access the SIGIR website.

OFPP Issues New Federal Contract Policies
October 29, 2009. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy has issued a string of policies aimed at implementing the president's memorandum on contracting reform. The lastest of these were just published this week. The Duncan Hunter Defense Authorization Act for FY2009 contained a requirement that OMB produce a report clarifying the definition of inherently governmental functions. However, the agency has indicated that that report will come later some time before the end of the year.
   Read the Memorandum on Increasing Competition and Structuring Contracts for the Best Results.
   Read the Memorandum on Acquisition Workforce Development Strategic Plan for Civilian Agencies -- FY 2010-2014.
   Read the Improving Government Acquisition (M-09-25, July 29, 2009).
   Read the Improving the Use of Contractor Performance Information (July 29, 2009) .
   OFPP Briefing Room for Contract Management Reform.

Obama Administration Appoints Office of Federal Procument Policy Director
October 7, 2009. More than eight months into the Obama administration, the president, who has made contracting a key element in his programs and policies, has names Daniel I. Gordon to be the Director of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Gordon comes to the position from his current work as the Deputy General Counsel at the Government Accountability Office. He has held a number of positions at GAO, including serving as the head of the Procurement Law Division which is also responsible for handling bid protests. Mr. Gordon has an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University, a M. Phil. from Oxford University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School where he was also Executive Editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. He has taught as an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School.
   Read the White House Announcement.

GAO Testimony Reports Federal Contract Data Systems Present Difficulties
July 15, 2009. The Government Accountability Office, in testimony by William T. Woods before the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, has reported problems with the operation of three key data systems used by the federal government in contract management. They are "The Federal Procurement Data System -- Next Generation (FPDS-NG), which provides information on government contracting actions, procurement trends, and achievement of socioeconomic goals, such as small business participation; The Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), which consolidates federal contractor performance information colelction by individual agencies; The Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), which maintains information on businesses or individuals that have been excluded from receiving contracts or other federal funds for a variety of reasons, including a serious failure to perform to the terms of the contract.
   Access the GAO Testimony.
   Access the FPDS-NG.
   Access the PPIRS.
   Access the EPLS.

GAO Issues Report on Grants.gov
July 15, 2009. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report entitled "Grants Management: Grants.gov Has Systemic Weaknesses That Require Attention." The report calls attention to a variety of serious problems with the interagency coordination and cooperation in the Grants.gov system, including a lack of funding to the point where the project was unable to fund its vendors and "the Grants.gov Project Management Office (PMO) developed a system dhutdown plan and implemented the first step -- it eliminated Web site updates and moved all notices to the Grants.gov blog." Report Highlights, p.1 The report raises a number of other significant issues.
   Access the Report.

GAO Reports Serious Deficiencies in Federal Protective Service Contractor Guards
July 9, 2009. In testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Government Accountability Office reported extremely serious security lapses resulting from the inadequate training and on the job performance of Federal Protective Service contract employees. The testimony noted that: "GAO investigators carrying the components for an improvised explosive device successfully passed undetected through security checkpoints monitored by FPS's guaeds at each of the 10 Level IV federal facilities where GAO conducted covert testing. Of the 10 level IV facilities GAO pentrated, 8 were government owned, 2 were leased, and included offices of a U.S. Senator and a U.S. Representative, as well as agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, State, and Justice. Once GAO investigators passed the control access points, they assembled the explosive device and walked freely around several floors of these level IV facilities with the device in a briefcase." Highlights page.
   Access the testimony.

Commission on Wartime Contracting Issues Interim Report to Congress
June 23, 2009. The Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan has issued an Interim Report to Congress entitled At What Cost? Contingency Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. This report flows from the hearings and investigations of the conducted by the Commission.
   The Commission on Wartime Contracting was created at the sponsorship of Senators James Webb (D,VA) and Claire McCaskill (D,MO) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008. President Bush issued a signing statement at the time of passage of the legislation, suggesting that the administration would not cooperate with some oversight related provisions of the statute such as the commission, but the body has been moving forward with its work.
   Access the Commission's Interim Report to Congress.
   Access the Commission on Wartime Contracting home page.
   Information on creation of the Commission on Wartime Contracting from Senator Webb's website.
   Read the President's Signing Statement on H.R. 4986.
   Read the National Defense Authorization Act.

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction "Hard Lessons" Report Available
June 23, 2009. The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction has published the final version of its report entitled Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience which details a history of problems with the plans and implementation of those plans after the invasion of Iraq and replacement of its previous regime. (The report is over 500 pages in length and is a large file. Also, there are three separate links for the body of the report, the endnotes, and the cover on the SIGIR Hard Lessons webpage at the link below.)
   Access the Hard Lessons report via the SIGIR website.
   Access the SIGIR website.

President Signs Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act of 2009
May 22, 2009. President Obama has signed S. 454, the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act of 2009. The act creates a Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. It also requires an explicit explanation of tradeoffs in acquisitions decisions.
    Access S. 454.

Intergovernmental Agreements Resources
May 16, 2009. One of the most important aspects of contemporary local governance is the development and operation of various types of intergovernmental and interlocal agreements. It is increasingly common for states to have IGA statutes, but they vary widely as to the types and forms of IGAs among local governments and between local governments and other organizations. Tribal governments also have adopted policies on IGAs with state or local governments. For useful resources and sample agreements, see the Local Government page of this website.

GAO Issues Update Report on Coast Guard "Deep Water" Program
April 27, 2009. The Government Accountability Office has issued its latest update report on the Coast Guard "Deep Water" program entitled "Update on Deepwater Program Management, Cost, and Acquisition Workforce.
    Access the report.

Obama Administration Issues Policy on Contract Reform
March 5, 2009. President Obama has issued a memorandum on government contracting reform. Following a discussion of the subject, he wrote: "I further direct the Director of OMB, in collaboration with the aforementioned officials and councils, and with input from the public, to develop and issue by September 30, 2009, Government-wide guidance to: (1) govern the appropriate use and oversight of sole-source and other types of noncompetitive contracts and to maximize the use of full and open competition and other competitive procurement processes; (2) govern the appropriate use and oversight of all contract types, in full consideration of the agency's needs, and to minimize risk and maximize the value of Government contracts generally, consistent with the regulations to be promulgated pursuant to section 864 of Public Law 110-417; (3) assist agencies in assessing the capacity and ability of the Federal acquisition workforce to develop, manage, and oversee acquisitions appropriately; and (4) clarify when governmental outsourcing for services is and is not appropriate, consistent with section 321 of Public Law 110-417 (31 U.S.C. 501 note)."
    Public Law 110-417 is the "Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009." Section 321 of the Act concerns the need to clarify the definition of inherently governmental functions and implement that policy to ensure against of contracting out of activities that should remain within direct government control. Title VIII of the Act concerns acquisition policy and management and Subtitle G sets out a series of "Governmentwide Acquisitions Improvments, including sections (862) limitations on length of certain noncompetitive contracts; (863) requirements for purchase of property and services pursuant to multiple award contracts; (864) regulations on the use of cost-reimbursement contracts; (865) preventing abuse of interagency contracts; (866) limitations on tiering of subcontractors; (867) linking of award and incentive fees to acquisition outcomes; (868) minimizing abuse of commercial services item authority; (869) acquisition workforce strategic plan; (870) contingency contracting corps; (871) access of Government Accountability Office to contractor employees; (872) database for Fedeal agency contract and grant officers and suspension and debarment officials; (873) role of Interagency Committee on Debarment and Suspension; and (874) improvements to the Federal procurement data system. The president's memorandum specifically referred to Section 864, dealing with cost-reimbursement contracts. Relevant links are provided below. The link for the FPDS system is located in the Federal Portals for Contracts, Grants, and Expenditure Tracking on this webpage. (NOTE: The statute is a large .pdf file.)
    Read the President's Memorandum to Executive Departments and Agencies.
    Access Public Law 110-417.

Senate Armed Services Committee Holds Hearing on Acquisition Reform Bill
March 5, 2009. The Senate Armed Services Committee has held hearings on S. 454, the "Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009.".
    Read S. 454.
    Access hearing statements and other information.

GAO Publishes a Cost Estimating Guide
March 5, 2009. The Government Accountability Office has published a guide entitled GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Developing and Managing Capital Program Cost. While the report is aimed at the federal government it is also intended to be useful to state and local governments as well.
    Read the GAO Cost Estimate Guide.

GAO Issues Report on Accountability and Transparency and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
March 5, 2009. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report entitled "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: GAO's Role in Helping to Ensure Accountability and Transparency."
    Read the GAO Report.

OMB Issues Implementation Guidance for the Stimulus Package
February 23, 2009. The Office of Management and Budget has issued a memorandum to executive agencies and departments entitled "Initial Implementing Guidance for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
   The House and Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and it has been signed by the president as P.L. 111-5. The final bill is a modified version of the Collins-Nelson Amendment (570) which was an amendment in the nature of a substitute which completely replaced the legislation that previously passed theU.S. House of Representatives. The GPO has not yet published P.L. 111-5 in public law format, but the law is available in the bill number format as adopted by both houses and signed by the president.
   Access the OMB Initital Implementation Guidance.
   Access the bill as passed by the house and Senate.

President Obama Issues Faith-Based Policy in Executive Order
February 6, 2009. President Obama has issued an executive order entitled "Amendments to Executive Order 13199 and Establishment of the President's Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships." As the title indicates, the new order modifies, but does not replace the faith-based initiative orders issued by President George W. Bush.
    Read the Executive Oreder.

President Issues Executive Orders Related to Federal Contracting Practices
February 4, 2009. President Obama has issued a number of executive orders over the past several days. On January 30, he issued an order entitled "Notificiation of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Laws" and another entitled "Economy in Government Contracting." The first order overturns the Bush EO 13201 and the second prevents firms from counting expenses of involvement in union representation elections as expenses under federal contracts. A third order issued on that same date, entitled "Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts," calls on contractors to provide opportunities for displaced workers in service contracts. More information and links to the orders can be found on the Public Law, Policy, and Public Administration page of this website.

Food & Drug Administration IG Reports on Contracting Problems in the Agency's IT Operations
January 12, 2009. The FDA Inspector General has issued a report entitled "Management of Information Technology Contracts at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research," addressing a variety of areas where improvement is needed in the agency's purchase of services and products in the IT field.
    Read the FDA IG Report.

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Prepares "Hard Lesson" Report
December 14, 2008. The New York Times and ProPublica.com were provided with and have published a draft of the report prepared by the Special Inspector on Iraq Reconstruction entitled Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience which details a history of problems with the plans and implementation of those plans after the invasion of Iraq and replacement of its previous regime. The report is scheduled to be completed and formally released in February at hearings to be held by the Commission on Wartime Contracting. For more information, including links to the report and information and links on the contracting commission, go to the Sustainable Development page of this website.

GAO Presses the Strategic Acqusition Workforce Plan approach to Address Homeland Security Contracting Problems
November 19, 2008. Continuing it's efforts to encourage agencies to build and implement strategic workforce plans for enhancing contract management capacity, GAO has issued a report critical of the Department of Homeland Security. Following on the Report of the Acquisition Advisory Panel to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Congress issued in January 2007, the GAO study found that DHS had not moved forward to create the capacity or taken essential steps in that direction.
    Read the GAO Report.
    Read the Report of the Acquisition Advisory Panel to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Congress.

GAO Reports to Congress on Need for US AID to Build a Strategic workforce Plan
September 30, 2008. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report for Congress on the U.S. Agency for International Development, calling for development of a strategic workforce plan. The report points out that "USAID has shifted from conducting its own activities to managing acquisition and assistance (A&A) instruments, which are awarded to and implemented by mainly nongovenrmental organizations (NGO). For fiscal years 2002 through 2007, USAID's total annual A&A instruments increased from about 6,000 to about 11,000, while obligations for the instruments doubled from about $5 billion to about $10 billion." USAID Acquisition and Assistance: Actions Needed to Develop and Implement a Strategic Workforce Plan, p. 1. The report finds that the critical issue is to ensure that AID will develop a workforce with an appropriate skill set to address the increasing importance in contracting to carry out its mission.
    Read the GAO Report.

GAO Cautions FEMA on the Need for a Realistic Awareness of Capabilities of Voluntary Organizations as Primary Partners in Catastrophic Events
September 18, 2008. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the role and performance of major voluntary organizations in the response to catastrophic events. The report examined five major organizations, including the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Southern Baptist Convention, Catholic Charities USA, and United Way of America. The report considers the following questions: "(1) What are the roles of major national voluntary organizations in providing mass care and other human services in response to large-scale disasters requiring federal assistance? (2) What steps have these organizations taken since Katrina to strengthen capacity for service delivery? (3) What is known about their current capabilities for responding to mass care needs in such a large-scale disaster? (4) What are the remaining challenges that confront voluntary organizations in preparing for such large-scale disasters?" pp. 1-2. The report recognizes the essential roles these organizations play in federal plans for disaster response, but also calls for a more realistic assessment of their capabilities and challenges.
    Access the GAO report.

Interior Department Inspector General Issues Report on Abuses in Part of the Minerals Management Service
September 11, 2008. The Inspector General of the Department of the Interior has released an extremely critical report of the operations of a part of the federal government's Minerals Management Service. The investigation focused on the Royalties in Kind (RIK) office in Denver, Colorado and found a host of serious ethics violations and improper dealings with firms that did business with the office as well as serious breaches of federal conduct rules within the office itself.
    Read the Department of Interior IG Report.

Secretary of Defense Reopens Selection and Contract Award Decision Process on Air Tanker Contract
September 11, 2008. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has cancelled the existing solicitation for the acquisition of a new air tanker for the U.S. Air Force arguing that in the complex context that surrounds that contracting process, it is necessary to delay the process until the next administration so that there will be sufficient time to carry it out correctly. A link to the announcement is provided below. Postings on the decision by the defense secretary to take the process into his office and the report by the GAO finding errors in the contracting process are provided in other entries below.
    Read the transcript of the defense secretary's announcement on Cancellation of Rebid on Tanker Contract.

Interior Department Inspector General Reports that the Department Claimed Small Business Goals Met When Contracts Actually Went to Fortune 500 Firms
September 11, 2008. The DOI Inspector General has reported that the department took credit for at least 5.7 million in contracts to small businesses that actually went to Fortune 500 companies in 2006-2007. The report finds that main reasons for the problem were "unreleable data and data entry mistakes, reliance on incorrect data; and a failure on the part of contracting officials to verify business size reported to Central Contractor Registation." Cover memorandum from Earl E. Devaney, Inspector General, to P. Lunn Scarlett, Department Secretary, p. 1.
    Read the Department of Interior IG Report on Misstated Achievement of Small Business Goals.

Inspector General Finds that Its Contractor Found that a HHS Contractor Missed Errors
August 26, 2008. The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a report assessing error rates in inappropriate payments for durable medical equipment in which it found inappropriate payments by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In addition to the substantive findings, it is interesting to note that the Inspector General hired its own contractor to assess the work of the contractor hired by CMS to check for errors in CMS payment programs. "For the FY2006 error rate process, CMS's written policies required the CERT contractor to review beneficiaries' medical records, including pertinent records from physicians, to support claims from DME suppliers. The records requested from DME suppliers included physicians' orders, certificates of medical necessity, and proof-of-delivery documentations. CMS orally instructed the CERT contractor to deviate from written policies by (1) making determinations based primarily on the limited medical records available from suppliers, (2) applying clinical inference when reviewing supplier medical records to reasonably infer that the DME provided was medically necessary, and (3) not counting lack of proof of delivery as an error if that was the only issue with a claim. Based ont he CERT contrctor's medical review, CMS reported that the FY 2006 DME error rate was 7.5 percent, or about $8700 million in improperpayments." Medical Review of Claims for the Fiscal Year 2006 Comprehensive Error Rate Testing Program, cover letter, p. 1. The IG report then indicated that it hired "KePRO, an independent medical review contractor, to perform two reviews of a sample of 363 claims from the CERT sample of 7,955 claims that the CERT contractor had reviewed in determining the FY 2006 DME error rate." Id. The HHS IG then concluded that "Based on the 20 errors that both the CERT contractor and KePRO found and the additional 73 errors that KePRO found, we estimated that the error rate in the FY 2006 CERT DME sample was 28.9 percent." Id., p. 2.
    Read the HHS IG report.

Congressional Budget Office Reports on Iraq Contract Management Issues
August 13, 2008. In response to a request from the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has issued a report Contractors' Support of U.S. Operations in Iraq. The authors of the report, Daniel Frisk and R. Derek Trunkey, found that "at least 190,000 contractor personnel work in the Iraq theater on contracts funded by the United States. The ration of U.S.-funded contractor employees to members of the U.S. military in the Iraq theater is therefore approximately 1 to 1." p. 8. This ratio, they found, is 2.5 times that in any other major conflict. p. 1. The report addresses costs and a variety of other issues associated with these contract operations.
    Read the CBO report.

HHS Reports Evaluation of a Contracted Out Audit Program
August 1, 2008. The Department of Health and Human Services has released a report entitled the Medicare Recovery Contract Audit Program: An Evaluation of the 3-Year Demonstration.
    Read the RAC Evaluation Report.

GAO Testimony Cautions About the Importance of Thorough "Up-Front Analysis" on Public-Private Partnerships for Transportation Projects
July 25, 2008. JayEtta Z. Hecker, Director Physical Infrastructure Issues of theGovernment Accountability Office, testified this week before the Senate Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure on the importance of careful "up-front analysis" before governments enter into public-private partnerships on projects like toll roads and bridges, pointing to hidden costs, such a revenue losses from depreciation by private parties to the infrstructure development and variability in toll calculations as well as other issues.
    Read the testimony.

GAO Reports Finds Interference with Defense Contract Audit Agency Audits
July 24, 2008. In a very serious set of conclusions following its investigation of complaints of abuses in DCAA audits, the GAO "found that contractor officials and the DOD contracting community improperly influence the audit scope, conclusions, and opinions of some audits -- a serious independence issue. We also substantiated allegations of problems with the audit environment and inadequate supervision of certain forward pricing audits at location 3. Moreover, during our investigation, DCAA managers took action against their staff at two locations, attempting to inteimidate auditors, discouraging them from speaking with our investigators, and creating a generally abusive work environment." Governmental Accountability Office, DCAA Audits: Allegations That Certain Audits at Three Locations Did Not Meet Professional Standards Were Substantiated," p. 4.
    Read the GAO Report.

Secretary of Defense Reopens Selection and Contract Award Decision Process on Air Tanker Contract
July 10, 2008. In response to the GAO bid protest ruling on the KC-X contract, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has withdrawn the previous announcement of a selection of a contractor for the Air Force tanker contract and has reopened the bid selection and award process pending reconsideration of the errors in the contracting process that were identified in the GAO bid protest decision.
    Read the transcript of the defense secretary's announcement on KC-X contract process..

GAO Upholds Boeing Bid Protest on KC-X Air Force Tanker Contract Award
June 19, 2008. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a "Statement Regarding the Bid Protest Decision Resolving the Aerial Refueling Tanker Protests by the Boeing Company," B-311344, June 18, 2008, that announces a bid protest ruling in favor of Boeing in the hotly contested Air Force effort to acquire a new air tanker. Eventually, the acquisition is expected to purchase 179 new aircraft, but the initial decision was made with respect to system development and the purchase of 80 aircraft. The bid protest decision (redacted to remove proprietary information) is now available at the link below.
    The web site for the GAO Bid Protests page is also provided below.
    Read the GAO statement on the Boeing Bid Protest.
    Read the full bid protest decision for the Boeing Bid Protest.
    Access the GAO Bid Protest web page.

Defense Department Inspector General Finds More Evidence of Mideast Operations Contracting Accountability Difficulties
March 28, 2008. The Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General has issued a report entitled Internal Controls Over Payments Made in Iraq, Kuwait, and Egypt that adds to the mounting studies on problems with the dramatically increased level and varied types of federal government contracting in the era of the war on terror. In the report, the IG Found, inter alia, that: "The Army did not maintain adequate internal controls over commercial payments to ensure that they were properly supported. . . . The DOD Financial Management Regulation and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement did not contain guidance addressing procedures to be used in a military contingency operation. . . . DOD did not maintain a complete audit trail to facilitate transparency regarding $1.8 billion of seized and vested assets payments to Iraqi representatives to ensure that the funds were accounted for, audited, and used to assist the Iraqi people. In addition, DOD did not maintain a complete audit trail over $134.8 million in Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) payments made to representatives of foreign govenrments. . . . THe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers retained $5.7 million in advanced seized and vested Iraqi assests in a suspense account for 21 months and had not made these funds available to pay for Iraqi debt with the U.S. Government or for other Iraqi projects." Executive Summary, pp. i-iii..
    Read the DOD IG Report study.

GAO Identifies Issues in the Use of Contractors for Contract Specialists
March 27, 2008. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the increasing use of contractors as contract specialists. This report looked particularly at the U.S. Army which has been attempting to address a range of issues identified in the Gensler Report (earlier posting on this web page) and other studies. Given its difficulties in recruiting contract specialists, the GAO report found that: "In August 2007, contractors--who work side by side and perform the same functions as their government counterparts--comprised 42 percent of CCE's contract specialists." Highlights, p. 1. It also found that: "CCE is paying up to almost 27 percent more for its contractor-provided contract specialists than for similarly graded government employees." Id. [CCE is the Contracting Center of Excellense of the Army Contracting Agency.] The report identifies a variety of issues associated with the management of these contract, contract management personnel. The report is entitled Defense Contracting: Army Case Study Delineates Concerns with Use of Contractors as Contract Specialists.
    Read the GAO study.

GAO Study Argues Against Decisions Not to Terminate Contracts For Fear of Termination Costs
March 18, 2008. The Government Accountability Officer has released a study that addresses concerns that some agencies, and particularly those with large programs like the Department of Defense, may tend to avoid terminating a contract that should be ended because of concerns about the costs of termination. The study found that: "For the contracts reviewed, GAO found that it did not cost more to terminate than to complete them." Highlights, p. 1.
    Read the GAO study.

Air Force Awards Tanker Contract to Northrup-Grumman/Airbus Consortium
March 1, 2008. The U.S. Air Force has announced the award of the KC-X air refueling tankers contract to replace existing tanker aircraft to a consortium of Northrup Grumman and the European AirBus firm. The contract is expected to cost some $35 billion for the purchase of up to 179 aircraft. The first portion of the contract is $1.5 billion for development and testing. The Boeing company lost its proposal that would have used 767 aircraft for the tanker aircraft.
    Read the USAF Announcement.

Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Iowa Support for Prison Ministries Program
December 4, 2007. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has upheld a finding by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Americans United for Separation of Church and State v. Prsion Fellowship Ministries, 432 F.Supp. 2d 862 (S.D. Iowa 2006), that the contracts that the state's Department of Corrections had with Prison Fellowship Ministries, Inc, and its affiliate InnerChange Freedom Initiatives, Inc., violated the establishment of religion clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Judge Pratt's district court ruling held that: "The contractual relationship between the state of Iowa, as managed and directed by the named state Defendants, and InnerChange and Prison Fellowship violates the Plaintiffs' Establishment of religion rights as contrained in the Federal and Iowa Constitutions by impermissibly funding the InnerChange treatment program at the Newton Facility." Slip opinion at 126. The appeals court panel, which included retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor sitting by designation, affirmed those portions of the lower court ruling dealing with the establishment clause, but reversed a portion of the lower court's order mandating recoupment of funds previously spent on the contract on grounds that the court failed to consider a number of factors that should have been taken into account in fashioning relief in the case. On the substantive grounds, however, the appeals court found clear violations in the contract both as it was originally operated from 2000-2004 and also in the form in which it was operated thereafter when the state modified the funding for the program in an attempt to limit its exposure to an establishment clause challenge.
    Read the opinion.
    Read the district court ruling.

Federal District Court Rules That Suit by Iraqi Nationals Against Contractor CACI for Abu Ghraib Actions May Proceed
November 7, 2007. District Judge James Robertson, of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, has rejected a request for a summary judgment by CACI to block a case brought by those who argue that they were tortured at Abu Ghraib and families who allege that their relatives were tortured and killed at the facility against the firm that provided interrogators there. However, the court granted a similar request by Titan Corp., a firm that provided translators at the prison. These cases were originally brought in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, but a number of cases were consolidated and moved to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The original complaint and demand for a jury trial and the various attachments to this document provide the detailed allegations as well as information about the contractors and the contracts. That documents is also noted below.
    Read the opinion.
    Read the complaint and demand for jury trial.

Commission on Army Contracting Problems Issues Critical Report
November 1, 2007. Former head of DOD contracting, Under Secretary of Defense Jacques Gansler, has reported the findings of the "Commission on Army Acquisition and Program Management in Expeditionary Operations," a group he chaired charged with assessing Army contracting processes and management issues and lessons learned in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The commission was appointed by Secretary of the Army Peter Geren in August. The commission found a wide range of challenges that are both "operational and institutional." Central to the findings of the report entitled Urgent Reform Required: Army Expeditionary Contracting is a recommendation for a dramatic increase in the numbers and training of contract management professionals. Beyond that overall recommendation, the report calls for four major actions: "1. Increase the stature, quantity, and career development of military and civilian contracting personnel (especially for expeditionary operations). 2. Restructure organization and restore responsibility to facilitate contracting and contract management in expeditionary and CONUS [continental U.S.] operations. 3. Provide training an tools for overall contracting activities in expeditionary operations. 4. Obtain legislative, regulatory, and policy assistance to enable contracting effectiveness in expeditionary operation." p. 5. (NOTE: This is a fairly lengthy document and one may wish to download the file before opening it to reduce delay.)
    Access the Army commission report.

GAO Issues Report on VA Health Care Contracting
October 31, 2007. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee entitled "VA Health Care: Status of Inspector General Recommendations for Health Care Services Contracting." The report examines the recommendations made by the VA Inspector General for fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006. It examined what the report calls 214 "key recommendation" made during that time and found that they presented five common themes. See the report for the discussion of those themes.
    Access the GAO report.

State Department Publishes Panel Report and Announces Actions to Address Issues Regarding Iraq Security Contractors
October 24, 2007. In an effort to address concerns regarding the behavior and accountability of security contractors in Iraq, the U.S. Department of State has released a report of a panel convened by Secretary Rice to investigate the matter and has announced a series of measures to address the recommendations of that report.
    Access the panel report.
    Access the briefining announcing State Department responses to recommendations.

GAO Report Assesses Risk of Contracting Critical Functions
October 19, 2007. The Government Accountability Office has released a report focused on the Department of Homeland Security that considers the risks posed by contracting of some functions generally considered to be inherently governmental. The report calls for careful risk assessments to ensure oversight and control in such settings.
    Access the GAO report.

House Passes Bill to Make Private Security Contractors Subject to Criminal Legal Action
October 5, 2007. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed and sent to the Senate H.R. 2740 known as the "MEJA Expansion and Enforcement Act of 2007." The legislation would amend the Military Extraterritoriality Jurisdiction Act, 18 U.S.C. §3261, a statute originally adopted in 2000. It would make the U.S. Department of Justice responsible to investigate and bring criminal charges in cases where such actions are appropriate. It would also require the DOJ Inspector General to report to Congress on the agencies investigations and resulting prosecutions.
    Access H.R. 2740.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Holds Hearings on Security Contractor Blackwater
October, 2, 2007. The House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is holding hearings on issues associated with Blackwater U.S.A. employed by the U.S. State Department and Department of Defense in Iraq. In preparation for those hearings committee staff has prepared a background memorandum detailing reported incidents, contract information, and general information concerning the company.
    Even before the recent deaths of civilians there were growing contrroversies in Iraq related to the performance of security contractors of which Blackwater U.S.A. is the best known. The Congressional Research Service produced a report in June entitled Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues. As the report indicates: "The use of armed civilians to perform security tasks that were formerly performed by the military raises new transparency, accountability, legal, and symbolic issues, and practical issues regarding the possible long-term effects on the military. This report first summarizes available information on the private contractors providing security services under U.S. government contracts in Iraq. It then provides information on relevant U.S., international, and Iraqi law, and legal issues involved in the use of armed contractors. It concludes with a short discussion of cost, military force, and potential foreign policy implications." (p. 1). The report addresses both contracts by the military and those issued by the U.S. Department of State.
    Read the House Committee Memorandum.
    Read the CRA Report.

GAO Publishes "Best Practices" Guide for "Estimating and Managing Program Costs
August 23, 2007. The Government Accountability Office has published what it describes as an "exposure draft" of a new guide entitled Cost Estimate Guide: Best Practices for Estimating and Managing Program Costs. The GAO describes the purpose of the document as follows: "Because federal guidelines are limited on processes, procedures, and practices for ensuring credible cost estimates, the Cost Guide is intended to fill that gap. Its purpose is twofold -- to address generally accepted practices for ensuring credible program cost estimates (applicable across government and industry) and to provide a detailed link between cost estimating and EVM [earned value management]. Providing that link is especially critical, because it demonstrates how both elements are needed for setting realistic program baselines and managing risk." (p.1)
    Read the Guide.

Urban Institute Releases Study on Nonprofit Governance and Accountability
July 19, 2007. The Urban Institute has published the results of its survey of nonprofits entitled "Nonprofit Governance in the United States: Findings on Performance and Accountability," authored by Francie Ostrower. The abstract describes the report as follows: "This report presents survey findings, discussing: relationships between public policy and governance, factors that promote or impede boards' performance of basic stewardship responsibilities, board composition and factors associated with board diversity, and recruitment processes, including the difficulty experienced by many nonprofits in finding members."
    Read the Urban Institute Paper
    Read the Urban Institute Paper Appendices

Walker Lays Out Agenda for Reform of Federal Contracting
July 17, 2007. The Government Accountability Office has published Comptroller General David Walker's testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee , entitled "Federal Acquisitions and Contracting: Systemic Challenges Need Attention." In it Walker lays out a four part agenda for change, including "separating wants from needs, establishing and supporting realistic program requirements, using contractors in appropriate circumstances and contracts as a management tools, and creating a capable workforce and holding it accountable." (p.3)
    Read the Walker Testimony.

Comptroller General Lays Out Contracting Problems as Barriers to Progress in Iraq
February 16, 2007. Comptroller General David Walker has testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to the importance of contracting difficulties in the mix of serious challenges in Iraq. He summarizes the testimony as follows: "This statement discussed (1) facotrs affecting DOD's ability to promote successful acquisition outcomes on its contracts for reconstruction and for support to deployed foces in Iraq, (2) the deteriorating security situation and the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, and (2) issues affecting the Iraqu government's ability to support and sistainab future reconstruction progress." GAO, Rebuilding Iraq: Reconstruction Progress Hindered by COntracting, Security, and Capacity Challenges, Highlights Page).
    Read the Walker Testimony.

Ninth Circuit Rejects Attempt to Kill Fish Passage Center
January 26, 2007. The United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled against the Bonneville Power Administration's attempt, based upon language inserted into a conference committee report, to eliminate the Fish Passage Center that provides monitoring of water conditions and salmon survival. The BPA announced its intention to redirect the functions of the center to two other contractors because of the language in the report even though the statute itself did not make that policy change. In Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. Bonneville Power Administration, No. 06-70430, the ninth circuit panel found that "[C]ommittee report language unconnected to the text of an enact statute has no binding legal import, and it was contrary to law for BPA to base its decision to transfer the FPC on its belief that 'the US Congress passed legislation (Hous Report 109-275) . . . forbid[ding] BPA from making additional obligations in support of the Fish Passage Center." Slip Opinion at 962.
    The court also reject BPA's argument that, even if the statute did not require elimination of the FPC, the agency had provided a rational basis for doing so on the basis of its existing authority. The court responded: "We hold that BPA's decision to transfer the functions of the FPC to Pacific States and Battelle was arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law. We set aside BPA's decision to transfer the functions of the FPC to Pacific States and Battelle and order that BPA continue its existing contractual arrangement to fund and support the FPC unless and until it has established a proper basis for displacing the FPC." Slip Opinion at 977.
    Read the opinion.

House Government Reform Committee Investigates GSA Head
January 21, 2007. Congressman Henry Waxman (D., CA), Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has indicated that the committee will investigate allegations that General Services Administration Administrator Lurita A. Doan has engaged in problematic behavior in three areas. These allegations were made in a Washington Post article and follow on earlier issues raised about behavior of the administrator with respect to the GSA Inspector General. Waxman's letter seeks information to be used in the committee's investigation with respect to allegations that the administrator entered into a no-bid contract with a long-time personal friend (an action later withdrawn following objections by GSA counsel), intervened in suspension or debarment actions against some firms, and sought to interfere in the operations of the GSA IG.
    Read the Waxman letter to Doan.
    Read the Waxman letter Edie Fraser, the Public Affairs Group.
    Read the Waxman letter to Doan.

GAO Issues Report Critical of DOD Lack of Managment of Massive Contracts in Support of Overseas Deployment
January 16, 2007. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on contracting with the lengthy title Military Operations: High Level DOD Action Needed to Address Long-standing Problems with Management and Oversight of Contractors Supporting Deployed Forces. The report points out that "DOD's reliance on contractors continues to grow. The Army alone estimates that almost 60,000 contractor employees currently support ongoing military operations in Southwest Asia. By way of contrast, an estimated 9,200 contractor personnel supported military operations in the 1001 Guld War. Similarly, the spending on contractors supporting deployed forces is significant. For example, spending on DOD's single largest contract supporting U.S. Forces in SOuthwest Asia -- the Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP0 -- was about $15.4 billion between 2001 and 2004." p. 1.
    Read the GAO report.

GAO and Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Issue Report Critical of Controls on DHS Purchase Cards
September 28, 2006. In a very unusual move, the Government Accountability Office has issued a report jointly with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security entitled Purchase Cards: Control Weaknesses Leave DHS Highly Vulnerable to Fraudulent, Improposer, and Abusive Activity. The report found in part that: "Based on a statistical sample, GAO and DHS OIG estimated that 45 percent of DHS's purchase card transactions were not properly authorized, 63 percent did not have evidence that the goods or services were received, and 53 percent did not give priority to designated procurement sources. GAO and DHS OIG also found cardholders who failed to dispute improper charges, which resulted in losses to the federal government." Summary p. 1.
    Read the GAO/DHS OIG report.

Report on Iraq "Rebuilding" Insists that Progress Requires "Overcoming Contract Management Challenges."
September 28, 2006. Gao has added another report to the growing body of information about contract management issues involved in Iraq assistance efforts.
    Read the GAO report.

Comptroller General Testifies Concerning the Need Improve DOD Contracting in Light of Dramatic Increases in Scope and Complexity
September 7, 2006. Comptroller General David M. Walker testified today before the House Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations. He stressed the importance of the fact that the amount of DOD contracting has increased some 88% since 2000 without adequate capacity to manage the contracts. The DOD is now spending some $270 billion annually by contract and is committed to $1.4 Trillion in major weapons systems purchases. ("DOD Acquisitions: Contracting for Better Outcomes," pp. 3-4) Yet the agency is attempting to do the work with a contract workforce that has remained about the same size overall as it was before the dramatic increases, but that has significant gaps. Not surprisingly, Walker's testimony points to a variety of areas in need of significant improvement: "(1) competition and sound pricing; (2) incentivizing contractors; and (3) contract oversight" (Id. at 6).
    Read the Walker testimony.

House Government Reform Committee Studies Criticizes Homeland Security Department for Contract Shortcomings
July 27, 2006. The House Government Reform Committee has issued a report highly critical of contracting practices in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The report found that no-bid contracts had increased by 739% between 2003 (the new agency's first year after it was created by the Homeland Security Act of 2002) and 2005. The report emphasizes 32 contracts for $34.3 billion in goods and services that presented serious difficulties. The report was prepared for committee chairman, Tom Davis, and ranking member Henry Waxman. The GAO has also produced a report on progress at DHS in creating an effective acqusitions operation.
    Read the Government Reform Committee Report on DHS contracting.
    Read the GAO report Homeland Security: Challenges in Creating an Effective Acquisitions Organization.

GAO and FBI Inspector General Raise Cautions About Sentinel System Contract
March 22, 2006. The U.S. Government Accountability Office and the FBI Inspector General have published reports cautioning that the FBI purchase of a major new computer system could be in for serious difficulties unless lessons are learned and applied from the failed $500 million Trilogy computer system that preceded Sentinel. The GAO report identified over $10 million in questionable costs on the failed Trilogy system and some 1,200 pieces of equipment unaccounted for in the audit.
    Read the GAO Trilogy Report.
    Read the FBI IG Report on Sentinel

Oregon Supreme Court Speaks in Ongoing National Discussion as to What Can and Cannot be Contracted-Out.
October 13, 2005. The Oregon Supreme Court has offered its own opinion to the ongoing national discussion of what public positions and activities can and which cannot be outsourced. The Court ruled against a 2002 decision by Portland school authorities to hire a contract firm to replace janitors in its operations based upon a 1937 statute defining the positions and the processes for hiring those who would fill them. For more details, see the Oregon page.

U.S. General Services Administration Announces Major Reorganization to Create the Federal Acquisition Service
August 4, 2005. General Services Administrator Stephen Perry has announced a major reorganization of the Federal Technology Service and the Federal Supply Service which will be combined to form the Federal Acquisition Service. The reorganization also entails a new relationship between nationally centralized contract operations and those to be focused in regional offices.
    Read the GSA Reorganization Plan

Congress Expedites FY2006 Defense Authorization Bill with Significant Policy Changes.
May 31, 2005. The House has already passed its version of the FY2006 defense authorization bill and the Senate has it under consideration. The bill contains a variety of important policy measures in addition to the normal pull and haul on individual program authorizations. For example, Sections 801 et seq. of the House and Senate bills provides a number of new contracting policies worthy of attention. These policy initiatives grew out of congressional criticism of recent DOD contracting, particularly in light of increased pressure for expanded contracting under the president's competitive sourcing initiative.
    Access H.R. 1815
    Access S.1043

Office of Federal Procurement Policy Sets Out Guidance on FAIR Act and A-76 Outsourcing Assessments
May 23, 2005. Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator David H. Safavian issued a memorandum to executive branch agencies on current implementation requirements for the Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act and the related OMB Circular A-76 process governing the review of commercial activities for possible outsourcing. One of the important parts of the memorandum is an attachment to the memorandum which sets forth guidance for agencies wishing to make an activity exempt from competitive sourcing requirements. Among those justifications is that the function is currently staffed by "individuals with disabilities." This policy comes on the heels of major criticism of administration outsourcing policy as a violation of longstanding federal service commitments to hiring persons with disabilities.
    Read the OFPP Memorandum

OMB Issues Implementation Requirements for the Strategic Outsourcing Policy
May 20, 2005. The Office of Management and Budget has issued a memorandum on implementation of the Bush administration's strategic sourcing policy. The memorandum sets out a series of directions to agencies with responsibility for implementation in each agency to be vested in the Chief Acquisition Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Information Officer.
    Read the OMB Memorandum

HUD Inspector General Report Criticizes Agency Selection and Management of Contractor Hired to Review Grant Applications
May 16, 2005. The Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control was criticized in a memorandum issued by the office of the regional inspector general for audit for the manner in which that HUD office used contractors to review grant proposals. The interim report found that grants were inappropriately awarded or denied because of failures by the office in its selection and management of the contractor hired to review the grant applications.
    Read the IG Report

Supreme Court Holds the Federal Government to Its Promises in Native American Health Care Contracts Cases
March 1, 2005. Writing for the Court in Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma v. Leavitt, concerning the obligations of the federal government in Native American health care contracts, Justice Breyer said: "The question before us is whether the Government's promises are legally binding. We conclude they are." The opinion covers two cases testing whether the federal government could pay Indian nations less than what was promised at the time a contract was entered and whether the Native American nations could seek to obtain the promised funds under the Contract Disputes Act. The Court consolidated two cases, No. 02- 1472 Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation v. Thompson and No. 02-853 Thompson v. Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. The cases arose from contracts for the operation of the Duck Valley Reservation Owyhee Community Hospital in Nevada and the Stilwell and Sallisaw Clinics and other facilities by the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes and Cherokee Nation with the Indian Health Service under the terms of the Indian Self-Determination Act. The contracts included contract service costs that were later withheld by the Department of Health and Human Services on grounds that the was an appropriations shortfall. From the Native American perspective, this was one more case in the ongoing problem of promises not kept by the federal government. The federal government argued, by contrast, that it has the statutory authority to make adjustments in contracts where stresses imposed by constraints on congressional appropriations do not provide sufficient funds to cover all obligations. All members of the Court, except the Chief Justice who did not participated, supported the Native American claim, though Justice Scalia added a brief concurring opinion concerning the use of a particular committee report in the case.
    Read the Opinion

Supreme Court Rejects Efforts to Enforce Contracts for Covert Services
March 1, 2005. A unanimous Court, in an opinion by the Chief Justice in Tenet v. Doe, has reaffirmed an 1876 ruling, holding that those involved cannot sue for enforcement of contracts for covert services.
    Read the Opinion

Bush Administration Issues a Revised Circular A-76
Based on the results of the Commercial Activities Panel report on competitive sourcing, the president's management agenda, and comments on the November 2002 proposed revision, the Office of Management and Budget on May 29, 2003 issued a revised Circular A-76 governing the identification of commercial activities in federal agencies and procedures for determining whether and how these functions should be made available for bid by commercial entities.
    Read the Revised Circular

The U.S. Commercial Activities Panel Final Report, "Improving the Sourcing Decisions of the Government"
The Commercial Activities Panel, headed by Comptroller General David Walker has issued its report after a year long high level study of decisions about whether and how to outsource particular governmental services and functions. It has produced a set of ten principles that it argues should be the basis for decisions about whether to contract out. The original GAO link has been disconnected, but the following link takes one to the report. Since it is a large file, it is often easiest to save the file and open it later.
    Read the Report

Purchase Cards and Travel Cards Come in for Criticism in General Accounting Office Studies
The purchase cards and travel cards which are now used widely by governments at all levels to reduce paperwork and increase efficiency have received high marks from many organizations, but there are problems that have emerged in their use according to recent General Accounting Office studies reported to Congress. While there are no calls to eliminate the cards, there are recommendations that accountability be improved.
    Read GAO Report "Purchase Cards: Control Weaknesses Leave Army Vulnerable to Fraud, Waste, and Abuse"
    Read "Travel Cards: Control Weaknesses Leave Army Vulnerable to Fraud, Waste, and Abuse" Testimony

Wisconsin Federal District Court Strikes State Level "Faith Based" Initiative.  The state contract program, initiative during the governorship of Tommy Thompson, violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment according to Judge Barbara Crabb of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
    Read the case

Supreme Court Creates Major Questions on Contractor Accountability for Constitutional Torts. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1997 in Richardson v. McKnight, 521 U.S. 399 (1997) that guards working under a contractor in the Tennessee corrections system were subject to suit under federal civil rights statutes, but did not enjoy the limited immunity that would normally be available to public employees in the same circumstances.Though concerned with the particular fact situation, the opinion ranged more broadly to discuss elements of accountability for civil rights violations in public contracts.The next case to apply Richardson involved a suit not against employees but against the contractor itself.  The Ninth Circuit cited McKnight in ruling against Lockheed Information Systems in a case concerning the company's operation of Los Angeles' traffic ticket processing.  Ace Beverage Co. v. Lockheed Information Management Services, 144 F.3d 1218 (9th Cir. 1998).

However, this term a sharply divided (5-4) Court refused a claim that federal government contractors should be held to constitutional torts under the Bivens doctrine.  The case was Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko, 534 U.S. 61 (2001).  After this ruling, there are a host of important accountability questions to be answered in variety of contracting situations.
    Read the Malesko opinion.
    Read the McKnight opinion.

Federal Portals for Contracts, Grants, and Expenditure Tracking

FedBizOpps and Acqusition Central: Two Primary Federal Government Internet Portals for Contract MattersChanged
   As part of the implementation of the E-Government Act and promotion of e-government actvities, the two primary Internet sites for federal government contracting information have been changed. Many of the materials formerly provided by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy within the Office of Management and Budget have now been consolidated into the single portal known as Acquisition Central (or Acquisition.gov). The single portal for business opportunities such as agency contracting notices and information for organizations that would like to bid are found on Federal Business Opportunities (or FedBizOpps). That site, which is operated by the General Services Administration, has changed its URL. For convenience, the new links are provided here, but they will be carried as regular parts of this page in the Federal Business Opportunities and Internet Resources on Federal Contract Management sections below.
    Access FedBizOpps.
    Access Acquisition Central

Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS)
   Another of the key sites central to federal government contract operations is the FPDS. Registration is required.
    Access FPDS

USASpending.gov
   Provides information on federal financial awards. "The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (Transparency Act) requires a single searchable website, accessible by the public for free that includes for each Federal award: 1. the name of the entity receiving the award; 2. the amount of the award; 3. information on the award including transaction type, funding agency, etc; 4. the location of the entity receiving the award; 5. a unique identifier of the entity receiving the award.
    Access USASpending.gov

Recovery.gov
   Provides information on implementation and reporting on expenditures and accountability information for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
    Access Recovery.gov

Grants.gov The Federal Grants Portal
July 30, 2007. In addition to its central Internet portal for federal contracting, the federal government has also created a similar portal for grants called Grants.gov. This is a particularly important site. Among other reasons, many programs or agencies require that applications or reports be uploaded through this portal. This site is important to many public service professionals who work with contracts, particularly at the state and local levels, as well as those specifically focused on grants, since many of these programs involve state or local contracts under federal grants with a particular blend of the characteristics and accountability requirements of both.
    The United States Environmental Protection Agency has provided an online Grant Management Training for Non-Profit Applicants and Recipients program on its website which takes the user through the grant application process through grant administration and closeout that can be very useful even for those who work in very different policy domains.
    Access Grants.gov.
    Access EPA Grants Mgmt Training Material.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
    "Tthe CFDA provides a full listing of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi-public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals."
    Access CFDA.

Procurement Glossary

via the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Access the Glossary

Public Contract Law

Federal Acquisitions Statutes, Orders, and Regulations
    via General Services Administration Acquisition, Contracting, and Procurement Law Page
    http://www.legal.gsa.gov/legal25.htm

Federal Acqusition Regulations
    http://www.arnet.gov/far/

United States Code
   http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/

Federal Government Auditing Standards (July 2007 Revision)
   Government Accountability Office Publication of Federal Government Auditing Standards
   http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07731g.pdf

Comptroller General of the United States Legal Reports
   Contracts Rulings, Major Rulemaking Reports
   http://www.gao.gov/

The United States Supreme Court
   (Docket, Briefs, Oral Arguments, Opinions)
   http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

Court of Appeals and District Court Opinions
   Through The Legal Information Institute Cornell University
   http://www.law.cornell.edu/
   Through FindLaw.com
   http://www.findlaw.com/

United States Court of Federal Claims
   http://www.contracts.ogc.doc.gov/fedcl/

Constitution of the United States
   http://www.law.cornell.edu:80/constitution/constitution.table.html#articlei

U.S. Attorney General Opinions
   Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice
   http://www.usdoj.gov:80/olc/allopinions.htm

Presidential Executive Orders
   Through the National Archives and Records Administration
   Disposition Tables from Dwight W. Eisenhower to George W. Bush
   Full text links from 1995 to present
   http://www.nara.gov/fedreg/eo.html

GAO Reports
   U.S. General Accounting Office
   http://www.gao.gov/

U.S. Government Agencies Directory
   Louisiana State University
   http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html

General Legal Research Sites
   The Legal Information Institute Cornell University
   http://www.law.cornell.edu/
   FindLaw.com
   http://www.findlaw.com/

Internet Resources on Federal Contract Management

Defense Acquisition University Acquisition Community Connection and "Ace for Services"
   Acquisition Community Connection (ACC)
   https://acc.dau.mil/simplify/ev.php?ID=1_201&ID2=DO_ROOT
   Ace for Services
   https://acc.dau.mil/simplify/ev.php?ID=27518_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC

Office of Management & Budget
    http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/procurement/index.html

OMB Procurement Circulars
    http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/index-procure.html
    Includes
      OMB Circular A-76 - Performance of Commercial Activities
         Basic document, revision, and supplemental handbook
      OMB Circular A-109 - Major Systems Acquisition
      OMB Circular A-131 - Value Engineering

Office of Federal Procurement Policy

    Acquisition Central (also known as Acquisitions.gov)
   http://acquisition.gov/

   Acquisition Reform Network (ARNET) Now Converted to AcqNET
    Information formerly provided in what was known as ARNET has now been renamed AcqNET and consolidated in the Acquisitions.gov above.

   Policy Letters
   http://www.arnet.gov/Library/OFPP/PolicyLetters/

   Office of Federal Procurement Policy Policy Documents
   http://www.arnet.gov/Library/OFPP/PolicyDocs/

   Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GOVWIDE)
   http://www.arnet.gov/gwac/govwide.html

   Acquisition Best Practices Guides
   http://www.arnet.gov/Library/OFPP/BestPractices/

   Federal Acquisitions Institute
   http://www.fai.gov

   Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA)
   http://www.dcaa.mil/

   NASA Procurement Library
   http://procure.msfc.nasa.gov/hq/library/v-C-Mgt.htm

   General Federal Government Searches
   http://www.firstgov.gov/

Professional Associations in Government Contracting

National Association of State Procurement Officials
   http://www.naspo.org/

National Contract Management Association
   http://www.ncmahq.org/

State & Local Contracting Resources

Contract Activities at the State and Local Government Level
   Web Connections to State and Local Contracting Agencies via NASA
   http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/business/Procurement/ElecCom/statecont.html

State and Local Procurement
   State by State Links to Contracting Centers
   http://structnet.com/projects/state-procurement.html
   Via the National Institute of Government Purchasing site.

Best Practices Guides
   The Guides, noted above while developed by and for the federal government are useful for state and local contracting as well.