Merry Christmas, Departments of Defense and Interior.  You won the prize.  You appeared on the front page of The Washington Post.  Now, all the world knows of your good intentions but poor execution of Pentagon purchases.

 

The Inspector Generals (IGs) of the Departments of Defense and Interior found that over 90% of the purchases they reviewed were made without first verifying the cost estimates contained in the contracts as “fair and reasonable.”

 

My article this Friday, Part II of the Year in Review, will highlight the procurement challenges the Executive Branch has faced this year and the apparent inadequacy of extant systems to effectively manage this process and avoid this sort of reported waste and abuse.

 

I’m asking Paul Denett and his Office of Federal Procurement Policy to provide “The Forum” with a comment on this story.  Perhaps some key aspects are incorrect or have not been placed in proper perspective.  On the surface, I’d imagine Mr. Denett and Company would be pleased that Defense and Interior are collaborating on procurement matters rather than having each reinventing the wheel and incurring costs already charged to another agency.  One would expect some economies would result from such an approach.

 

If nothing else, this article by Robert O’Harrow, Jr. and Scot Higham identifies the massive challenge our government faces in properly – and closely – managing billions upon billions of dollars of contracted goods and services.

 

If there is a bright side to this, it is that our IGs are able to expose such deficiencies so that future fixes may be fashioned.

 

We have to get this right.  If not, it’s like running your heater in the winter with the front door wide open. 

 

Does anybody have any ideas for getting a better grip on the situation?

Fred Apelquist, contributing editor

 

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