OFPP to rein in interagency contracts

The widespread award and use of multiple-award contracts in the past three years have caused some agency confusion and borderline illegal practices. Although some problems have been cleared up recently, the Bush administration is deciding on the best way to oversee the hundreds of contracts agencies are using.

An Office of Federal Procurement Policy memo calling for changes in interagency contracting has been circulating among federal acquisition chiefs, inspectors general and chief financial officers for months, while the Chief Acquisition Officers Council is working with OFPP Administrator Paul Denett to set up a governance process for such contracts.

The draft document, which is nearly 40 pages long, establishes agencies’ roles and responsibilities in interagency agreements.

Bush administration officials say they hope to use the policy changes to slow but not halt the proliferation of such contracts. The memo will address the way that agencies manage and use the contracts, and it will target duplicative contracts that offer little additional value.

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