One of the most interesting—and neglected—sections of the annual defense authorization bill steers annual contracting policy both for DOD and government-wide. Though the language in the 2010 defense authorization bill now awaiting final approval from Congress is a bit weaker in the wake of defense contracting reform  passed earlier this year, it still contains some notable items.

Payments to any contractor “determined to have caused the death or serious bodily injury of Department of Defense personnel” could potentially be withheld, for example. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) orignally attached t he language to the House version of the bill after learning that “defense contractors accused of producing defective work that endangered the lives of US soldiers were still being awarded multi-million dollar contracts.” The bill also includes a Senate-added provision that would make DOD incorporate health and safety standards into construction contracts for military facilities.

The legislation is clearly a response to outrage surrounding KBR, longtime holder of DOD’s prime logistics contract. The DOD Inspector General found KBR partially responsible for the 2008 electrocution death of a green beret in Iraq due to faulty wiring at an Army barracks the company constructed (an Army investigation did not find the company criminally negligible). The Army Corps of Engineers awarded KBR a multimillion dollar contract and $83 million in bonuses not long after the incident. 

Another provision in the bill appears to address KBR’s claim that subcontractors were to blame for much of the shoddy work. The new legislation would extend suspension and debarment provisions to subcontractors (except those providing commercial items), meaning bad performers will find themselves on the government’s no-go list of contractors.

• Require a DOD comptroller study on how subcontractors on major weapons systems are managed. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) sponsored a similar amendment to the House bill to track whether subcontracts are spread around to curry political influence.
• Requires DOD to report on whether it has improved the way it buys services, as well as break down the types of services and number of full-time contractors requested. DOD now spends most of its contract dollars on services, and lawmakers are concerned that DOD isn’t watching them closely enough.
• Prohibits contractors from being hired to manage support services on major weapons systems, a function lawmakers feel is inherently governmental because of its wide oversight of subcontractors.
• Requires all government agencies to submit written justification and approval for any sole-source contract worth more than $20 million.
• Requires DOD to justify any contract bundling at least 30 days before release of the contract solicitation.
• Requires DOD to provide justification when it gives performance precedence over cost factors in contract solicitations

As always, we maintain that reports are good as long as they are publicly available and result in action.

For more information, contact Laura Peterson.