More Effective Federal Procurement Response to Disasters: Maximizing the Extraordinary Flexibilities of IDIQ Contracting
Abstract
Federal public procurement practices are constantly under the public microscope. Congress and its investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the media, and watchdog organizations scrutinize how agencies spend hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars each year. That scrutiny does not recede during national emergencies, whether they are military contingencies or natural disasters. In fact, that scrutiny has by all accounts increased exponentially, particularly with regard to federal procurement for Hurricane Katrina response and reconstruction and the hundreds of billions of dollars spent and yet to be spent. Serious concerns have been raised, and continue to be raised, as to federal agencies' procurement strategies and use of contracting vehicles and tools during emergencies. The federal procurement system has various vehicles and tools for use preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies. Among these tools is the indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. This paper proposes that the multiple award IDIQ contract is the most valuable procurement tool for federal agencies' disaster/crisis response. IDIQ contracts are ideally suited to meet the majority of contracting needs before, during and in the aftermath of a disaster or emergency. Although IDIQ contracts have been in the procurement toolbox for decades, their use exploded with passage of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) in 1994. Their value has been articulated primarily in terms of administrative efficiency and flexibility, especially because FASA's codification of IDIQ contracts was coupled with other streamlined procurement mechanisms with a goal to make federal procurement more commercial-like and with a significant reduction in government acquisition personnel. Unfortunately, IDIQ contracting has been plagued by years of abuse and poor implementation. Speed and efficiency came at the expense of competition, integrity, and transparency.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 21, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA454285
Entities
People
- Kevin J. Wilkinson
Organizations
- George Washington University