Review of the Use of Definitization Requirements for Contracts Supporting Reconstruction in Iraq

Abstract

Congress appropriated $18.4 billion for security, relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in Iraq. The appropriation is known as the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF). Overall, as of April 2006, $16.4 billion in IRRF funds had been obligated. Funds are obligated for contracts, grants, local purchases, and agency operating expenses. Regarding contracts, as of April 2006 the United States awarded 1,678 contracts valued at nearly $12.1 billion from IRRF. Of these, the Department of Defense (DoD), mostly through the Department of the Army, has awarded 1,647 contracts with a value of nearly $7.5 billion. Other activities funded through IRRF, such as grants, local purchases, and agency operating expenses were outside the scope of this review. A variety of contract actions were used in awarding IRRF reconstruction contracts to meet this mandate, including what is referred to in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) as an undefinitized contract action. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), from which the DFARS is based, refers to these actions as letter contracts. This type of action is used when the contract terms, specifications, or price are not agreed upon before performance is begun. An undefinitized contract action is used in two cases: (1) when there is insufficient time to negotiate for a definitive contract to meet the government's needs; and (2) when the government's interest demands that a binding commitment be given so that contract performance can begin immediately. The DFARS requires that definitization occur (to agree on the contract terms, specifications, and price) the earlier of (1) 180 days after the issuance of an undefinitized contract action; or (2) the date on which the amount of funds obligated under the contract action is equal to more than 50% of the not-to-exceed price.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 28, 2006
Accession Number
ADA460515

Entities

Organizations

  • Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Army Corps Of Engineers
  • Business Administration
  • Congress
  • Contract Administration
  • Contracts
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • National Security
  • Procurement
  • Project Management
  • Security
  • United States
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.