Army Use of Time-and-Materials Contracts in Southwest Asia
Abstract
The Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) reviewed Army time-and-materials (T&M) contracts and task orders for Southwest Asia to determine if they were awarded and administered in accordance with acquisition regulations. DoD IG reviewed 18 contracts and task orders with a total value of $605,021,129. They found that Army contracting and DoD program officials did not properly award and administer the 18 T&M contracts and task orders. Contracting and program officials awarded contracts and task orders with invalid sole-source justifications or unfair competition (10 of 18), did not negotiate reasonable prices (17 of 18), and did not justify their use of the T&M contract type (12 of 18). These conditions occurred because contracting and program officials ignored acquisition regulations. In addition, contracting and program officials did not perform adequate contractor surveillance for the 18 contracts and task orders because of inadequate organization and planning by the Army officials responsible for contractor oversight. The DoD IG identified potential monetary benefits for the Government of $3,688,338. The DoD IG recommends that the Executive Director of the Army Contracting Command should do the following: (1) conduct a review and initiate appropriate administrative action on the contracting officers responsible for awarding contracts and task orders without adequate competition, sole-source justifications, or price reasonableness determinations; (2) request that the Defense Contract Audit Agency perform reviews on the contracts and task orders reviewed in this report; and (3) take corrective action to ensure that contracting officers develop plans for sufficient contract oversight of T&M contracts in Southwest Asia. Also, contract oversight officials should be located at the place of contractor performance to ensure effective surveillance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 27, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA529705
Entities
People
- Richard B. Jolliffe
Organizations
- Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense