A. G. Schoonmaker Co. v. Resor, 4-41, 47 A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 4-223 Alabama v. King and Boozer, 4-212 Allen M. Campbell General Contractor, Inc. v. Lloyd Wood Construction Co., 4-47 American Anchor & Chain Corp. v. United States, 4-213 American Federation of Government Employees v. Paine, 4-37 Arizona v. California, 4-213, 216 Ballerina Pen v. Kunzig, 1-41, 4-47 Blackhawk Heating & Plumbing v. Driver, 1-41 Bowser Inc. v. United States, 4-199 Brock and Blevins Co. v. United States, 4-16 Clallam County v. United States, 4-212 Chris Berg, Inc. v. United States, 1-42 Climatic Rainwear Co. v. United States, 4-12 Columbus Ry. Power & Light Co. v. City of Columbus, 4-213 Commonwealth v. Closson, 4-213 Construction Serv. Co. v. United States, 4-16 Continental Business Enterprises, Inc. v. United States, 4-48 Contractors Association of Eastern Pa. v. Secretary of Labor, 4-47 Cooke v. United States, 4-213 Copper Plumbing & Heating Co. v. Campbell, 4-66 Dalehite v. United States, 4-99 DeLaval Steam Turbine Co. v. United States, 4-213 Dynalectron Corp. v. United States, 4-25 Edelman v. Federal Housing Administration, 4-46 Esso Standard Oil Co. v. Evans, 4-212 Farkas v. Texas Instruments, Inc., 4-226 Gary Aircraft Corp. v. United States, 4-47 G. L. Christian & Associates v. United States, 1-42 Halvorson v. United States, 4-214 Helene Curtis Industries, Inc. v. United States, 4-213 Rubber Fabricators, Inc. v. Laird, 4-47 Russell Motor Car Co. v. United States, 4-213 Savage Arms Co. v. United States, 4-213 Scott v. United States, 4-214 S&E Contractors, Inc. v. United States, 4-25 Southwest Welding & Mfg. Co. v. United States, 4-53 Steward Machine Co. v. Davis, 4-223 Sun Printing & Publishing Ass'n. v. Moore, 4-214 Surplus Trading Co. v. Cook, 4-213 Technitrol Inc. v. United States, 4-120 United States v. Adams, 4-14 United States v. Anthony Grace & Sons, Inc., 4-17 United States v. Beebe, 4-214 United States v. Behan, 4-214 United States v. Carlo Bianchi & Co., 4-17 United States v. Blair, 4-30 United States v. Boyd, 4-212 United States v. Bradley, 4-216 United States v. Butler, 4-216, 223 United States v. Chichester, 4-214 United States v. City of Detroit, 4–212 United States v. Corliss Steam Engine Co., 4-216 United States v. County of Allegheny, 4-212 United States v.Darby, 4-223 United States v. Georgia Public Service Commission, 4-213 United States v. Goltra, 4-214 United States v. Hamden Cooperative Creamery, 4-214 United States v. Hutt, 4-214 United States v. King, 4-46 United States v. Lennox Metal Mfg. Co., 4-214 United States v. Maurice, 4-211, 216 United States v. McDaniel, 4–216 United States v. Milliken Imprinting Co., 4-53 United States v. Purcell Envelope Co., 4-213 United States v. Speed, 4-214 United States v. Tingey, 4-164, 211, 216, 217 United States v. Utah Construction and Mining Co., 4-15 United States Wood Preserving Co. v. Sundmaker, 4-46 Universal Transistor Products Corp. v. United States, 4-53 Walter P. Villere Co. v. Blinn, 4-46 Wheelabrator Corp. v. Chafee, 4-41, 46 Whitin Machine Works v. United States, 4-214 Womack v. United States, 4-213 Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 4-226 List of Recommendations-Parts A-J PART A GENERAL PROCUREMENT CONSIDERATIONS Chapter 2 Policy Development and Implementation 1. Establish by law a central Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Executive Office of the President, preferably in the Office of Management and Budget, with specialized competence to take the leadership in procurement policy and related matters. If not organizationally placed in OMB, the office should be established in a manner to enable it to testify before committees of Congress. It should develop and persistently endeavor to improve ways and means through which executive agencies can cooperate with and be responsive to Congress. 1-9, 185; 4-203 Chapter 3 The Statutory Framework 2. Enact legislation to eliminate inconsistencies in the two primary procurement statutes by consolidating the two statutes and thus provide a common statutory basis for procurement policies and procedures applicable to all executive agencies. Retain in the statutory base those provisions necessary to establish fundamental procurement policies and procedures. Provide in the statutory base for an Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the executive branch to implement basic procurement policies. 1-15, 185; 4-203 3. (a) Require the use of formal advertising when the number of sources, existence of adequate specifications, and other conditions justify its use. (b) Authorize the use of competitive negotiation methods of contracting as an acceptable and efficient alternative to formal advertising. (c) Require that the procurement file disclose the reasons for using competitive methods other than formal advertising in procurements over $10,000, or such other figure as may be established for small purchase procedures. (d) Repeal statutory provisions inconsistent with the above. 1-20, 185; 4-203 4. Adjust the statutory provision on solicitations and discussions in competitive procurements other than formal advertising in the following manner: (a) Extend the provision to all agencies. (b) Provide for soliciting a competitive rather than a "maximum" number of sources, for the public announcement of procurements, and for honoring the reasonable requests of other sources to compete. (c) Promulgate Government-wide regulations to facilitate the use of discussions in fixed-price competitions when necessary for a common understanding of the product specifications. (d) Require that evaluation criteria, including judgment factors to be weighed by the head of an agency when he is responsible for contractor selection, and their relative importance, be set forth in competitive solicitations involving contracts which are not expected to be awarded primarily on the basis of the lowest cost. 1-22, 185; 4-204 5. When competitive procedures that do not involve formal advertising are utilized, establish that agencies shall, upon request of an unsuccessful proposer, effectively communicate the reasons for selecting a proposal other than his own. 1-25, 185; 4-204 6. Authorize sole-source procurements in those situations where formal advertising or other competitive procedures cannot be utilized, subject to appropriate documentation; and, in such classes of procurements as determined by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, subject to the determination being approved at such level above the head of the procuring activity as is specified in agency regulations. 1-26, 186; 4-204 7. Increase the statutory ceiling on procurements for which simplified procedures are authorized to $10,000. Authorize the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to review the ceiling at least every three years and change it where an appropriate formula indicates the costs of labor and materials have changed by 10 percent or more. 1-26, 186; 4-204 8. Authorize all executive agencies to enter into multi-year contracts with annual appropriations. Such contracts shall be based on clearly specified firm requirements and shall not exceed a five-year duration unless authorized by another statute. 1-27, 186; 4-204 9. Repeal the current statutory requirement that the contractor provide the procuring agency with advance notification of cost-plus-afixed-fee subcontracts and subcontracts over $25,000 or five percent of the prime contract cost. 1-28, 186; 4-204 Chapter 4 The Regulatory Framework 10. Establish a system of Government-wide coordinated, and to the extent feasible, uniform procurement regulations under the direction of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, which will have the overall responsibility for development, coordination, and control of procurement regulations. 1-31, 186; 4-204 11. Establish criteria and procedures for an effective method of soliciting the viewpoints of interested parties in the development of procurement regulations. 1-38, 186; 4-204 Chapter 5 The Procurement Work Force 12. Reevaluate the place of procurement in each agency whose program goals require substantial reliance on procurement. Under the general oversight of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, each agency should ensure that the business aspects of procurement and the multiple national objectives to be incorporated in procurement actions receive appropriate consideration at all levels in the organization. 1-43, 186 13. Clarify the role of the contracting officer as the focal point for making or obtaining a final decision on a procurement. Allow the contracting officer wide latitude for the exercise of business judgment in representing the Government's interest. 1-44, 186 14. Clarify the methods by which authority to make contracts and commit the Government is delegated to assure that such authority is exercised by qualified individuals and is clearly understood by those within the agencies and by the agencies' suppliers of goods and services. 1-44, 186 15. Assign to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy responsibility for: (a) Developing and monitoring, in cooperation with the procuring agencies and the Civil Service Commission, personnel management programs that will assure a competent work force. (b) Defining agency responsibilities and establishing standards for effective work force management and for development of a Government-wide personnel improvement program. (c) Developing and monitoring a uniform data information system for procurement personnel. 1-46, 186 16. Establish a recruiting and trainee program to assure development of candidates for procurement positions in all agencies, at all levels, and in all required disciplines. Special attention should be given to college recruitment to obtain young workers capable of being trained through experience and additional formal education to provide the managerial staff required a decade from now. 1-47, 186 17. Establish a better balance between employee tenure and promotion rights and longrange needs of the agencies. 1-48, 186; 4-204 18. Establish grade levels together with job prerequisites to reflect the authority and responsibility vested in procurement personnel. 1-49, 187 19. Establish a rotation program to provide selected future procurement management personnel with a variety of related job experiences and individual assignments throughout the Government and in various locations. 1-49, 187 20. Structure career development, promotion, and reduction-in-force programs to reflect a longer-range viewpoint of what is best for the overall needs of the agency and of the Government. 1-49, 187; 4-204 21. Establish a Federal Procurement Institute which would include undergraduate and graduate curricula, procurement research programs, executive seminar programs, and other academic programs. 1-51, 187; 4-204 Chapter 6 The Government Make-or-Buy Decision 22. Provide through legislation that it is national policy to rely on private enterprise for needed goods and services, to the maximum extent feasible, within the framework of procurement at reasonable prices. 1-57, 187; 4-204 23. Revise BOB Circular A-76 to provide that Federal agencies should rely on commercial sources for goods and services expected to cost less than $100,000 per year, without making cost comparisons, provided that adequate competition and reasonable prices can be obtained. 1-61, 187 24. Base cost comparisons on: (a) Fully-allocated costs if the work concerned represents a significant element in the total workload of the activity in question or if discontinuance of an ongoing operation will result in a significant decrease in indirect costs. (b) An incremental basis if the work is not a significant portion of the total workload of an organization or if it is a significant portion in which the Government has already provided a substantial investment. 1-61, 187 25. Increase the BOB Circular A-76 threshold for new starts to $100,000 for either new capital investment or annual operating cost. 1-62, 187 26. Increase the minimum cost differential for new starts to justify performing work inhouse from the 10 percent presently prescribed to a maximum of 25 percent. (Of this figure, 10 percent would be a fixed margin in support of the general policy of reliance on private enterprise. A flexible margin of up to 15 percent would be added to cover a judgment as to the possibilities of obsolescence of new or additional capital investment; uncertainties regarding maintenance and production cost, prices, and future Government requirements; and the amount of State and local taxes foregone.) New starts which require little or no capital investment would possibly justify only a 5-percent flexible margin while new starts which require a substantial capital investment would justify a 15-percent flexible margin, especially if the new starts were highrisk ventures. 1-62, 187 Dissenting Position Dissenting Recommendation 1. Designate a senior member of the Executive Office of the President to devote his full time to the implementation of the policy of reliance on the private sector. He should be assisted by an interagency task force whose members also would be full time for a period of one to two years or until the program is thoroughly implemented. This task force would: (a) Work with each principal agency to: (1) Lay out a definitive time schedule covering the completion of the agency's inventory of commercial or industrial activities being performed in-house. (2) Outline in order of priority the analyses to be conducted. (b) Maintain a review of the actions of each agency on the program and examine the studies made by the agency of its major activities in order to offer assistance and advice. 1-63, 187 Dissenting Recommendation 2. Require Federal agencies to rely on the private sector except for those cases where: (a) Such reliance would truly disrupt or significantly delay an agency program. (b) In-house performance is essential for the national defense. |