Sunday, July 19, 2009
Even though President Barack Obama has pledged to end no-bid contracting, the Defense Department is still awarding projects—paid for with stimulus funds—to businesses that haven’t had to compete for the work. The awarding of no-bid work to small contractors has cost the Pentagon more money than if it had required competition among companies, the Associated Press found.
AP analyzed 570 defense contracts, much of it for repairs at military bases, and found the Pentagon saved more than three times as much money when bidding was required. So far the Pentagon has spent $242 million (equal to about 25% of its stimulus funding) through no-bid contracts for repairs and maintenance. Defense officials say bidding out work can delay projects, and thus slow down President Obama’s desire to inject more life into the economy. Between the Pentagon and other federal agencies, about $543 million of the $787 billion stimulus program has been dispensed without competition among contractors.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
No-Bid Contracts Mean Higher Costs (by Brett Blackledge, Associated Press)
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