Smart Contracting Outlook: FY 2011 NDAA is a Mix of Smart and Not-so-smart Contracting Policies

The Professional Services Council’s own Stan Soloway and Alan Chvotkin briefed the media on our take of the House and Senate versions of the fiscal 2011 National Defense Authorization Act.

Conclusion: some provisions are smart contracting, others…not so much.

Take the House provisions on insourcing. The provision that prevents agencies from setting insourcing quotas: Smart. Agencies should think strategically before insourcing to ensure what is brought in house truly needs to be performed by the government to provide the essential “organic” capabilities needed to keep the government in the driver’s seat.

However, a provision telling agencies to insource any work currently contracted out or any new work, thus encouraging insourcing of non-strategic functions found in any phone book: Not smart. Budgets are already tight and hiring authorities are limited. Agencies shouldn’t be wasting time and money insourcing work that is not mission critical and won’t save taxpayer dollars.

Hiring rule would limit contractors

The Labor Department did a curious thing on March 19. It proposed a rule that appears to run afoul of basic labor laws and practices. The “Cliff’s Notes” version: Labor, at the order of the White House, proposes to force contractors that win government work from another firm to give the outgoing contractor’s wage-grad...e employees the right of first refusal for the jobs they’re vacating. However, the proposal fails to provide a meaningful way for the incoming contractor to assess the qualifications of those employees. Sound absurd? PSC President and CEO Stan Soloway thought so too. You can read his in-depth analysis of the rule in this Government Executive op-ed.