Panel on Contracting Integrity
Why We Submitted This Report
Section 813 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 directed the Department of Defense (DoD) to convene a panel of senior leaders representing a cross section of the Department to eliminate areas of vulnerability of the defense contracting system that allow fraud, waste, and abuse to occur. Of the 21 recommendations in the Panel’s 2007 report, the Panel completed 20 actions and delayed one action to determine the effect of recent legislation on 2008 contracts. This report describes the Panel’s accomplishments and provides an appendix with copies of several documents.
Panel on Contracting Integrity Accomplishments in 2008:
- Reinforced the functional independence of contracting officers and the separation of duties of those in senior positions in acquisition.
- Issued “Department of Defense Senior Contracting Leadership Positions” to identify positions and require succession plans to minimize vacancies.
- Resourced and implemented recruiting, hiring, and retention workforce-shaping initiatives through the Section 852, NDAA 2008 Trust Fund Steering Board.
- Issued a memorandum requiring components to conduct a contract policy execution review and require annual reports with a focus on Undefinitized Contract Actions, time and materials contracts, and use of commercial items.
- Issued a memorandum on use of Interagency Acquisitions to promote good business decisions in this GAO High Risk area.
- Developed the first DoD standard for COR certification according to complexity of the task. The Panel also drafted a memorandum signed by the Deputy secretary of Defense, “Monitoring Contract Performance in Contracts for Services.” It requires designation of the COR prior to contract performance; sufficient time for COR to perform duties; and assessment in the COR’s performance evaluation.
- Revised the Joint Contingency Contracting (JCCI) Handbook and developed training on how to run a contracting office in a combat/contingency environment.
- Totally revised and web-enabled the DoDIG Procurement Fraud Handbook of 1993, a major accomplishment.
What We Recommend: Actions in 2009
The Panel listed 28 actions in this report and plans to implement all of them in 2009
Panel on Contracting Integrity 2009 Actions
1. Current Structure of Contracting Integrity |
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2. Sustained Senior Leadership |
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3. Capable Contracting Workforce |
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4. Adequate Pricing |
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5. Appropriate Contracting Approaches & Techniques |
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6. Sufficient Contract Surveillance |
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7. Contracting Integrity in a Combat/Contingent Environment |
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8. Procurement Fraud Indicators
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9. Contractor Employee Conflicts of Interest
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10. Recommendations for Change
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