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Agencies should recruit more acquisition workers, and give them better compensation and training, a key member of Congress said Thursday.

During a discussion hosted by the Association of Government Accountants, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said contracting experts provide one of the best returns on federal investments in hiring.

"You've got a lot of good [acquisition] people in government, but if you're not training them on an ongoing basis, you're losing out," Davis told the auditors. "I would pay them, I would bonus them."

Davis, who serves a Northern Virginia district heavy with government-oriented firms, said such a boost would help industry and would mitigate some of the "big contracting problems" stemming from management weaknesses.

But Davis was critical of several recent developments on Capitol Hill. If the Clean Contracting Act, crafted last session of Congress by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., were to become law, agency officials "would spend so much time making sure people can't steal anything, they [wouldn't be able] to do anything," Davis said.

He criticized efforts to restrict government use of purchase cards. These efforts reflect a misguided focus on the relatively small downside of abuse, rather than the large administrative savings the cards generate, he said.

Davis also said contracting set-asides, such as those for minority-owned and disadvantaged businesses, and cumbersome transparency requirements, prevent agencies from getting the best value for taxpayers.

Turning to broader federal management initiatives, Davis said "all bets are off" regarding progress on the President's Management Agenda. He predicted the administration would spend the next two years defending controversial elements of that agenda, such as personnel reform efforts at the Defense and Homeland Security departments.

Davis also predicted that the emphasis Waxman places on oversight as the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will push agency financial management to the back burner. Davis, now the committee's ranking member, acknowledged that Republicans did the same when they took control of Congress during the Clinton administration.

An initiative to improve the management of federal property is one area that has potential for progress during the current session, Davis said, citing Waxman's interest in the issue.

"There are a lot of things in this government that aren't conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat," Davis said. "We really make it harder on ourselves" by emphasizing partisan divisions.

COMMENTS

• When you get a DUI who do you call to keep your butt out of jail? An attorney. Federal Contracting Officers are there to keep management from doing stupid stuff that will get them put in jail. You only need to look at the recent headlines to know that Management didn't listen. COs are trained to offer you a professional opinion, if you choose not to do otherwise; it is at your own peril, right? You could pay us more and we would appreciate it considering all the work that we'll have to do in the future. New hires do not look promising, which isn't a surprise (who would want to do a CO's job). So, agencies have to do with what they have while trying not to lose staff that leaves for the commercial market where the pay and benefits are better. Let's face it, the system is broken! Hopefully, common sense will prevail. CO on the EDGE Posted March 5, 2007 3:06 PM
• Unfortunately, leadership in many agencies and activities view contracting -- and acquisition management in general -- to be an unnecessary evil. The perception is that contracting forces the program office to procure from unwanted sources; Contracting delays the process; Contracting questions requirements (what does Contracting know?); Contracting questions where and how funds may be obligated. It's not necessarily more money that is needed to attract and retain contracting professionals, but an appreciation by the agencies and activities for whom they work; appreciation for the work complexity and importance and value of today's contracting professionals. GovExec.com reader Posted March 5, 2007 9:28 AM
• The Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) is a big mess of overlapping and confusing rules and regulations. In print, the thing is the size of an encyclopedia. It needs to be fixed. But, it should also be automated. Software can be written to apply the FAR automatically in most contracting situations. That would allow fewer workers to be more productive. More pay for acquisition workers won't bring in more bodies. If someone spends years getting a college education, they want to work for an employer that has a professional working environment and rewards good workers. Federal management is busy playing office politics and creating a bureaucracy. Throughout the government, the problem is still a lack of management accountability. Robert M. Posted March 5, 2007 6:31 AM