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Return to Article: GSA to hire outside contracting help

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  Are these GSA technicians the same people that we are going to pay fat bonuses too, and then hire outside contract people to oversee what they do, or to do the work they should be doing?

  I consider that to be some type of double-dipping.

  Charlie Posted February 23, 2005 5:43 PM
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  I am heavily involved with acquistion people and financial management people in DoD. Both are very incompetent and cannot or will not handle change! They are totally overpaid and underworked (they are busy but they do not work!). Look at the top people in the finance area - few are qualified by education or experience to hold the high positions they hold! None will leave because they could not survive in the private sector at the level they have become used to.

  Acquistion and finance are menial jobs (for the most part) that involve paper pushing and filing. They are not inherently governmental but are very clerical. The functions could be outsourced to India and we could save a tremendous amount of money and improve the process. Look at the new people in the lower levels of both functions and you will fine unqualified secretaries filling the positions because there is no other place for them to go! They know nothing about how or why they should do things other than to do what was done for the past five years! Also, none of them know how to analyze financial data to determine the costs of meeting objectives because they only see and think they understand a very small part of the picture and by God they are going to make everyone follow the proper methods even when they are wrong. The financial systems are the worse I have experienced in my long working life - thank God most was in the porivate sector because you cannot improve any government process in a short time. For example, look at the comptroller of the Air Force, he has an MBA with relatively no accounting, minimal finance and no experience in either! But he did graduate from West Point and served in the Army - what a wonderful example of qualification for the job!!!!!! We would be better off outsourcing the job to a CPA in India!

  taxpayer Posted February 23, 2005 7:42 AM
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  C'mon, Get It Right GSA! Hire contractors to help you give taxpayer money to other (or the same) contractors!

  GovExec.com reader Posted February 23, 2005 12:45 AM
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  The notion of hiring contracting to effect perform a government innature function should be evaluated by the GAO. If more help is needed hire them and train up. Stop the continued onslaught of eliminating acquisition and financial management professionals which has been ongoing. Contractors should be allowed to write PWS but the acquisiton issues go too far. GSA has enough problems with internal controls and lack of oversight--heck--many times they use the same contracts in IT already available to DoD--but charge a service fee costing the taxpayer more

  GovExec.com reader Posted February 18, 2005 11:43 AM