Contractors warned to expect election-year procurement reforms

An industry association is expressing apprehension about contracting reform legislation that Congress likely will consider this election year. Some industry representatives fear that increasing scrutiny of contractors may lead to knee-jerk legislation before Election Day.

"There most likely will be procurement legislation in 2008 … and most likely it will be procurement legislation you don't like," Larry Allen, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, a Washington-based contractor association, warned industry executives at a small-business forum Monday.

CGP lobbies for products and services to be sold to the government as they are in the commercial market, and Allen said the legislative tide is turning toward more regulation and oversight. He said there is a particular risk for contractors when legislators who are unfamiliar with the issue take on high-profile reform.

"There are some people who want to make government contractors somewhat akin to the tobacco companies in this election year and strike a blow for what they think is truth, justice and the American way, without really understanding how the business of government gets done," Allen said.

When contracting legislation comes from those who are well-versed with the ins and outs of procurement, industry representatives say they are better able to track the proposed rules and advocate for the industry's position on the Hill.

"It is exponentially more difficult to impact and shape procurement legislation that comes from somebody outside that group who has a political agenda, doesn't know and isn't interested in learning about the business of government, and the impact this legislation could have on that," Allen said. "That's the area that we're most concerned about for 2008, and that latter group unfortunately includes House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman."

The California Democrat has been leading the fight for increased oversight of contractors and introduced an expansive acquisition reform bill, the Accountability in Contracting Act (H.R. 1362), which overwhelmingly passed the House in March 2007. That legislation, in some form, likely will be in conference with a bill (S. 680) introduced by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, which passed the Senate in November.

CGP and other industry associations have come out against several provisions and are keeping a close eye on the legislation. While contractors are lauding the Collins bill's focus on beefing up the acquisition workforce, industry representatives don't like some provisions, including one that would allow protests on task orders of more than $5 million and another that would require the government to negotiate discounts with retailers when using purchase cards.