Most federal acquisition professionals are not prepared to quickly renegotiate contracts or handle other responsibilities if automatic budget cuts take effect next month, according to a survey released Monday, Dec. 17, 2012.
Sequestration — the automatic spending cuts required if Congress and the White House fail to agree on a deficit reduction plan by Jan. 2 — would require acquisition employees to quickly renegotiate, cancel or change the scope of contracts. Of the 40 federal officials surveyed, including senior acquisition executives, contracting professionals, congressional staff and representatives from the oversight community, 60 percent said those skills were weak or nonexistent in the acquisition workforce.
Sequestration “will present a host of issues, such as contract terminations. There is the potential for millions in broken contracts, so this is a critical area,” one survey respondent said.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20121217/ACQUISITION02/312170004/Acquisition-workforce-unprepared-challenges-sequestration?odyssey=nav%7Chead.
See survey at: http://www.pscouncil.org/i/p/Procurement_Policy_Survey/c/p/ProcurementPolicySurvey/Procurement_Policy_S.aspx
