Congress could promote strategic sourcing by setting goals in legislation that would hold agencies accountable for their use of it, Cristina Chaplain of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said July 15, 2013.
Chaplain, director for acquisition and sourcing management at GAO, said at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that even though strategic sourcing presents a clear chance to save money, procurement officials lack incentives to pursue it.
Those who achieve savings might see their budgets cut the next year, Chaplain said.
“Failure actually pays off in government, doesn’t it?” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) asked. “Exactly,” Chaplain replied, adding that some officials resist the loss of control over spending that results when the government leverages its collective size. Federal procurement is largely decentralized, and strategic sourcing aims to aggregate the government’s buying power.
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