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December 26, 2014 By AMK

IG says VA official inappropriately steered contracts before moving to Treasury

A former top procurement official at the Department of Veterans Affairs — who now holds a similar position at the Treasury Department — steered contracts to a company with which she had a personal relationship, according to a watchdog report.

In concert with a VA colleague, Iris Cooper “preselected” the company, Tridec Technologies, then divided the work up into separate, smaller contracts that stayed below a threshold that allowed them to be awarded without competition, according to the agency’s Inspector General. In all, the Ohio-based company won more than $15 million in work since 2009 to help build an online acquisitions site

VA sealThe IG’s report is the second in recent months to accuse a top-ranking VA acquisitions official of improperly steering contracts. In September, the IG said that another VA contracting officer sought to improperly benefit Vienna-based FedBid. She resigned after the report became public.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/12/18/report-va-official-inappropriately-steered-contracts-before-moving-to-treasury/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: complaints, fraud, IG, preselect, Treasury Dept., VA, whistleblower

July 9, 2013 By AMK

Whistleblower subs now protected on DoD contracts

Effective July 1, 2013, Department of Defense (DoD) subcontractors are covered under a  protection provision that became law through the fiscal 2013 National Defense  Authorization Act.  The law comes from Sections 827 and 828 of the Act and is applicable only to contracts made on or after July 1 or task orders on existing contracts that were made after July 1.

Before now, DoD subcontractors were not covered under whistleblower protections, and if a case of whistleblower retribution by a subcontractor was brought to the DoD’s Inspector General for administrative investigations, it would not have been investigated.

In effect, whistleblowers, whether employees of contractors or subcontractors, who make internal complaints within their company now have retribution protection.

The statute also adds protection to whistleblowers who disclose information  to a court, grand jury, management office or other employee of the contractor or  subcontractor who has the responsibility to investigate misconduct.

Under the amended statute, disclosures of abuse of authority that undermine  performance of a contract are added to the list of items whistleblowers can  disclose and be protected from reprisal and executive branch officials cannot  take action against a whistleblower unless the request takes the form of a  nondiscretionary directive and is within the authority of department making the  request.

Burden of proof is also addressed in the new provision. The new standard  stipulates that the rights and remedies contained within the law cannot be  waived by any agreement, policy or condition of employment and establishes a  three-year statute of limitations for filing complaints.

More information available at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/dod-subcontractor-whistleblowers-now-protected/2013-06-27

 

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: complaints, DoD, IG, NDAA, retribution, whistleblower

March 22, 2012 By AMK

VA launches probe of reverse auctions

Acquisition officials at the Veterans Affairs Department are drafting a report for top VA officials on how the department has managed its use of reverse auctions, a spokeswoman said March 8.

On March 3, a senior VA acquisition official ordered the Veterans Health Administration to stop using reverse auctions, due to several possible problems. Now, top officials have asked the Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Contracting for an in-depth examination of reverse auctions. Acquisition officials are currently reviewing the VA’s use of the unusual procurement technique by checking 25 randomly selected reverse auction contract files for the report.

“VA acquisition officials have to learn more about the issue, which is why we stopped the reverse auctions, but we are still looking at how wide and deep the problem is, including whether or not any violations occurred in managing the program,” said Jo Schuda, a spokeswoman for the department.

The technique was “causing significant perturbations in the VA supply chain,” Jan Frye, VA’s deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and logistics, wrote in the memo ordering the halt. The disruptions are “at least one protest, potential increased costs, small-business program anomalies, violations of our VA contract hierarchy, and a ground swell of complaints from our suppliers.”

He also wrote that contracting officers, when conducting reverse auctions, have handed over too much of the rein to FedBid, the company that hosts the reverse auctions for the VA, without proper oversight by “cognizant contracting officers.”

“We simply did not think through all of the unintended consequences of reverse auctions when we recently made the decision to allow their use,” Frye also wrote.

A source close to the situation said Frye took an unusual approach in halting the auctions in his memo. Under ordinary circumstances, an agency would conduct a review or an audit and then decide how to proceed.

“Frye has unilaterally violated this governmental best practice by summarily suspending all contract activity without grounds to do so,” the source said.

In a reverse auction, companies bid to sell their products to the government and the price goes down with more competition for an agency’s bid. According to FedBid, small businesses win more than 80 percent of the dollars competed through the auctions.

Frye’s memo’s applies only to the VA, but it could get federal officials elsewhere to think about how their offices manage reverse auctions, experts said.

Even if agencies don’t follow the VA and immediately stop the use of reverse auctions, “it is likely to at least raise an alarm in the contracting offices of other agencies to make sure the use and procedures surrounding reverse auctions are appropriate,” said Gunjan Talati, senior associate at the Reed Smith law firm.

Larry Allen, president of the Allen Federal Business Partners, said the VA’s decision sends a message to all the other agencies. The message is, reverse auctions won’t meet all your acquisition needs, especially for complex procurements. The auctions are best for simple commodities.

“I liken it to using a Phillip’s head screwdriver when you need a flat-head screwdriver instead,” he said.

The effects on industry won’t be fully measurable until the review is done and VA decides how to proceed, Talati said. Nevertheless, Allen said many companies are happy with the VA’s decision. Proponents of reverse auctions have made federal officials see only the potential savings, not the limitations, of using the approach.

He said industry isn’t against reverse auction, but just want it used where it fits best.

“Using reverse auctions for complex procurements tend to drive legitimate suppliers to the sidelines,” he said.

About the Author: Matthew Weigelt is a senior writer covering acquisition and procurement for Federal Computer Week.  This article appeared on Mar. 8, 2012 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/03/08/va-reverse-auctions-followup.aspx?s=wtdaily_090312.

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: complaints, reverse auctions, should cost, small business, VA

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