A rise in Army personnel entering into agreements on behalf of the government without the authority to do so is causing significant administrative burdens and costs to the service, according to Fort Campbell contracting officials.

Soldiers and civilians from the 922nd Contingency Contracting Battalion are ratifying eight unauthorized commitments valued at more than $123,000. Officials said the amount of hours worked and delayed payments to contractors on each unauthorized commitment are significant.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation defines an unauthorized commitment as “an agreement that is not binding solely because the government representative who made it lacked the authority to enter into that agreement on behalf of the government.”

Only Government Purchase Card holders and contracting officers have the authority to make purchases or award contracts for the Army.

“If you are not one of them, then you don’t have the authority to bind the government to a contract,” said Noryem Maldonado, a contracting officer with the 922nd CCBn.

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