Government Contract Law: Acquisitions

Government Contract Law: Acquisitions
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Government Contract Law: Acquisitions
Competition Requirements
To enter into a contract with agencies of the Federal government, an agency must go through a series of complex processes from the initial stages of formation to the acquisition of products. There are many statutes that have been put in place by the government that make it difficult to by pass any of the procedures making it a risky ground to trod on by lawbreakers (Kathuria, 2009). The provisions spell out several procedures key among them, the methods for soliciting contracts and negotiation procedures. All government contractors work under government policy and cannot operate like commercial contractors who from time to time may adjust their conditions. The U.S. administration calls for key elements concerning social and economic aspects of life to be reflected in the contracts, for instance workplace that is free from drug use, affirmative action and the minimum wage that an employee in the agency is paid among others. One strong statute developed to govern the acquisition of goods and services is the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) of the U.S. (General services administration, 2005).This paper focuses on issues surrounding competition based on FAR and the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA).
1. Explicate when competition is and is not required in federal contracting.
Conditions relating to both Full and Open Competitions are found in the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) (Manuel, 2011). Under CICA, competition sets in once the various sources have been allowed to give sealed proposals or competitive proposals for the available tenders. All government contracts are competitive except in positions that the government has some interest in particular bidders.
There are seven conditions under which the government may not require its contractors to abide by the regulations pertaining open and full competitions (General services administration, 2005). To begin with, there are instances when the products required by the government agency can only be obtained from a single source. In these phases, the contractors must verify that in reality there are no other sources in existence that can provide the goods and services that the government agency needs. Secondly, the government may be compelled by circumstances to acquire services or goods to address a particular issue that may result in harm to the government or the public in case of any delays (Manuel, 2011). For instance, during disasters when the government is required to react very fast to situations such as explosions; the government may hire rescue teams from an agency to back up its services.
Competition is not required when the government intends to maintain a stable industrial base. Sources which are already established and that have had good relations with the government in their previous contracts are awarded contracts, possibly so as to sustain the supply of a particular resource, supplier, manufacturer, or firm (Manuel, 2011). This is because the retained agency will be available to supply the required product at times of emergency (General services administration, 2005).
The fourth situation involves cases where the government enters in an international agreement over the acquisition of certain goods or services. The conditions established by an international accord or pact entered by an international institution or a foreign government and the U.S government. In addition, in situations where the international agency or foreign government is paying off procured goods, the competitive procedures are not necessary (Manuel, 2011). The Fifth condition is concerned with the aspect of legal endorsement or attainment of trademark articles for resale. A decree directly allows procurement to be done by means of other management outfit originating from a particular source.
The security of the U.S is a key determinant of the procedures to be used to procure goods and services. In some instances especially in the Military, the information required to procure a product may compromise the security of the state. Alternatively, the organisation may limit the number of bidders (General services administration, 2005). The seventh determinant is whether the head of the agency arrives at a conclusion that the process be non-competitive due to public interest
2. Explain at least three (3) major problems or issues related to full and open competition in federal contracting.
Competitive procedures are important in securing the best sources of products that me...