DHS has suspension and debarment policies and procedures in place but is reluctant to apply them against poorly performing contractors, the DHS inspector general has said.
According to its report, procurement officials said the suspension and debarment process is too resource intensive and punitive, that it limits the contractor pool, and that they would rather use other administrative remedies to address poor performers.
The IG identified 23 instances where contracts were terminated for default or cause but were not reviewed to determine whether a suspension and debarment referral was warranted.
It warned that the department’s reluctance to pursue suspension and debarment increases the risk of conducting business with poorly performing contractors and may result in decreased productivity and increased cost.
The department is also not recording pertinent contract performance data for poorly performing contractors, according to OIG-10-50.
It said it found 21 instances where contracts were terminated for default, the reasons for which were not recorded in government-wide databases.
