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By: FEDweek StaffAn audit has found that one of the main centralized procurement offices at the VA “did not always meet the intent and requirements of the Buy American Act”, blaming insufficient oversight and training.
The IG report noted that the VA ranks fourth among departments in dollars obligated at about $34.3 billion annually, and second in number of federal contract actions with about 1.8 million. About half of the spending is done by the Veterans Health Administration Procurement and Logistics Office, which in turn has three regional offices.
In an audit of 80 contracts issued by one of those regional offices that were evenly split between domestic and foreign-made products the IG found that contracting officers did not fully comply with Buy American requirements for 15 of the former and 37 of the latter. Common problems included that: application of exceptions or waivers was inaccurate, or determination that the product was not available domestically was missing; the solicitation and contract clauses were inaccurate or missing; documentation of the product’s place of manufacture was missing or unclear; and reporting of a waiver, exception, or country of manufacture was erroneous.
Further, reviews by higher-level officials “were insufficient.” Of the 40 contracts for foreign-made products, reviewers “did not identify deficiencies in 29 and did not complete required reviews for five, all of which contained at least one error.” Of the 40 for domestic products, reviewers did not identify compliance issues with eight, it said.
It said that while the office had boosted training in response to a 2017 GAO report, contracting officers “indicated there was a lack of sufficient training to comprehend the complexities of the act.”
The report said that VA management generally agreed with recommendations to require heads of contracting offices to assess compliance weaknesses identified by internal reviews, implement corrective actions, and require refresher training for contracting officers.
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