Contracting-In Still a Rarity

CRS added that although Circular A-76 does not prohibit conducting a public-private competition for a function or activity that is being performed by a contractor, “this type of competition apparently is rarely held. The government’s competitive sourcing initiative focuses exclusively on inventorying work — both commercial and inherently government — that is being done by federal government employees and, where appropriate, subjecting commercial activities to public-private competition . . . some are concerned that the lack of support for allowing federal government employees to compete for work that was done previously by a government agency is unfair to the employees. Critics also use the infrequency of insourcing to argue that the purpose of competitive sourcing is to outsource government work.”