OMB Wants Contracting-Out Claims Supported

By: fedweek

Separately, OMB has sent guidance to agencies setting standards for substantiating that the savings claimed through Circular A-76 studies are achieved and that performance is improved through the competitions. Federal employee unions, backed by some outside oversight organizations, have long contended that the claimed cost savings from the studies are unrealistic and don’t pan out, that performance suffers and that there is little oversight of the work once a contract is granted; advocates of the A-76 process contend the opposite—for example, OMB says that “competitive sourcing” decisions to date will generate performance improvements and savings of close to $7 billion over the next five to 10 years. The guidance requires agencies to track costs and performance data, review that data, and independently validate a “reasonable sampling” of competitions. While some agencies already take some of those steps, institutionalizing those practices will “ensure agencies and taxpayers receive the expected benefits from competition” and reinforce “public trust and confidence in the competitive sourcing initiative,” OMB said.