Restrictions on DoD Contracting Sought

A three-year moratorium on contracting out cost studies would be imposed on the Defense Department under a House Armed Services Committee-passed bill (HR-5658). The committee said the moratorium is needed to “ensure that the services’ operational obligations may be fully met while efforts are underway to increase end strength, implement the 2005 (base closing) decisions, and execute transformational initiatives as our forces are simultaneously conducting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Ongoing studies would be allowed to continue and the ban would apply only to DoD. However, DoD accounts for the bulk of competitions—of 6,153 positions put up for study in 2007, for example, 4,875 were at DoD. The 2009 DoD authorization measure also would require OMB to develop a new definition of what work is “inherently governmental” and thus off-limits to private sector performance–the committee said it is concerned that DoD has issued contracts for certain work that should remain in-house—and impose new restrictions on personal services contracts.