Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Oppose Politicization of Contracting Process

Letter

McCaskill, Lieberman, Collins, and Portman send letter to President raising concerns with new contracting policy

In light of a new proposed policy by the Obama Administration on contracting practices, U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Rob Portman (R-OH) wrote a letter to President Obama raising concerns about whether the new policies will politicize the contracting process and place an undue burden on the already stretched-thin federal acquisition workforce. The senators, who serve as the Chair and Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Chair and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, questioned the proposed provision that would require applicants to disclose political donations as part of the bid process for federal contracts.

While the senators applaud the administration's commitment to transparency in the contracting process, they expressed concerns that federal contracting officers could be perceived to be using this information to make decisions based on political affiliation, rather than quality, price, past performance, or other considerations related to the merits of the bid.

"We are concerned that requiring businesses to disclose their political activity when making an offer risks injecting politics into the contracting process," the senators wrote. "Federal contracting law already precludes the consideration of political activity in evaluating contract offers…The requirement that businesses disclose political expenditures as part of the offer process creates the appearance that this type of information could become a factor in the award of federal contracts."

The senators also expressed concern that increasing disclosure requirements, especially as it relates to information that legally cannot be used in the decision-making process, will create an unnecessary burden on an already over-worked federal contracting workforce and complicate the Administration's ongoing efforts to centralize contractor data in one database.

"Considering that the acquisition workforce is already straining to adequately manage and oversee federal contracts, the draft Executive Order may create new, unnecessary burdens for these officials," they wrote.

The full text of the letter appears below:

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing regarding a recent draft Executive Order that would require businesses seeking contracts with the federal government to disclose a broad range of political contributions and expenditures. As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee's Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, we have concerns specifically related to the draft Executive Order's potential impact on the contracting process.

The draft Executive Order requires that businesses disclose political contributions and expenditures when making offers for federal contracts. According to Section One, this requirement is intended to help ensure that "every stage of the contracting process ... be free from the undue influence" of politics and to ensure that taxpayers "have the utmost confidence" that the contracting process is fair. We share your commitment to ensuring that the federal contracting process is not influenced by political activity or favoritism.

However we are concerned that requiring businesses to disclose their political activity when making an offer risks injecting politics into the contracting process. Federal contracting law already precludes the consideration of political activity in evaluating contract offers. Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the award of a contract must be based on the evaluation of quality, price, past performance, compliance with solicitation requirements, technical excellence and other considerations related to the merits of an offer. The requirement that businesses disclose political expenditures as part of the offer process creates the appearance that this type of information could become a factor in the award of federal contracts.

We are also concerned about the impact that this draft Executive Order may have on the federal government's acquisition workforce. Considering that the acquisition workforce is already straining to adequately manage and oversee federal contracts, the draft Executive Order may create new, unnecessary burdens for these officials.

In addition, we have questions regarding the draft Executive Order's requirement that the disclosure information be included on data.gov. We have tracked closely the Administration's ongoing efforts to create one integrated system for federal contracting information, including contractor certifications and disclosures. The draft Executive Order's requirement to create a new repository for this type of contractor information on data.gov may complicate these efforts.

We respectfully request that you consider these concerns. We look forward to continuing to work with your Administration.

Sincerely,

Joseph I. Lieberman
Chairman

Susan M. Collins
Ranking Member

Claire McCaskill
Chairman
Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight

Rob Portman
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight