Presidential Candidates Talk About Improving Federal Contracting

October 30, 2008
With the presidential election only a few days away, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have had several opportunities to express their views on government management and contracting while on the campaign trail.

Sen. John McCain
A recent Government Executive comparison of Senators McCain and Obama’s positions on government management issues noted that McCain has pledged to “address poorly defined and ever-changing requirements, delays in delivery, scheduling and cost overruns, and a lack of accountability for recurring failures.”  He wants increased use of fixed-price contracts (an issue he also raised in two of the presidential debates) and has vowed to limit sole-source contracting. On the issue of the government workforce, he views the possibility that up to 40 percent of the federal workforce will retire within the next decade as an “opportunity” to reshape the civil service and to make government smaller. McCain has also expressed his desire to pursue more competitive outsourcing of government activities as a tool to drive efficiency and performance in government.

Sen. Barack Obama
Senator Obama has made several statements on government contracting and focused on contracting during a September 22nd speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he said he would reduce federal spending on contracts by 40 billion dollars through “more efficient and effective contracting and contract management.” The government reform agenda he laid out calls for a heavy reliance on information technology to create a more efficient government and to make public the inner-workings of agencies and the White House.

Senator Obama also offered an 11-page document outlining key elements of his government management agenda - “Stop Wasteful Spending and Curb Influence of Special Interests So Government Can Tackle Our Great Challenges.”  In the document, Obama pledges to: 1) improve upon the USASpending.gov website by including copies of all government contracts as well as information about contractor performance, violations of law or regulations, and the bidding for requirements; 2) cut “wasteful and ineffective programs” and create more “professional oversight of contracts and programs;” 3) hire more contract managers and improve training; 4) require audits of a quarter of the large contracts each year; 5) require each federal agency to defend every noncompetitive contract to OMB; and 6) prohibit contractors who are seriously delinquent in paying their taxes from getting contracts for government work.

The Government Executive comparison notes that Obama would “not contract out vital government services without first considering whether the private sector can actually provide a better service and whether the so-called hidden costs of privatization are fully accounted for in the cost estimate.”  In addition, he has promised to require agencies to compete all agreements over $25,000 unless they provide a written justification for doing otherwise.