IG: OMB doesn't influence DOD in competitive sourcing
Military officials said they felt more pressures from their branch's chain of command.
The Office of Management and Budget didn’t direct or require the
defense secretary or military departments to undertake public/private
competitions for Defense Department work, according to a report
released today.
DOD officials in charge of the competitions
said they didn’t feel pressured by OMB officials to conduct the
competitions, according to a DOD inspector general’s report.
However,
the Army was under “extreme” pressure from the Office of the Secretary
of Defense (OSD) to conduct the competitions, the report states.
Officials at the Army Materiel Command and Army Installation Management
Command said they felt pressure more from the chain of command than
from the OSD or OMB, according to the report. The two major commands,
the only two to hold competitions in 2008, announced their competitions
because of pressure to reach a goal set by the Army.
Competitive sourcing pits government employees against contractors
for government work. The program has stirred up a lot of controversy in
Congress, and numerous bills have restricted the use of competitive
sourcing and almost stopped the practice.
The fiscal 2008
National Defense Authorization Act restricted OMB and the defense
secretary from influencing DOD agencies regarding competitive sourcing.
NEXT STORY: DHS office describes how it assesses privacy