President Cox Op-ed: Finding a Bargain for Government Buyers Shouldn’t Be a Crime
January 05, 2015
Categories:
Budget
Important programs are being starved of vital funding because of inadequate revenues, congressional gridlock and sequestration. But contractors, who bill taxpayers a whopping $500 billion annually for goods and services, hope to use the “acquisition reform” moniker to minimize the importance of cost-efficiency in the federal acquisition process.
The No. 1 objective of contractors is to demonize the low-price/technically acceptable source selection technique, known as LP/TA, so that its use is greatly limited if not proscribed.
Why do contractors heatedly complain when LP/TA is the most effective weapon in the Pentagon’s arsenal for cutting costs? Because the technique allows the Defense Department to get what warfighters need—technically acceptable goods and services from qualified contractors—at the least cost for taxpayers.
To read more, view the Government Executive article here.
