Administration Faulted for Noncompetitive Contracts The Bush administration has dramatically reduced competition in federal contracting, according to a report released by California Rep. Henry Waxman, ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee. “The report describes an explosion in the use of sole-source and other noncompetitive contracts,” Waxman said in a statement. “The taxpayers are being hit by a double whammy: the Bush administration has given favored contractors like Halliburton and Bechtel billions in new contracts, and it has done so without providing the opportunity for others to compete. It’s a recipe for waste, fraud and abuse.” The report says contracts awarded without full and open competition – including sole-source and set-aside contracts — amounted to $107 billion in fiscal 2003, more than one-third of all federal procurement. That was an increase of 60% over 2000, the last full year of the Clinton administration. The report was prepared by the committee’s Democratic staff using figures from the Federal Procurement Data System. The staff report also attacked the increasing use of single-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts, which it called “monopoly contracts.” It said spending on IDIQ contracts in 2003 totaled $5.9 billion, a 40% increase over 2000. However, many procurement officials consider IDIQ contracts a time-saving device, and point out that the contracts are awarded on a competitive basis.