October 3 2003 Copyright 2003 Business Research Services Inc. 202-364-6473 All rights reserved.
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Improprieties Found in FAST 8(a) Contract The General Services Admin-istration’s inspector general is investigating misuse of funds under the FAST contract, an 8(a) set-aside governmentwide acquisition contract operated by GSA’s Federal Technology Service. The FAST contract (Federal Acquisition Services for Technology) is designed for IT purchases. But FTS Commissioner Sandra Bates told reporters that officials in two GSA regional offices had purchased building and construction services under the contract. GSA’s inspector general reported in March that one of those offices was in Bremerton, WA; that office has been shut down and its employees transferred. The other is the Heartland Region in Kansas City, MO, which operates the FAST contract. The IG found that the Bremerton office improperly used more than $37 million that was intended for technology purchases to pay for construction projects for the Army in Washington state and the Eastern European nation of Moldova, Government Executive magazine reported. The IG report documented a wide range of “significant inappropriate contracting practices” and “misuse” of funds in Bremerton. Among other things, it said employees of the office used small business contracts to buy services from a large business. The Federal Technology Service is self-funded, collecting fees from other agencies for managing their contracts. The IG noted that FTS employees receive performance bonuses based on the service’s income, and said that may have given them a motive to break the rules in order to bring in more business. In a Sept. 29 briefing, Bates blamed the problems on poor internal controls and oversight. She said new training sessions and legal reviews are planned. GSA said the FAST contract has awarded more than 11,500 orders worth $1.6 billion to 8(a) firms since it was established in 1997. The solicitation for a follow-on contract, FAST2, was released in August. (SAA, 8/22)
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