President Obama’s Federal Contracting Agenda The Obama administration could be tough on federal contractors, although the president-elect has pledged to expand contracting opportunities for small, minority, woman-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned firms. In a policy paper released during the campaign, Obama promised to cut federal contract spending by 10% and sharply curtail the use of cost-plus contracts. “These contracts are vulnerable to waste because they provide no incentive to control costs,” the paper said. “Moreover, federal agencies are increasingly seeking to contract out functions that should be done by the government.” Obama promised to hire more contract managers and improve their training. “The federal government’s ability to manage contracts has not kept up with the increase in the volume and complexity of federal contracts,” his paper said. In a September 22 speech in Green Bay, WI, he said his administration would “go through the entire federal budget, page by page, line by line” and “eliminate programs that don’t work and aren’t needed.” In a paper outlining his government management agenda, he pledged to: •post copies of all contracts on the USASpending.gov website, as well as information about contractor performance, violations of law or regulations, and the bidding for requirements; •cut “wasteful and ineffective programs” and create more “professional oversight of contracts and programs;” •hire more contract managers and improve training; •require audits of a quarter of the large contracts each year; •require each federal agency to defend every noncompetitive contract to OMB; and •prohibit contractors who are seriously delinquent in paying their taxes from getting contracts for government work.