Two Democratic Congress members have proposed legislation aimed at ending bait-and-switch practices on subcontracts.

The Subcontractor Fairness Act would require a prime contractor to submit signed agreements with subcontractors along with its bid. It would create a valid contract between the prime and each subcontractor at the time a contract is awarded.

Sponsors are Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-MO, and Yvette Clark, D-NY.

With Congress near adjournment, the bill is not likely to be considered this year.

In the latest effort to slow the revolving door between the Defense Department and its contractors, DOD has adopted a final rule requiring some senior officials to get written clearance before taking a job with a contractor.

The rule, published in the Nov. 19 Federal Register, makes final an interim rule adopted in January to implement a provision of the 2008 Defense Authorization Act.

Senior officials who have held key acquisition positions or worked on an acquisition worth more than $10 million must request a written opinion from a DOD ethics counselor before accepting compensation from a DOD contractor within two years after leaving the department.

Contractors are prohibited from paying those former officials without determining that the official has received or requested an ethics opinion.

The Government Accountability Office says the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services suffers from “a weak overall control environment” that makes its contracts vulnerable to waste, fraud and abuse.

GAO said the agency is heavily dependent on contractors; in fiscal 2008 it awarded $3.6 billion in contracts.

Based on a random sample, GAO found 84% of the contract actions were deficient in at least one internal control. The auditors said internal control is “the first line of defense in safeguarding assets and preventing and detecting fraud and errors.”

The Senate has confirmed President Obama’s choice of Daniel Gordon to head the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

Gordon is a former acting general counsel of the Government Accountability Office. He has long experience with procurement issues and protests.

The OFPP job has been filled by acting administrators for 14 months, while the new administration began moving an ambitious procurement reform agenda.

No surprise: Large companies are more likely to win on their contract offers than small ones. A survey by the software supplier Deltek found nearly half of small firms—those with revenues below $4 million—said their win rate was less than 25%.

At the top end of the scale, companies will revenues over $100 million, three-fourths reported a win rate above 50%.

Deltek surveyed 250 executives with large and small contractors.

As the Obama administration moves to expand the acquisition workforce, the Office of Personnel Management says all agencies may use direct hire authority to fill acquisition positions quickly.

The streamlined hiring authority takes effect March 24. The Defense Department already uses direct hire authority for acquisition personnel. The new order extends that authority to civilian agencies when they face a shortage of qualified candidates.

Defense officials say direct hire authority allows them to fill jobs in two weeks, compared to about five months under the usual rules.