IG Raps DOD On Interagency Contracting The Defense Department made dozens of IT purchases in violation of rules requiring competition and justification on interagency contracts, according to the department’s inspector general. The auditors found widespread violations in DOD orders through two governmentwide acquisition contracts run by the National Institutes of Health: Electronic Commodities Store III and Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 2 Innovations (CIO-SP2i). They said DOD did not provide fair opportunity for all eligible contractors in 95 of 98 task orders that were examined. Several contracting officials “demonstrated a lack of knowledge” of the fair opportunity rules,” the report said. “As a result, competition was limited, and DOD did not have the assurance it received best value when procuring goods.” Auditors identified 38 sole-source orders that lacked adequate justification. Another 48 orders lacked justifications for using an interagency contract. The IG has previously identified similar problems with other interagency contract vehicles, including those operated by GSA and NASA. The office of the assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics plans to issue a memo emphasizing the need to follow regulations on interagency purchases. The director of defense procurement, Shay Assad, has said he plans to rein in the use of interagency contracts, Federal Times reported. “We want to be very focused about what we’re buying with these interagency agreements, and we want to ensure that’s in fact the best way to go about buying it,” he told an industry conference in October. The report is D2008-022, available at www.dodig.osd.mil.