Feds 'not going to take it anymore'

Dennis Fischer, overseer of telecommunications programs for federal agencies,

on Monday lambasted vendors that lose government contracts then slow the

movement of work to the winners.

Fischer, speaking at the 13th annual Federal Telecommunications Conference

in Tysons Corner, Va., said he has grown "extremely frustrated" with fingerpointing

from losing vendors and with the way losing incumbent contractors are slow

to transition business to new contract winners.

Fischer warned that losing vendors who deliberately try to hold on to business,

bogging down the progress may end up hurting themselves because federal

contracting officials may take the vendors' behavior into consideration

when awarding future contracts.

"Your long-term interests are going to be damaged — and damaged substantially,"

said Fischer, who is commissioner of the Federal Technology Service at the

General Services Administration.

Delays beginning work on new contracts cost taxpayers and the government

money, Fischer said.

"We're getting ripped off, and frankly, we're not going to take it anymore,"

he said.

Fischer declined to cite specific examples of companies that have slowed

down the contract transition process, but he said stonewalling has taken

place in FTS long-distance programs and in local-access telecom programs.