Editorial: Running scared

This is definitely not the best of times for government procurement. The past decade has brought some of the most invigorating changes in government procurement. During that period, procurement executives were empowered and encouraged to innovate. Procurement officials were willing to try new ways of doing business if they thought it might get the government a better deal. Yes, the government made large cuts in the procurement workforce, but it also created a sense of purpose and the freedom to try something new — innovation.

Procurement officials had freedom to try and fail. Leaders understood that honest mistakes could — and probably would — sometimes occur if the government was trying new approaches to business.

Increasingly, however, procurement officials are finding it to be one of the worst of times. Officials are in a precarious position. The rules that defined what was safe have been lifted, but procurement executives are terrified to use those freedoms.

Many signs indicate that everything is not right. David Drabkin, senior procurement adviser at the General Services Administration’s Office of the Administrator, said a much smaller number of people must do an increasing amount of work. Kevin Carroll, chief of the Army’s Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems, said he has seen a spike in the number of protests.

Nobody questions the need for oversight, and nobody should question the role that auditors can play. But procurement officials are running scared because they fear that any decision they make will be reviewed and reviewed and reviewed. If federal employees make a mistake, they fear that they will get called before Congress — or worse.

The ramifications of this situation extend beyond procurement. The harsh environment harms the government’s ability to attract young people into public service.

If there is wrongdoing, it should be uncovered. Unfortunately, in our rush to catch a minuscule number of feds or contractors who engage in illegal acts, the many good ones just trying to do good work are getting caught in the crossfire.

It’s definitely not the best of times.