Study reveals more contract ills at GSA

The ongoing saga of contracting troubles at the Federal Technology Service took another turn for the worse when a new evaluation found 84 percent of contracts in the National Capital Region were inadequately drawn up or seriously inadequate.Acquisition Solutions Inc. of Chantilly, Va., reviewed 260 contracts for the General Services Administration agency and found 51 of them—almost 20 percent—had policy, regulatory or legal glitches and lacked competition or price justification. Most of the contracts, 167, got an inadequate rating, indicating little evidence of fair and reasonable pricing or competition.Only 42 contracts met or exceeded the minimum requirements, and Acquisition Solutions considered none of them exemplary.The review was done at the behest of GSA, following damning findings from the agency’s inspector general.National Capital Region administrator Donald Williams hired Acquisition Solutions last year to uncover contracting issues, GSA spokeswoman Mary Alice Johnson said. She said Williams has given GSA’s inspector general a copy of the findings, which will be part of an IG examination of the regional offices this summer.