DOD issues final rule on non-DOD contracts
The rule clarifies the circumstances under which DOD officials could use contracts that originated in other agencies.
The Defense Department has finalized a rule it published on an interim basis in May 2005, clarifying DOD's use of non-DOD contracts.
The rule, published when the General Services Administration was under a cloud of recently revealed misuses of contracts, clarified the circumstances under which DOD officials could use contracts that originated in other agencies. It also satisfied legislative requirements specified in the Defense Authorization bills of 2003 and 2005.
The 2005 interim rule was itself an update of a previous interim rule published in 2003. It establishes that any nonperformance-based contract awarded within DOD or any contract award through a non-DOD contract vehicle must go through a system of approvals.
DOD published the final rule March 21.
The exact procedures used for reviewing and approving non-DOD contracts vary from one defense agency to another, according to comments published as part of the final rule.