U.S. Congress senate. OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS NINETY-SEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION PART 3 DOING BUSINESS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 83-821 O JULY 2, 1981 KANSAS CITY, MO. Printed for the use of the Committee on Governmental Affairs U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1981 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS WILLIAM V. ROTH, JR., Delaware, Chairman CHARLES H. PERCY, Illinois TED STEVENS, Alaska CHARLES MCC. MATHIAS, JR., Maryland DAVID DURENBERGER, Minnesota WARREN B. RUDMAN, New Hampshire THOMAS F. EAGLETON, Missouri JOHN GLENN, Ohio JIM SASSER, Tennessee JOAN M. MCENTEE, Staff Director IRA S. SHAPIRO, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel CHRISTOPHER R. BREWSTER, Chief Counsel and Staff Director PATRICIA A. OTTO, Chief Clerk (II) KF26 G673 CONTENTS R. Bruce Patty, partner, Patty Berkebile Nelson Associates, Architects, Inc., and regional director, Central States, American Institute of Architects; Charles Garney, president, Garney Companies, Inc., and president, the Heavy Constructors Association of the Greater Kansas City Area; and William Dunn, Sr., president and chairman of the board, J. E. Dunn Con- struction Co., chairman, Minority Business Advisory Council, Kansas City Area HUD Office, and first vice president, Associated General Contractors, Robert Van Zant, vice president for program administration, Wilcox Electric, Inc.; James Brettell, executive vice president, Libby Welding Co., Inc.; and Clarence Thomas, administrative assistant to the vice president for market- ing, DIT-MCO International Corp.. Eric G. Dunkley, president, Eric's Foods, Inc.; Michael Cartwright, president, Cartwright Van Lines, Inc.; and Donald Loeb, president, Rite-Made Paper Page 174 OVERSIGHT OF THE FEDERAL PROCUREMENT SYSTEM THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1981 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL EXPENDITURES, RESEARCH, AND RULES, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Kansas City, Mo. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, in Kansas City, Mo., in the Jackson County Legislative Chambers, Jackson County Courthouse, Hon. John C. Danforth (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senator Danforth. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DANFORTH Senator DANFORTH. The U.S. Government is the world's largest consumer. Each year it buys anywhere from $100 billion to $125 billion worth of goods and services. But selling to the Federal Government is no simple task. Some 4,000 statutory provisions govern procurement. Specifications for products the Government wants to buy are sometimes so detailed and outdated that the Government finds itself seeking bids for products no commercial manufacturer makes. Contractors who do sell to the Government often find that they get more than they bargain for. Auditors inquire into hiring practices, wage scales, and the like. And when the time comes for the Government to pay the bill, frequently, the Government ends up telling the contractor, "The check is in the mail." A General Accounting Office_survey back in 1978 concluded that as many as 40 percent of the Government's bills were not getting paid on time. The rules and regulations that entangle the Federal procurement system do more than simply aggravate the people who try to do business with the Federal Government. They cost the taxpayers money. The complexities of the procurement system discourage people from doing business with the Government. That means less competition for Government work and higher prices. And the Government's propensity for writing detailed specifications for Government work, telling businesses how to build products instead of just telling businesses what it wants to buy-that costs money, too, driving up costs as businesses strive to customize products to Government specifications. It also keeps the Government from taking advantage of new product innovations, new technologies. Poor training of Government procurement officers often means the Government isn't doing a good job of bargaining for the products it does buy. That also costs money. (1) |
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