OVERSIGHT OF THE FEDERAL PROCUREMENT SYSTEM HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL EXPENDITURES, OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS NINETY-SEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION 81-896 O PART 1 IDENTIFYING THE MAJOR PROBLEMS MAY 15, 1981 Printed for the use of the Committee on Governmental Affairs 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 JIM SASSER, Tennessee CARL LEVIN, Michigan 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 CONTENTS O. S. Hiestand, chairman, Public Contract Law Section, American Bar Associ- ation, Washington, D.C.; David L. Hirsch, chairman-elect, Public Contract Law Section, American Bar Association, Long Beach, Calif.; and Paul G. Dembling, chairman, Federal Acquisition Regulation Council, Public Con- tract Law Section, American Bar Association, Washington, D.C. Wallace H. Robinson, Jr., president, National Security Industrial Association, Washington, D.C., accompanied by Hugh Witt, vice president, government liaison, United Technologies Corp., Washington, D.C., Walter O'Neil, vice president, Washington Operations, Hazeltine Corp., Arlington, Va., and Harvey Kushner, president, ORI, Incorporated, Silver Spring, Md.. OVERSIGHT OF THE FEDERAL PROCUREMENT SYSTEM FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1981 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL EXPENDITURES, RESEARCH, AND RULES, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in room 3302, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John C. Danforth (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Staff present: Christopher R. Brewster, chief counsel and staff director; Patricia A. Otto, chief clerk; Ronald A. Chiodo, minority staff director; and Jerry W. Cox, counsel. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR DANFORTH Senator DANFORTH. The subcommittee will come to order. A few weeks back I took this subcommittee to St. Louis to meet with a number of contractors who do business with the Federal Government. We asked them to tell us about the problems they had encountered in doing business with the Government and we asked for their recommendations on how we could improve the procurement system. We heard from construction contractors, small business contractors, and defense contractors. One witness showed me the survey markers which I have with me today. These are the two survey markers [indicating]. They were manufactured for the Army Corps of Engineers. When used, they are embedded in cement and placed in the ground. Weeds grow over them. One of these survey markers-and they appear to be identicalmeets Government specifications which were quite specific. The other survey marker does not meet Government specifications. The survey marker which flunks the test had the misfortune to be miscut by the smallest fraction of an inch. As a consequence, the slot in the shaft which is placed in the ground and embedded in cement is slightly shiny. It still does the job, but it flunks the specifications. Therefore, it is so much junk. The problem in meeting the Government specifications was compounded by the fact that the Government had even gone so far as to dictate how the marker was to be made-in sand molds of particular composition and so on. But the Government way of making the marker, I was told, was bad foundry practice. No self-respecting manufacturer would ever |