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Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Law
Uncitral Considers Electronic Reverse Auctions, As Comparative Public Procurement Comes Of Age In The U.S., Christopher R. Yukins, Don Wallace Jr.
Uncitral Considers Electronic Reverse Auctions, As Comparative Public Procurement Comes Of Age In The U.S., Christopher R. Yukins, Don Wallace Jr.
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
This article reports on the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) review of electronic reverse auctions in procurement systems around the world. The article describes the U.S. experience, including the stalled regulatory initiative regarding reverse auctions. Drawing on the literature and on UNCITRAL studies from procurement systems in Asia, Europe and Latin America, the article cites lessons from other nations' use of reverse auctions. In particular, the article discusses the European Union's new rule on reverse auctions, which is probably the best example, worldwide, of a careful attempt to regulate reverse auctions. The article discusses traditional questions in …
Contractor Atrocities At Abu Ghraib: Compromised Accountability In A Streamlined, Outsourced Government, Steven L. Schooner
Contractor Atrocities At Abu Ghraib: Compromised Accountability In A Streamlined, Outsourced Government, Steven L. Schooner
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
Staggering numbers of contractor personnel have supported, and continue to support, American combat and peace-keeping troops and the government's Herculean reconstruction efforts in Iraq. Yet recent experiences in Iraq, particularly allegations that contractor personnel were involved in inappropriate and potentially illegal activities at the Abu Ghraib prison, expose numerous areas of concern with regard to the current state of federal public procurement. Sadly, because these incidents coincide with a series of procurement scandals, the likes of which the government has not experienced since the late 1980's, they cannot be dismissed so easily as anomalies.
The Abu Ghraib abuses suggest at …
Hurricane Katrina's Tangled Impact On U.S. Procurement, Christopher R. Yukins
Hurricane Katrina's Tangled Impact On U.S. Procurement, Christopher R. Yukins
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Congress passed new exceptions to U.S. procurement rules. The most important new exception, passed at the recommendation of the Bush administration, raised the limit for micro-purchases - essentially unregulated purchases - from $2,500 to $250,000. In practice, this will mean that Katrina relief purchases may be made, up to $250,000 per order, without any effective transparency or competition, and without honoring the many socioeconomic requirements that are an important part of the U.S. procurement system. This comment reviews that emergency legislation, and suggests that the new law, by abandoning basic principles of …
Uncitral Model Law: Reforming Electronic Procurement, Reverse Auctions, And Framework Contracts, Christopher R. Yukins, Don Wallace Jr., Jason P. Matechak
Uncitral Model Law: Reforming Electronic Procurement, Reverse Auctions, And Framework Contracts, Christopher R. Yukins, Don Wallace Jr., Jason P. Matechak
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
A Working Group of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is working on potential reforms to UNCITRAL's Model Procurement Law and its Guide to Enactment. This article, written by several advisors to the U.S. delegation to the UNCITRAL Working Group, reviews the Working Group's progress on several important fronts. The Working Group has reached initial consensus on a number of difficult procurement issues, including electronic commerce, reverse auctions and framework contracts, and significant progress has been made in a number or other areas, including the procurement of services, the strengthening of procurement remedies (known in the United …
Katrina's Continuing Impact On Procurement - Emergency Procurement Powers In H.R. 3766, Christopher R. Yukins, Joshua I. Schwartz
Katrina's Continuing Impact On Procurement - Emergency Procurement Powers In H.R. 3766, Christopher R. Yukins, Joshua I. Schwartz
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
As Hurricane Katrina relief efforts grow into the billions of dollars, the U.S. Congress is considering additional legislation to liberalize procurement, including H.R. 3766, co-sponsored by Representatives Kenny Marchant and Tom Davis. In these comments on the proposed legislation, Professors Christopher Yukins and Joshua Schwartz asked whether the proposed changes, which would eviscerate competition for most procurement related to disaster relief, are truly necessary. Professor Yukins suggests that, though it might in some circumstances be necessary to dismantle the federal regulatory regime to accommodate a wave of new firms in the federal market, there is too little evidence yet to …
Commentary On The Acquisition Workforce, Steven L. Schooner, Christopher R. Yukins
Commentary On The Acquisition Workforce, Steven L. Schooner, Christopher R. Yukins
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
Recognizing the need to focus on the strategic management of the federal acquisition workforce, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) promulgated Policy Letter 05-01, Developing and Managing the Acquisition Workforce. These two brief pieces discuss the policy letter and what it signals to the acquisition community. The first, Empty Promise for the Acquisition Workforce, concludes that, although the letter's title optimistically heralded a bold step forward, OFPP both aimed too low and missed the mark. The letter attempted to redefine cosmetically the acquisition workforce and describe how a portion of this deputized acquisition workforce should be trained. While the …
Risky Business: Managing Interagency Acquisition, Steven L. Schooner
Risky Business: Managing Interagency Acquisition, Steven L. Schooner
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
This brief piece applauds the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for adding the management of interagency contracting to its High Risk List. It suggests that interagency acquisition, the poster child for the flexible, streamlined, businesslike approach of the 1990's acquisition reform movement, has become the federal procurement system's Achilles heel. It recommends that the government needs more qualified professionals to proactively craft results-oriented contracts and to manage effectively contractors' performance. Finally it suggests commencing a meaningful conversation about the appropriate role of businesslike models, generally, and fees, specifically, in governance.
Emerging Policy And Practice Issues (2004), Steven L. Schooner, Christopher R. Yukins
Emerging Policy And Practice Issues (2004), Steven L. Schooner, Christopher R. Yukins
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
This paper, presented at the West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (covering 2004), attempts to identify the key trends and issues for 2005. The paper suggests that two rather unique items merit particular attention: the Darleen Druyun saga and the plight of contractors working in Iraq. Both frame compliance issues in stark relief. At the same time, we address what we perceive as the far more vexing issue that permeates federal procurement today: the excessive reliance upon, and corresponding misuse of, task-order contracting. We also discuss procurement spending trends (and the inevitable belt-tightening that must follow); contract-related litigation trends; …
Organizational Conflicts Of Interest: A Growing Integrity Challenge, Daniel I. Gordon
Organizational Conflicts Of Interest: A Growing Integrity Challenge, Daniel I. Gordon
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
Recent experience in the United States suggests that public procurement professionals increasingly encounter a particular kind of conflict of interest, organizational conflicts of interest (OCIs). OCIs arise in situations where an entity plays two or more roles that are, in some sense, at odds with one another. This article endeavors to set out some points for consideration in this increasingly important area. Alleged OCIs have been identified in various activities of the U.S. federal procurement process, from contracts for security services in Iraq to public/private competitions for work to be performed in the U.S. This article first suggests reasons for …