Government Contracts Commons^™

Land For Maine's Future Program: Increasing The Return On A Sound Public Investment, Richard Barringer, Hugh Coxe, Jack Kartez, Catherine Reilly, Jonathan Rubin

Economics and Finance

Maine is nowhere a more special place than in the quality of its landscape and the traditions of its land use. Among the mo st privately-owned of all the states, Maine’s natural diversity and beauty combine with its traditions of resource stewardship, open access, and appreciation of nature to distinguish it in the public mind and national imagination. In recent decades, however, these traditions have come under assault from the forces of economic and social change; and the people of Maine have responded. In 1986, Governor Joseph Brennan’s Special Commission on Outdoor Recreation recognized the growing threats to Maine’s natur …

Facing The Challenge: Corruption State Capture And The Role Of Multinational Business, 37 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1181 (2004), Nikolay A. Ouzounov

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Sovereign Immunity And The Plaintiff State: Does The Eleventh Amendment Bar Removal Of Actions Filed In State Court?, 38 J. Marshall L. Rev. 513 (2004), Virginia F. Milstead

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Alaska Statehood Act Does Not Guarantee Alaska Ninety Percent Of The Revenue From Mineral Leases On Federal Lands In Alaska, Ivan L. Ascott

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment argues that Alaska's position that Congress purposefully incorporated the Mineral Leasing Act into the Statehood Act through section 28(b), and in doing so, permanently granted the state ninety percent of the revenues from mineral development on federal lands, is legally incorrect. The text of the Act simply does not support the position that mineral-lease and royalty proceeds from federal lands are part of Alaska's "compact." In addition, the legislative history of the Act does not support Alaska's position, nor does case law that has addressed related issues. Following this Introduction, Part II of this Comment expands on Alaska's …

Force, Inc.: The Privatization Of Punishment, Policing, And Military Force In Liberal States, Clifford Rosky

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Should our punishment, policing, and military institutions be public, private, or both? Is there a special link between the project of government and the exercise of force? These two questions have vexed philosophers for several centuries, and lately, they have begun to present more practical problems as well. In the past three decades, private punishment, policing, and military markets have blossomed and boomed in liberal states. Private prisons, police, and armies have been popping up around the world, punishing criminals, fighting crimes, keeping peace, and waging war. The use of force has generated unprecedented profits, and the boundaries between public …

Surveying Cost Growth, Michael A. Greiner, Vince Sipple, Edward D. White

Faculty Publications

Cost growth that weapon systems incur throughout their acquisition life cycle concerns those who work in the acquisition environment. One way to reduce the amount of unexpected cost growth is to develop better cost estimates. In attaining better cost estimates though, it is often helpful to understand and account for potential cost drivers. Several cost studies, some of which specifically focus on the aircraft industry, have been performed documenting and investigating these growth factors. Overviews of these various cost growth studies are presented as other tools for the cost estimators and program managers.

Making Federal Information Technology Accessible: A Case Study In Social Policy And Procurement, Christopher R. Yukins

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that all information technology bought by the federal government be accessible to persons with disabilities. That goal, simple to state, has been enormously complex to implement. In imposing a social initiative on the procurement system, Congress has left a huge number of issues unresolved - including, most critically, who is to pay for the initiative. This article reviews the issues raised by Section 508, and traces common patterns that emerge when, as with Section 508, social goals are implemented through a large, complex, and deeply entrenched procurement system. The article traces the impact …

Competitive Sourcing Policy: More Sail Than Rudder, Steven L. Schooner

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This essay predicts that the Bush administration's competitive sourcing initiative will fail. Granted, the number of government employees will continue to shrink, while the number of contractor personnel serving the Government will methodically increase. But the Government's unwillingness to appreciate the policy's costs leads to the corresponding failure to identify, obtain, and invest appropriate resources needed to properly effectuate the policy. The Government simply lacks sufficient qualified acquisition, contract management, and quality control personnel to handle the outsourcing burden. Because the Government is ill-positioned to successfully out-source in a manner that generates higher quality services, lower prices, greater efficiency, or, …

Agenda: Energy Field Tour 2003, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Energy Field Tour 2003 (August 11-16)

Congressional staff tour held August 11-16, 2003

Summary: Binder of assorted articles, maps, brochures and other materials prepared for participants of the tour

Contents:

MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2003: BLUE SPRUCE PEAKER PLANT: University of Colorado Natural Resources Law Center : congressional staff tour of Blue Spruce Energy Center / Peggy Duxbury -- 'Power Struggle', National Journal, June 27, 2003 / Margaret Kritz -- 'Calpine's Blue Spruce Energy Center begins commercial operation', Calpine press release, April 17, 2003 -- NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LAB: NREL at a glance -- NREL technologies -- SHOSHONE HYDROELECTRIC PLANT: 'River District Board supports spring Shoshone call …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Impacts Of Adopting Lean Purchasing And Supplier Management Principles On The Participation Of Small Businesses Within The Department Of Defense Aerospace Industry, James A. Hageman

Theses and Dissertations

The Small Business Act requires that small business concerns be afforded the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in Federal contracts and subcontracts. The contract dollars awarded to small businesses by the Air Force have been on the decline for several years and the Air Force is not meeting its small business award goals. This thesis is a follow-on research effort to that conducted by Mr. Bruce Miller (GAQ-2M) who proposed a connection between the Lean Aerospace Initiative's (LAI) Purchasing and Supplier Management (PSM) principles and declining small business participation. The purpose of this research is to determine if the LAI's …

E-Procurement Success, Jason R. Eaton

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force currently funds projects chartered with studying and developing e-Procurement systems. Through review and analysis of various e-Procurement projects, factors attributing to successful implementation of e-Procurement systems will be deduced and provided as a useful guide for federal agencies initiating e-Procurement projects. By identifying critical success factors this research should: 1) improve preimplementation planning, 2) improve spend decisions, and 3) decrease implementation time by eliminating unnecessary steps. This research utilized the current literature to identify specific factors important in the e-Procurement implementation process. Once the factors were determined, a survey was developed to measure the factors in organizations …

The Valuation Of An Experience: A Study In Land Use Regulation, 36 J. Marshall L. Rev. 779 (2003), Bob Madden

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Breakdown Of The United States Government Purchase Card Program And Proposals For Reform, Jessica Tillipman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The Government Purchase Card Program introduced purchase cards to streamline the acquisition of items and services under $2,500. Purchase cards have proved to be extremely efficient, with some estimates putting the savings for the Government at $75 per transaction. Unfortunately, the Government has failed to maintain effective controls over cardholders and this has led to systemic abuse, preventing the Government from realizing the full potential of the purchase card program.

There are three main problems with the current scheme. First, cardholders are ignoring internal controls, resulting in purchases that supervisors cannot verify as consistent with procurement regulations. Second, the proliferation …

Commercial Purchasing: The Chasm Between The United States Government's Evolving Policy And Practice, Steven L. Schooner

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

During the 1990's, the United States government accelerated its efforts to adopt more commercial practices and buy more commercial items. In doing so, the government sought to: (1) mimic the most successful buying practices of businesses and consumers and (2) rely more heavily upon existing goods and services already produced in the marketplace (rather than demanding creation of government-unique versions). This paper introduces the government's efforts to make its purchasing regime more commercial through the introduction of new policies, vocabulary, purchasing authorities, and practices. The paper unveils a host of impediments that restrain the government from evolving into a truly …

Model Behaviour? Anecdotal Evidence Of Tension Between Evolving Commercial Public Procurement Practices And Trade Policy, Steven L. Schooner, Christopher R. Yukins

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The international trade community increasingly focuses upon the purchasing practices of nation states. Developing nations and states seeking to improve their procurement systems expect to glean lessons from the evolution of procurement law regimes in developed nations, including the United States. To the extent that the U.S. procurement regime is perceived (at least by some) as a model, the global community has been intrigued by the United States government's efforts to adopt more commercial practices and buy more commercial items. Yet numerous impediments to a purely commercial public procurement model remain, because commercial practices are invariably less transparent, and raise …

An Assessment Of Air Force Development Portfolio Management Practices, Michael A. Greiner, Kevin J. Dooley, Dan L. Shunk, Ross T. Mcnutt

Faculty Publications

Selecting and managing development project portfolios is a critical function within the Air Force’s weapon systems development process. Decision makers must weigh benefits, costs, and mission needs for a variety of proposed new initiatives and current weapon systems programs in order to develop an effective portfolio that provides the best value to the User. This research examines current Air Force development portfolio management practices as perceived by those involved with the decision making process. Research findings indicate several gaps between Air Force practices and those commercial best practices as found in the literature. A general approach for bridging the differences …

Communicating Governance: Will Plain English Drafting Improve Regulation?, Steven L. Schooner

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

It should come as no surprise that the Bush administration showed little interest in adopting Vice President Gore's ambitious, high profile National Performance Review (NPR) agenda. One area, however, where the Bush administration would do well to embrace the NPR's efforts is the plain language initiative. While it would be hyperbole to suggest that the NPR's efforts dramatically improved the clarity of the government's written communication (including statutes, regulations, policies, instructions, etc.), some progress was made. Yet it will take some time before a commitment to writing in plain, clear, precise English becomes a cultural (or governmental) norm. Even though …

Secrecy In Law And Science, Jack B. Weinstein, Catherine Wimberly

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Privatization And Political Accountability, Jack M. Beermann

Faculty Scholarship

This article is an attempt to draw some general connections between privatization and political accountability. Political accountability is to be understood as the amenability of a government policy or activity to monitoring through the political process. Although the main focus of the article is to examine different types of privatization, specifically exploring the ramifications for political accountability of each type, I also engage in some speculation as to whether there are there situations in which privatization might raise constitutional concerns related to the degree to which the particular privatization reduces political accountability for the actions or decisions of the newly …

An Analysis Of The Acquisition Process For Simplified Acquisition Of Base Engineering Requirements (Saber) Contracts And Its Potential Impact On Contractor Performance, Brian J. Heaps

Theses and Dissertations

The Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineering Requirements (SABER) contract's main purpose is to expedite contract award of civil engineer requirements through the issuance of individual delivery orders. The contract contains a collection of detailed task specifications that include most types of real property maintenance, repair, and construction work. The Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition's Operational Contracting Division (SAF/AQCO) identified a number of failed SABER contracts. The problem statement designed for this research effort was: There are a large number of SABER contractors that are failing during the performance period on their SABER contracts. SAF/AQCO is trying to …

Core Competency Identification: Prescriptions For Air Force Major Commands To Follow, Richard E. Wells

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to produce a set of prescriptions that will facilitate the process of identifying a USAF command's set of core competencies. Theoretical approaches to outsourcing show the need for an organization to identify its own set of core competencies; however, there seems to be no set way for this identification process to be accomplished. This research will provide critical information to approach this important task. USAF commands that can identify their core competencies (and subsequently act on them) will become leaders in the Department of Defense (DoD), with the potential to reshape the DoD through …

Selecting Optimal Control Portfolios To Improve Army Aviation Safety, Sarah E. Shelton

Theses and Dissertations

The Army is concerned with maintaining safe operations in tight of increasing operational demands. The Army Safety Center's goal, as approved by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisitions and Tech no logy, is to reduce accident severity by 50% in the next decade. The Safety Center chartered the Aviation Safety Investment Strategy Team to evaluate accidents to determine their hazards, or contributing conditions, and their controls, or reduction measures. This study specifically targets the force-modernized aircraft, AH-64 Apache, CH/MH-47 Chinook, OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, and UH-60 Black Hawk. This research takes a look at selecting the best portfolios of controls …

Sovereign Immunity: Should The Sovereign Control The Purse?, Thomas P. Schlosser

American Indian Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fear Of Oversight: The Fundamental Failure Of Businesslike Government, Steven L. Schooner

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article discusses the National Performance Review's (NPR's) broad-reaching effort to reinvent government by making it more businesslike, focusing on its successful effort to reform the Federal procurement process. The article shows that the reformed system couples greatly increased buyer discretion with dramatically reduced oversight of government spending - both internal and external. This article asserts that this combination erodes the public's confidence in the procurement system, violates established norms, and is antithetical to a host of Congressional mandates and policies. More particularly, the article provides empirical evidence of the dramatic, sustained reduction in government contract related litigation during the …

Implied-In-Fact Contracts Under The Federal Acquisition Regulation: Why Pacord Got It Wrong, Arnie Bruce Mason

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Jiegou Zhengfu Hetong Zhidu - Yi Mei Guo Moshi Wei Lie [Constructing A Government Contracting System: Examples From The American Model], Daniel J. Mitterhoff

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Contractors' State License Board, Karla Dawn Bell, J. D. Fellmeth

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Public Utilities Commission, Sapna Iyer, Rebecca A. Richards, Monisha Ann Coelho, J. D. Fellmeth

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Accounting Standards And German Supplementary Pensions: The Emerging Framework Underpinning Global Finance, Daniel I. Gordon

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In this paper we focus on the current status of German employer-sponsored supplementary pensions in the context of moves towards the harmonization of international accounting standards. We emphasize the changing standards used to measure pension liability, and the consequences of these changes for (firstly) corporate management discretion and (secondly) German under-funded systems of defined benefit pensions. In combination, we show that claimed historical differences between the Anglo-American market for corporate control and the German system of entrenched management within interlocking boards of supervision are now less compelling than assumed. Adoption of international and US financial accounting standards by leading German …

The Nafta Package And The Environment: A Green Analysis Of Its Origins And Effects, Pedro M. Morales-Gomez

LLM Theses and Essays

When the presidential candidate Clinton announced that he would not support NAFTA without environmental and labor side agreements, and during the period before NAFTA's ratification by the American Congress, Mexicans lived in most tense suspense. Even though, the idea of an environmental side agreement seemed to please most environmentalists in Mexico who hoped that this would lead to creating a major environmental conscience in the Mexican government. The purpose of this thesis is to elaborate a critical analysis of the North American Free Trade Agreement, its related documents and their effects concerning the environment, specifically its legal protection. We will …