OMB highlights emergency contracting provisions

The Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday announced the addition of a new chapter on emergency contracting to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the document that governs federal contracting.

While the additional chapter doesn't add any rules or regulations, it does compile all existing emergency procurement regulations at the end of the FAR so contracting officers don't have to pore over the lengthy document during emergency situations to find answers.

In an interview last month, the associate administrator of OMB's Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Robert Burton, said contracting officers working in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina wasted valuable time looking up emergency procurement regulations and calling headquarters asking about the rules, something he hopes the new chapter will prevent.

The chapter also will feature heavily in a new emergency contracting course at the Federal Acquisition Institute at Fort Belvoir, Va.

During emergencies such as Hurricane Katrina, contracting officers who are not usually assigned to work on emergency procurement efforts often are assigned to help on a short-term basis. These officers are not always well-versed in the options available. These include limiting competition, speeding up the awards process and waiving qualification requirements.

In certain situations, contracting officers can pay contractors in advance, allow them to work rent-free in government-controlled facilities and authorize work to begin based on a letter contract, which lacks the details of a formal contract.

The acquisition councils responsible for the FAR released the new chapter in its interim form July 5 in the Federal Register and will be accepting comments until Sept. 5.

Comments should be labeled FAC 2005-11, FAR case 2005-038, and can be e-mailed to: farcase.2005-038@gsa.gov.