Author Archive

Karen D. Powell

Digital Government

Federal Contract Law: Public database for contracts could spell disaster

Last summer I read about a proposal by the General Services Administration to post copies of all awarded contracts on the Internet. At the time, I wondered why anyone would want to do such a thing.

Digital Government

Federal Contract Law: Judging past performance can be vexing

Since 1997, acquisition regulations have required agencies to include past performance as a specific evaluation factor in competitive awards. Ensuring the integrity and accuracy of past performance information is a joint responsibility of contractors and agency acquisition officials. When either fails to shoulder its share of this burden, the award decision is questionable, and often questioned.