Contracting Test 1 Flashcards
Heart of the American Legal System
Constitution
3 Branches of Government
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
Which Branch of Government is Contracting under
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
Authorize and appropriate the budget
Judicial Branch
Interprets the law
Executive Branch
Appoints the head
OFPP
Office of Federal Procurement Policy
What does the OFPP do?
provide overall direction for government-wide procurement policies, regulations and procedures and to promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the acquisition processes
DPAP
Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy (DPAP)
DPAP oversees the…
Defense Acquisitions Regulations (DAR) Council
DAR council has the sole responsibility for….
maintaining the DoD Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) and the Procedures, Guidance, and Information (PGI)
Two councils that maintain the FAR
- DAR Council
2.
4 Major Categories of AC
Supplies and equipment
Services
Construction
Research and Development
3 Phases of Contracting
Contract Planning
Contract Formation
Contract Administration
Contract Planning (working with the customer) includes
Market Research
Planning for Competition
Describing agency needs
Contract Formation (Execution)
Solicitation
Negotiation of contract terms
Prepare and award
Contract Administration (Assessment)
All post award activities
Types of Contracting Officers
Procuring Contract. Off
Administrative Contract. Off
Termination Contract. Off
Procuring Contracting Officer
Engaged in awarding contracts
Administrative Contracting Officer
Engaged in administering the contract
Termination Contracting Officer
Engaged in terminating contracts
Eyes and Ears of the KO
Contracting Officer’s Representative
COR is nominated by who?
PM
COR is appointed by who?
KO
Christian Doctrine
Legal rule providing that clauses required by regulation to be included in government contracts will be read into a contract whether or not physically included in the contract, unless a property deviation from the regulations has been obtained
Types of Contracting Authority
Express
Implied
Apparent
Express Authority
- Contracting Officer authority through formal appointment
- Authority is limited
- Appointed on an SF 1402 (warrant)
Authority type that is not recognized in the Government
Apparent Authority
Unauthorized Commitment
an agreement that is not binding solely because the Government representative who made it lacked the authority to enter into that agreement on behalf of the Government
Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps)
Government wide point of entry for posting of Government business opportunities greater than $25,000 to advertise upcoming business opportunities
SAM
System for Award Management
Primary vendor database for the U.S. Government
SAM
CPAR
Contractor’s Performance Assessment Review System
Paperless Contracting
Wide Area Workflow - Receipts and Acceptance
Benefits of e-business
Standardization
Saves money and space
Increase accuracy
Increase accessibility to info
Challenges of e-business
Maintenance and system upgrade
Training
Info Overload
Interoperability of systems and software
Cross functional coordination and cooperation
Security
Phases of the Budget Cycle
Planning/Preparation
Programming
Budgeting
Execution
Who governs the appropriation process?
Congress
Appropriation Act
Provides budgetary authority for a particular purpose
Allows federal agencies to incur obligations and authorize payments from Treasury
Annual Fiscal Year Basis
5 types of Money
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (2 yrs)
Operations and Maintenance (1 year)
Military Personnel (1 year)
Military Construction (5 years)
Procurement (3 years)
Anti-Deficiency Act
Basic fiscal law prohibits:
- Spending it before
Congress approves it (ADA)
- Spending more money than approved (ADA)
Misappropriation Act
Basic fiscal law prohibits:
- Spending for purposes other than those approved by Congress (Misappropriations Act)
Bona Fide Need Rule
A fiscal year appropriation may be obligated only to meet a legitimate, or bona fide, need arising in, or in some cases arising prior to but continuing to exist in, the fiscal year for which the appropriation was made.
Violation(s) of the Bona Fide Need Rule
Stockpiling
Wrong year monies
Funds holders
RM
Payment specialists
DFAS
FAR is split into how many subchapters?
8
Define implement
adds to information that exists in the FAR already
Define supplement
add information that is not already found in the FAR
DFARS PGI contains…
mandatory internal DoD procedures
non-mandatory internal DoD procedures and guidance and supplemental info that can be used at the discretion of the KO
What implements and supplements the FAR?
DFARS
Type of Deviations
Individual Deviation
Class Deviation
Individual Deviation
Affect only one contract action
Class Deviation
Affect more than one contract action
Rulemaking Process
The process of creating and issuing federal regulations
Goal of the FAR system
Satisfy the customer in terms of cost, quality and timeliness of the delivered product or service
How many parts does the FAR contain?
53
When does Acquisition Planning begin?
Begin as soon as the agency need is identified
Who is responsible?
The agency head, PM or other official designee responsible for the program
Market Research
FAR Part 10
Types of Market Research
Strategic Market Research
Tactical Market Research
Strategic Market Research
On-going, not specific
Tactical Market Research
Focused, specific
Extent of Market Research will vary depending on….
- Urgency
- Estimated Dollar Value
- Complexity
- Past Experience
- Amount of Info already available
Results of Market Research
Understanding of the activity’s requirements
Promotes competition
FAR Part 11
Describing Agency Needs
FAR Part 12
Commercial Items
What is a commercial item?
Any item, other than real property, that is of a type customarily used by the general public or by non-governmental entities for purposes other than governmental purposes, and…
- Has been sold, leased, or licensed to the general public; or,
- Has been offered for sale, lease or license to the general public
- Additional specs for commercial items in FAR Part 10
NDI
Non-Developmental Items; An item that was developed expressly for government use, as long as the contractor paid for all developmental costs, and the item is sold in substantial quantities, on a competitive basis to multiple offices
Challenges of buying government unique items
- New specifications may be needed
- Development time required
- Technical and cost uncertainties
- Less competition
- New technology that has to be tested
- Fewer quantities
- Higher cost, more administrative burden
Potential Sources of Information
System for Award Management (SAM)
FedBizOps
Catalogs
Tradeshops
GSA Advantage
Electronic Document Access
FAR Part 7
Acquisition Planning
Priorities of Gov Sources for Supplies
- Agency inventories
- Excess from other agencies
- Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR)
- People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled
Priorities of Gov Sources for Services
- People who are Blind or Severely Disabled (NIB/NISH or Ability One)
- Mandatory Federal Supply Schedule
- Optional use Federal Supply Schedules
MACs
Multi-agency contracts; contracts established by one Agency for use by Government Agencies to obtain a variety of supplies and services, only exception is information technology
GWACs
Government-wide acquisition contracts; contracts for information technology
Economy Act
Gives us the authority to use another organization to obtain supplies or services that we need
Economy Act does not apply to who/what?
GSA and Government Wide Agency Contracts (GWAC)
Examples of Small Businesses
- Women Owned SB
- Small Disadvantaged Business
- HUBZone SB
- Veteran Owned SB
- Service Disabled Veteran Owned
Small Business Policy
…provide maximum practicable opportunities in acquisitions to small businesses
Small Business 8(a)
The 8(a) Program provides business development assistance to companies owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals
Benefits of the 8(a) Program
the opportunity to receive “sole source” contracts
Selection Process for 8(a) participation
SBA advises an agency
contracting activity through a search letter of an 8(a) firm’s capabilities
SBA identifies a specific requirement for a particular 8(a) firm or firms and asks the agency contracting activity to offer the acquisition to the 8(a) Program for the firm(s)
Agency initiated by reviewing other proposed acquisitions for the purpose of identifying requirements which may be offered to the SBA
FAR Part 6
Competition Requirements
Competition Policy
KOs SHALL promote and provide for full and open competition in soliciting offers and awarding Government contracts
CICA
Competition (in) Contracting Act; established requirement to use “competitive procedures” in acquiring supplies/services
Types of competition
- Full and Open Competition
- Full and Open Competition After Exclusion of Sources
- Other Than Full and Open Competition
Full and Open Competition
All responsible sources permitted to compete
Full and Open Competition After Exclusion of Sources
Small Business Concerns
8(a) Programs
Other than Full and Open Competition
Sole Source
How many exceptions to Full and Open Competition?
7
Contracting Officer SHALL NOT commence sole source negotiation without a …
J&A (Justification and Approval)
KO must promote competition:
- to the maximum extent practicable
- select offer is the most advantageous to the government
What Act provides for full and open competition?
CICA; Competition in Contracting Act
What are the dollar thresholds for J&A approval?
Not Exceeding $700K – Contracting Officer
Over $700K - $13.5 Million – Competition Advocate for the procuring activity (not delegable)
Over $13.5 Million – $93 Million – Head of the Contracting Activity
Over $93 Million – Under Secretary of Defense for AL&T
What is the Competition Advocate and what are they responsible for?
Designated at the agency and each procuring activity
Promotes the acquisition of commercial items
Promotes full and open competition
Helps the agency to meet their small business goals
Recommends a system of personal and organizational accountability for competition
Policy for providing full and open competition
FAR 6.1
