WND EXCLUSIVE

WHAT IS DHS HIDING IN MYSTERIOUS NO-BID CONTRACTS?

Feds caught in widespread pattern of secrecy regarding sole-source awards

Steve Peacock

Just what is the federal government hiding from Americans in its mysterious no-bid Department of Homeland Security contracts?

Questions raised about redactions in one federal contract have led to WND’s discovery of a widespread pattern of secrecy regarding no-bid, sole-source awards by the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, whose agencies – with just two exceptions – frequently keep the public in the dark about such matters and have done so for years.

A review of hundreds of contracting documents – with a particular focus on Justification for Other than Full and Open Competition, or JOFOC, reports – reveals, at a minimum, redactions of public information that at least one DHS agency candidly acknowledged were unjustified.

On the other extreme is inconsistent compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulation, or FAR, which establishes, based on federal code, how compliance with competition and reporting requirements can be achieved.

This combination of secrecy and outright failure to comply was detected through an extensive examination of contracting notices uploaded to the government’s Federal Business Opportunities, or FedBizOpps, database.

Though the magnitude of omissions varied from agency to agency, a pattern of redactions – most frequently related to contract costs – missing or redacted approvals from procurement officials, and outright failure to publicly post JOFOC documents that otherwise would have fully alerted taxpayers to noncompetitive awards was evidenced department-wide.

These partially concealed contracting actions involved a wide range of equipment and services, from routine administrative-supply purchases to large technology acquisitions.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2017/02/what-is-dhs-hiding-in-mysterious-no-bid-contracts/#WhCB2Pu4PlfXbCm0.99