Contracting officers hold procurement power

A recent US injunction handed down against the Interior Department is a reminder to other officials of the importance of a contracting officer in the procurement world.

In July of last year, Interior’s assistant secretary for policy, management and budget approved and signed a determination and finding document without the required signature of a contracting officer and a senior procurement executive (who needs to sign where the contract is worth more than $50 million).

The document was a special authority that allows an agency to award a contract without competition.

“The assistant secretary for policy, management and budget, however, is neither the ‘contracting officer’ nor appears to be the Department of Interior’s ‘senior procurement executive,’” Federal Claims Court Judge Susan Braden said.

Judge Braden went on to describe the Interior’s organisational chart, appending the chart itself, and cited job descriptions on the Interior’s website.

The ruling keeps the ultimate power of procurement in the hands of an organisation’s contracting officers, a sober reminder for everyone who is involved with contracts. 

 Read more here.