Enough is enough. That is the message to the Obama administration from four contracting trade associations in a letter sent Aug. 11. The letter asked the administration to hold off on issuing any new regulations regarding federal contracting.
The presidents of the National Defense Industrial Association, the Aerospace Industries Association, the Professional Services Council and the IT Alliance for Public Sector have asked the White House to stop any further executive actions with respect to federal government contractors, reports the Federal Times. The issue at the heart of the matter is the cost of compliance, driving up the cost of doing business with the government.
The letter notes that costs are passed through to the government and current budgets cannot support these cost increases. An estimated 30 cents of every federal dollar spent on contracting is now going for compliance costs. This increases the performance cost to the government without increasing the value provided by the contractor.
“The impact on the federal agencies is the cost to them, in terms of the direct cost of purchasing the goods and services, as well as the monitoring of contract performance, is going up,” the letter argues.
The presidents made it clear that they were not opposing any particular regulation. The noted that the current administration has issued 12 executive orders resulting in 16 new regulations for federal contractors. The addition of costs in this manner places a burden on the government’s procurement system.
In addition, as the letter notes, the regulations specific to federal contractors place a barrier on the entry into the federal marketplace that new companies may not be able to overcome. This results in a lack of diversity and choice for federal agencies, as well as possibly preventing new or improved products from being available.
The letter was in response to reports that the administration was looking to require federal contractors to provide paid sick leave to their employees. A spokesman for the Labor Department was quoted by the Times as stating that no final decision had been made regarding specific policies.
