Federal agencies have spent more than $61 billion from contracts to respond to the pandemic. But those agencies canceled $4 billion of contract obligations.
- Marie Mak, director of contracting and national security acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office, said her office found some contracting officers did not have agency-specific guidance, training or access to available resources for the responsibility determination process of evaluating prospective vendors during Covid-19.
- Mak said some agencies encountered the challenges of working with contractors that had never done business with the federal government and procuring supplies and services they do not typically buy.
- Mak said the Office of Federal Procurement Policy must update its Emergency Acquisitions Guide to address obstacles contracting officers faced.
