On March 4, President Obama released a Memorandum on Government Contracting, which instructed the OMB and other federal agencies to improve and strengthen federal contracting practices, including seeking input from the public. In response to this effort, OMB Watch submitted comments and recommendations on necessary reforms to the federal contracting system.

In a nutshell, our recommendations focus on transparency:

OMB Watch strongly supports the Obama administration's drive to strengthen the federal acquisition system and recommends several courses of action to further that objective. Overall, these recommendations are guided by OMB Watch's belief in the power of transparency and access to government information to transform government processes and produce better outcomes for the public. Without greater transparency, issues of waste, fraud, and abuse; conflicts of interest; and poor performance will continue to plague the federal procurement process.

Read the complete comments. (.pdf)

Image by Flickr user George Livingston, used under a Creative Commons license.