Review of Allegations of Contracting Irregularities, VA Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Our review did not substantiate allegations received by the OIG Hotline that the VAMC improperly used contracting authority in 38 U.S.C. § 8153 to purchase services for HRMS because § 8153 authority was not used in the procurement. The VAMC issued two purchase orders against a General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract to purchase the services of two individuals to provide services to the HRMS. We found that the VAMC did not comply with the requirements of Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 8.405, that establish the procedures to be followed when purchasing services at hourly rates from FSS contracts. This was due, in part, to the fact that an program office negotiated the terms and conditions of the contract with the vendor and had the vendor hire retired VA employees to perform the work under the contract. The Purchasing Agent processed the purchase order prepared by the program office without complying with the FAR. The Purchasing Agent was unaware that FAR 8.4 required competition among FSS vendors when contracting for services. The VISN 7 Director concurred with the findings and recommendations and stated that action had been taken to ensure that program officials and purchasing agents complied with FAR Part 8.4 when purchasing from the FSS and that training on the requirements of FAR Part 8.4 would be provided to VISN 7 contracting personnel. In addition, all procurements that require written justification when purchasing on a sole-source or expedited basis would be reviewed and justified by someone at the highest levels at the facility and the procurement would be reviewed by the Chief of Logistics or Assistant Chief of Logistics prior to placement of the order.