| | Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today the release of a report on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) sole-source contract awarded in 2021 to a sole proprietor to support the efforts of the FBI's Ballistics Research Facility (BRF), which performs scientific testing, evaluation, and validation of ammunition, weapons, and personal protective armor necessary to support the FBI's mission. This contract was valued at approximately $574,000. The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that the FBI awarded sole-source contracts for ballistic research assistant services to the same individual for the last 18 years. We concluded that the FBI took unconventional contract award actions, which impeded competition and created the appearance that the FBI gave the contractor preferential treatment to ensure that the contractor continued to provide services to the BRF. In addition, we found that significant deficiencies in the FBI's management of the contract created an environment that increased the risk for ineffective and inappropriate contracting practices. The specific findings in the report released today include: - The FBI did not exercise sufficient impartiality and took unconventional actions to ensure the contractor continued to provide services to the BRF. We found that the FBI did not attempt to competitively bid this contract and did not follow Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements for awarding a sole source contract. Additionally, we found that the FBI inappropriately placed the contractor in a personal services role, which is contrary to the FAR, the contract terms, and FBI guidance. As a result, the FBI exposed itself to a significant risk of circumventing civil service laws.
- Significant deficiencies were identified in the FBI's management of the contract. We found the FBI did not evaluate if there were any potential conflicts of interest regarding the contractor's participation in high value and sensitive FBI procurements, exceeded its authority to extend the contract's period of performance, and applied oversight procedures that were incongruent with FAR requirements for firm-fixed-price contracts.
The DOJ OIG made five recommendations to improve the FBI's management of this contract. The FBI concurred with all five recommendations. | | | You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to OIG Reports - Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for U.S. Department of Justice. Follow the DOJ Office of the Inspector General on X @JusticeOIG. | | | |
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