WASHINGTON, DC — Four federal contracting trade associations asked senior White House advisors for relief from the flow of federal contractor-focused executive actions, in a letter released today.

Citing unsustainable compliance costs and continuing federal budget uncertainty, the presidents of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the Professional Services Council (PSC), and the IT Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS), wrote to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett requesting that “no further presidential directives primarily focused on government contractors be issued for the foreseeable future.”

Since 2009, the White House has issued 12 contractor-focused executive orders that have led to 16 new regulations, adding thousands of pages of new requirements to an already complex federal acquisition system, which contractors must navigate. The associations are anticipating one or more executive orders this year, with possibly more to follow before the end of the administration. While the associations have supported some of the orders, and suggested changes to make others more workable, in the joint letter they write, “the net effect has been to significantly increase the costs of doing business with the government.”

With the White House issuing more contractor-specific orders, the “rapid growth in compliance requirements is becoming untenable,” they said in the letter. “The impacts, inefficiencies, and in many cases, unintended consequences are such that the interests of the American taxpayer are being significantly and negatively impacted.”

The letter noted that the 12 executive orders have required substantial investments in time and systems during a period of extreme budget pressure with very little benefit for the government. Further, while most agree that the government needs to widen its access to the full marketplace of capabilities, these unique and costly requirements are raising a “substantial barrier between the commercial and government marketplaces,” cutting the government off from key solutions, they said.

To read the letter, click here.

# # #

Related [Public Sector]