Government Agency Ignored Obama Directive When It Handed Microsoft A No-Bid Contract

Last week, Google filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior over not considering Google Apps as an option for a productivity suite for its 88,000 employees when the government agency issued a call (otherwise known as an RFQ) for applications. Specifically, the DOI stated upfront in the RFQ that the email solution had to be part of the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite. Google is alleging that this is anti-competitive and that if Google were to submit a proposal, not only would it come in at a much lower price point than a Microsoft contract, but it would meet all of the DOI's security requirements. The twist in all of this: President Obama issued a statement shortly after he took office that essentially reaffirms Google's point. In this memo from March 2009, the White House states that "Excessive reliance by executive agencies on sole-source contracts (or contracts with a limited number of sources) and cost-reimbursement contracts creates a risk that taxpayer funds will be spent on contracts that are wasteful, inefficient, subject to misuse, or otherwise not well designed to serve the needs of the Federal Government or the interests of the American taxpayer. Reports by agency Inspectors General, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and other independent reviewing bodies have shown that noncompetitive and cost-reimbursement contracts have been misused, resulting in wasted taxpayer resources, poor contractor performance, and inadequate accountability for results."

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