Review of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Compliance With Appropriations Laws and Acquisition Regulations-Contractor C

This congressionally requested review of CDC's contracting practices focused on a 2002 research and development contract awarded to a company referred to as "Contractor C." We found that the contract did not fully comply with appropriations laws and acquisition regulations with respect to competition. Specifically, CDC awarded task orders to Contractor C that significantly exceeded the estimated contract cost without recompeting the contract. CDC's cumulative award of $13.4 million exceeded the estimated contract cost by $12.1 million because CDC failed to adhere to its procedures for periodically monitoring cumulative contract costs. By failing to do so, CDC violated the Federal Acquisition Regulation's requirement for full and open competition. As a result, CDC did not ensure that it obtained information related to the prevention of infectious diseases in the most economical and efficient manner.

The contract complied with appropriations laws and acquisition regulations with respect to inherently governmental functions, personal services, pricing, and contract funding.

We recommended that CDC adhere to its procedures for periodically monitoring cumulative contract costs. CDC concurred with our finding and recommendation and described the corrective actions that it was taking.