Millions Wasted On No-Bid Contracts

Barack Obama promised to save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars annually by limiting no-bid government contracts yet his administration has so far awarded more than $543 million in federal deals without competition.

The money has come from Obama’s prized $787 billion stimulus program with a big chunk of the no-bid deals going to military projects. According to a news analysis, the Department of Defense has awarded hundreds of no-bid contracts for base repairs, costing U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars more than when companies compete for the coveted deals.

The Pentagon has so far spent more than one-fourth—around $242 million—of its stimulus funds on no-bid contracts for construction and repairs and it has represented a huge waste of taxpayer dollars. The agency saves more than triple the money when companies compete, according to the news report, which reveals that competitively bid work saved the government $34 million. 

The analysis includes specific examples of competitive military contracts versus those awarded with no competition. In all cases, the government saved substantial amounts when the bids were open to competition rather than awarded to firms without essentially shopping around. 

It was just a few months ago that Obama vowed to severely limit this wasteful method of doing business by overhauling the entire system to assure competition drives down costs. “The days of giving government contractors a blank check are over,” the commander-in-chief proudly proclaimed, promising to save taxpayers as much as $40 billion a year.