Wasteful spending is counter productive when an operating budget is stagnant as is the case with Social Security. Literally every dollar counts as Social Security is dealing with massive backlogs of disability claims and far too few resources, so you would think Social Security would be interested in saving a buck where it can.
Unfortunately, according to a recent story in The Hill, Social Security, and many other government agencies, may not be getting the best bang for their buck by forgoing the competitive bidding process.
Government agencies regularly contract out to private entities when specific projects are needed. One example is the recent contract the Department of Veterans Affairs awarded to Cerner, a health technology company, to build the VA’s new electronic health records system. The contract is estimated to cost several billions of dollars and the VA awarded the contract to Cerner without considering any other offers.
Government agencies, as required by law, are supposed to utilize “full and open competition” when contracting with private firms for business. The idea is that when the bidding process opens up the government can choose the most qualified and cost-effective firm to do the job. When only one firm is considered there is no telling whether it is a good deal for the government agency.
Social Security is also guilty of not using the competitive bidding process. According to the story, a federal investigation found that Social Security only uses competitive bidding 58 percent of the time.
There is no doubt Social Security needs more funding to address its backlog and limited resources, but if Social Security, and other government agencies, continue to throw money away by not using the competitive bidding process, there will be little sympathy for all the financial difficulties these government agencies go through.
