White House

After the initial letter contract was awarded in February 1993, the White House prepared the documentation required under the federal regulations to justify its sole-source acquisition of Resumix--an automated resume processing system--under urgent and compelling circumstances. The documentation indicated that the new administration needed information on a large number of potential candidates quickly and that Resumix was superior to the existing White House system in terms of entering resumes, searching for candidates, and compiling lists of candidates. Also, fewer staff were needed to operate Resumix. Although the contract file did contain detailed price information and a statement that the Contracting Office had determined that the Resumix price was fair and reasonable, the supporting documentation was insufficient to demonstrate that the White House obtained a fair and reasonable price. In addition, the Resumix acquisition did not fully follow federal government procurement regulations in the following areas: some items were omitted from the requirements analysis, certified cost or pricing data were not obtained from the supplier, and a competition advocate did not approve the justification for the sole-source acquisition.

GAO found that the White House: (1) adequately documented and justified its decision to lease the system on a sole-source basis due to its urgent and compelling need; (2) omitted certain items from the requirements analysis and failed to obtain certified cost or pricing data from the supplier; (3) did not adequately document that the price for the system was fair and reasonable; and (4) competition advocate did not review the justification for the sole-source award.