Steven L. Schooner, Nash & Cibinic Professor of Government Procurement Law, joined a panel of experts on ABC's "The Bridge" to discuss the impact of prolonged uncertainty in the field of government contracts. The panelists shared their thoughts on budget uncertainties, the debt ceiling, geo politics, and more.
As 2017 comes to a close, uncertainty has become a recurring theme in the government and its contracting counterparts. Professor Schooner shared that in the world of contracting, particularly when it involves efficiency, certainty is important. However, he explains that this "highly partisan, problematic, inefficient world that we have lived in" has not allowed consistent budgets for planning purposes to take place. President Trump's impact on government contractors has caused many to question the president's actions in the early days of his presidency. Within hours of his inauguration, he told the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily suspend all contract and grant awards. Critics have argued that President Trump's plans to improve U.S. infrastructure "has now become unclear whether any robust arrangement will ever come to fruition." The panelists agreed that uncertainty in government contracting is "frustrating," which then caused Professor Schooner to pose the following question: Is there a better mode going forward?
"I don't think the uncertainty is going to change but that does mean that the only thing that we can be certain of is that we will continue to live in a world of outsourced government," Professor Schooner said. He added that the government cannot meet the nation's needs without reliance on contractors. "The government contracting business will continue to be good in the future…it's not going away."
Watch the entire discussion below to hear Professor Schooner's thoughts on what is necessary to practice "True North" Management when working with the federal government, and whether a government shutdown could occur.
[video:https://vimeo.com/236312978 width:560 height:315 align:center lightbox_title:Schooner and panelists ]