Emerging Trends in International, Federal, and State and Local Government Procurement in an Era of Global Economic Stimulus Funding

Abstract:     
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”) is enormous in volume and scope, touching everything from executive compensation paid by past and future recipients of funds under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (“TARP”) and nationwide broadband services development to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“COBRA”) Continuation Health Coverage, and the New Construction, Substantial Rehabilitation, and Loan Management Programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). The ARRA has followed the trend of predecessor spending bills that have sought to pump lifeblood into the American economy during times of instability and financial crisis by force-feeding the government contracts machine. As with previous economic downturns, the federal government is looking to contractors to stave off the tide of recession. Economists note that, in the end, government spending is meant to entice other economic agents to start spending. One segment of this broad group of economic agents is private sector contractors, which include construction and engineering companies. As such, the ARRA has been described as “good news for government contractors.” This article considers the ARRA’s impact on contractors operating in international, federal, and state and local procurement sectors while attempting to identify the emerging trends in compliance and reporting requirements, competition requirements, domestic preference regulatory requirements, and heightened transparency and oversight requirements.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 24

Accepted Paper Series