I found a new report that is hot off the press.  It is called:  DoD: State of Competition within the Defense Industrial Base.

It was announced at the White House today in a Fact Sheet entitled:  Department of Defense Releases New Report on Safeguarding our National Security by Promoting Competition in the Defense Industrial Base.

In the report something called a Procurement Business Intelligence Service Competition Analysis Scorecard may exist somewhere in DoD.  I found it mentioned at p. 3 of the DoD report.  I found this toolbox (I'm sure you know how much I love the term scorecards and toolboxes.)

The first contracting law that I found was in 1792.  Since then there have been many perfections to the process by law, regulation, etc.  What we have is Procurement Process Perfection Proliferation or pee-pees for short.  (If I say pee-pees out loud my dogs will want to go outside and do something.)

I hate to see politics enter into something as critical as national defense but large portions of the report smacks on political agenda

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/09/fact-sheet-executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/
 

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/09/biden-to-sign-executive-order-aimed-at-cracking-down-on-big-tech-business-practices.html

 

The government is increasingly dependent on IT and AI for national security and other things and is afraid that the big guys will gobble up the little guys and kill competition. I think it's a legitimate concern.

Time to review your Posner text on antitrust law and economics.

My only complaint is it’s a political agenda item.  DoD was told to write a report saying “here’s the conclusion you must reach.”  I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the largest proportion of DoD is not unhappy with the existing vendor base.  It seems to me a report like this should be done objectively by GAO or a source not influenced by politics.