Does DOGE get government contracts?

This is a follow on to "What does GROK say about Musk & DOGE?"

Short answer: DOGE doesn’t know what BPAs (Business Process Agreements or Basic Purchase Agreements) are. And the DOI/NSF kerfuffle about their BPA seems to be based on raw, unfiltered ignorance. Unless someone else surfaces better info!

Background: I played with GROK, Claude and ChatGPT regarding the Musk-DOGE (and Trump Cabinet) allegations about the National Park Service’s alleged billion dollar plus spend on simple, 10 question surveys a child could have created with a bot.

How good are those bots at reasoning as of right now?

Answer: they provide interesting information but they aren’t particularly smart. Even though, I’ll quickly admit, they do some spectacular things.

Diving in

The billion dollar plus of spending that Musk-DOGE-Presidential-Cabinet saved the American people from was, in large part, a fundamental failure to understand how government purchasing works. At least $830 million of claimed savings was nothing of the sort.

The "contract" that the Federal Consulting Group was working on was a "BPA" or Basic Purchase Agreement, literally a framework that other entities in the Federal (and often state and local) Government can use to purchase basic goods and services with certain terms and conditions predefined in the BPA which makes it easier for the buyer to make an efficient purchase. [The FCG apparently disappeared very recently, which makes it hard to determine specifics of their most recent work. But see https://usfcr.com/registrations/general-services-administration-registration-gsa/#benefits to get the basic idea.]

Complexity detail: Here's the official definition https://www.acquisition.gov/far/8.405-3#:~:text=Main%20navigation%20*%20Data%20Initiatives.%20*%20FAR.%20Smart%20Matrix.

That’s quite grid full!

Let's get more down to earth.

While I was at Digital Equipment Corporation from 1976 to1994, we used various US government BPAs as vehicles by which government agencies could buy our computers, software and services with certain terms pre-agreed upon. The process to get a BPA was rigorous and demanding, defining allowed uses and capabilities.

Without these vehicles in place, it could take a decade or more to agree to terms on a complex purchase.

Any vendor that wanted to sell, for example, PCs and Servers to the government had to sell them under the terms and conditions specified in US Government Schedule 70 (General Purpose Automatic Data Processing Equipment — now called the GSA IT Large Category) BPA or the Scientific Lab Equipment Schedule 66 — now called the GSA Schedule 66: Scientific Equipment and Services (another BPA.)

These BPAs did not commit the federal government to spend anything! They did force sellers to conform to certain specifics and buyers to justify their purchases within the constraints of their agency or department’s budget and purchasing rules.

[In many ways, it was because of Schedule 66 that Digital Equipment’s computers were called Programmable Data Processors or PDPs. Schedule 66 also included logic modules, lab controllers and other computers and so forth.]

Most BPAs were open to any supplier of goods and services whose offering conformed to the requirements of the BPA plus any additional requirements specified by the end customer.

BPAs that are well policed save the government and taxpayers money. Result: Spend less in the procurement process and deliver goods and services that best meet the agency's requirements (including capabilities, costs, risks and governance.)

So the DOGE wants to claim a big win here? They could have saved me time by providing links of primary evidence on the Department of the Interior's own website dating before 20 January 2025.

Dig deeper: There never was a contract or a BPA. The DOI Federal Consulting Group was negotiating a BPA (basic purchase agreement.) BPAs are vehicles through which government entities can purchase goods and services. They are not commitments to buy. They give other internal government entities (and sometimes, state and local governments) a simpler way to contract for goods and services.

I wrote everything above after thinking about and further researching the issue of the Musk-DOGE-Presidential-Cabinet-member claims re: DOI/NPS “contract” that wasn’t and even wouldn’t be (a contract) even if it were signed.

And don’t trust the bots. Verify, analyze and further research!

Here's more (from Google) on BPAs

In federal contracting, a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is a simplified acquisition method that allows government agencies to easily purchase recurring products and services from pre-approved vendors, streamlining the procurement process and reducing administrative burdens.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

Purpose:

BPAs are designed to simplify the acquisition of goods and services that are needed on a recurring basis, such as office supplies or maintenance services.

How it works:

Once a BPA is established, government agencies can place orders against it without having to go through a full procurement process each time.

Simplified Acquisition:

BPAs are a simplified acquisition method, meaning they are used for acquisitions that are relatively low in value and complexity.

Pre-approved vendors:

BPAs are established with pre-approved vendors who have demonstrated their ability to meet the government's needs.

Terms and Conditions:

The terms and conditions of the BPA, such as pricing and delivery requirements, are established in advance.

Not a Contract:

It's important to note that a BPA itself is not a contract; rather, it's a framework for future orders. The actual orders placed against the BPA are what constitute contracts.

Benefits:

BPAs offer several benefits, including streamlined procurement, reduced administrative costs, and increased efficiency.

GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS):

BPAs can be established under the GSA MAS program, which is an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract.

Types of BPAs:

BPAs can be either single-award or multiple-award.

FAR Guidance:

Procedures for establishing and placing orders against BPAs are described in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).

Examples:

Popular examples of BPAs include 2GIT, FSSI BPAs, and the GSA Schedule Cloud SIN BPA.