Report of the Commission on Government ... - Bayhdolecentral

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decisions adverse to <strong>the</strong> contractor were appealed
to a board <strong>of</strong> contract appeals. The unit
breakdown <strong>of</strong> this figure is:
NAVY
AEC
ARMY
NASA
GSA
USAF
TIME ON DOCKET
85%
73%
79%
34%
18%
36%
In interviews with ASBCA personnel as well
as members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> legal staffs who handled
appeals before boards, it was pointed out that
<strong>the</strong> time that a case is on <strong>the</strong> docket is not
necessarily indicative <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> speed available to
a claimant within <strong>the</strong> appellate procedure.
Agency
(Hi 6-12
months months
NASABCA 13 8
GSABCA 113 82
DOTCAB 3 15
AECBCA 27 2
VACAB 51 50
ASBCA 294 290
ENGBCA 101 95
COMMBCA 5 3
mCA 13 23
Total 620 568
Oftentimes, <strong>the</strong> claimant or both <strong>the</strong> claimant
and <strong>the</strong> Government may desire to continue
<strong>the</strong> case for fur<strong>the</strong>r negotiations, <strong>the</strong> marshalling
<strong>of</strong> evidence, or o<strong>the</strong>r tactical reasons. Hence,
we must cone!ude that <strong>the</strong> docket times as
reported are longer than <strong>the</strong>y might have been
had <strong>the</strong> parties moved expeditiously in every
instance.
The pr<strong>of</strong>iles in <strong>the</strong> data bank show that
within 24 months 85 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cases appealed
to a board are resolved: 30 percent
are resolved within six months, ano<strong>the</strong>r 27
C.O. level
0-,
montha
6-12
months
USAF
NAVY
NASA
GSA
AEC
ARMY
16
21
83
215
10
28
11
42
7
9
3
8
Total 373 80
Part G
percent between six and 12 months, ano<strong>the</strong>r
19 percent between 12 and 18 months, and 9
percent between 18 and 24 months.
A breakdown by agency shows that AEC
was <strong>the</strong> speediest in resolving disputes, disposing
<strong>of</strong> 93 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cases within <strong>the</strong> first
six months. DOTCAB was <strong>the</strong> slowest, since
only 7 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir cases were concluded
within a similar time period. The ASBCA,
<strong>the</strong> board with <strong>the</strong> largest docket, disposed <strong>of</strong>
almost two-thirds <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir cases within a year
from <strong>the</strong> date docketed.
Thirty percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ENGBCA cases went on
for more than two years. However, 28 percent
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ENGBCA cases involved more than
$100,000 as compared to 17 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
ASBCA cases with claims in that category.
The following table shows <strong>the</strong> length <strong>of</strong> time
cases were on <strong>the</strong> dockets <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> boards:
Time Total
12-18 18-24 2 years
montlt8 months & moTe
4 0 0 25
64 26 32 317
3 4 20 45
0 0 0 29
43 8 0 152
157 88 100 929
100 49 145 490
9 2 4 23
13 6 14 69
393 183 315 2,079
At <strong>the</strong> contracting <strong>of</strong>ficer level, 94 percent <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> disputes were resolved within 24 months;
67 percent within six months, 14 percent between
six and 12 months, 9 percent between
12 and 18 months, and 4 percent between 18
and 24 months. GSA was <strong>the</strong> speediest (90
percent within six months), followed by NASA
(83 percent), while Navy was <strong>the</strong> slowest (21
percent).
The number <strong>of</strong> cases in each category is
tabulated as follows:
Time
Total
12-18 18-24 2 years
months months & more
3 9 13 52
24 3 8 98
4 2 4 100
7 3 6 240
2 2 6 23
8 '1 2 47
48 20 39 560
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