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DPW sees no problem with federal procurement rules
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Posted on May 06 1999
The Department of Public Works has welcomed a proposed legislation that will substitute federal procurement laws to CNMI regulations on local projects partly funded by Washington, saying the agency finds no problem complying with the requirement.
In some cases, US procurement process “can be more restrictive than CNMI…, but in general we have no difficulty in complying with federal procurement standards,” said Public Works Sec. Juan B. Cepeda in a letter to House committee on Federal and Foreign Relations Committee.
The panel is reviewing two Senate bills pending before the House which seek to substitute the current CNMI procurement rules and regulations with that of the US procurement regulations in cases where the majority of funds used for capital projects as well as architectural and engineering design come from the federal government.
Cepeda’s position is in direct contrast with the contention of the Department of Finance Procurement and Supply division which has opposed the twin measures as unnecessary and impractical.
Director Herman Sablan maintained the island government has enough measures in place to ensure that funds provided under capital improvement projects or other federal grants are spent on contracts complying with the procurement regulations.
Sponsored by Senate President Paul A. Manglona, the measures passed the upper house on final reading last December, but are now under review by the House committee chaired by Rep. Melvin Faisao.
In simplifying the current law on procurement, the proposal provides compliance of the federal procurement regulations alone as the minimum requirement in using federal funds for various CIP plans.
These bills were proposed to ensure that the CNMI does not lose the federal funds unless obligated or spent within a certain period.
Furthermore, legislators found out that both the CNMI and federal procurement regulations have always been required by the authorities in spending federal disaster relief money.
