Differences Between Government Contracts And Commercial Contracts

Contracting with the United States government is very much like commercial contracting, yet is quite different in that there are special procedures and protocol. Whereas commercial contracts involve two or more parties that are each free to renegotiate contracts and reach levels of compromise, government contracts are much more rigid. The basic reason behind the rigidity of government contracts is that the government is acting for the entirety of its citizens.

The authority of a governmental contracting officer is to contract with businesses on behalf of the United States government as set forth in the U.S. Constitution and all records are available for public review.

Government contracting can be very profitable if you can learn about how to handle the special protocol and paperwork and, with the current administration in particular, if you know the right people. For example, Haliburton and various other corporate chums of the Bush administration have raked in excess billions of dollars in Iraq and other Middle East countries, while cutting out other bidders and



putting public need on hold to secure contracts for what are all too often less capable corporations.

Learning about government contracts is extremely complex and non-intuitive. Entire college programs, not just classes, have been devoted to the subject of government contracting. To learn more about participating in government contract work you may find it useful to access government websites as well as more comp0rehensive websites on the topic.

There are several online courses and seminars to help you learn more about government contracting. Take a look at this list of government contract programs (http://www.fedpubseminars.com/seminar/gcplist.html).


Here are some more government articles...