	Background

Before the airports’ transfer to the Metropolitan Washington Airports  Authority (MWAA), Dulles and Reagan National were operated by the  Federal Aviation Administration and financed with federally appropriated  funds. Finally, MWAA does not use the 1993 guidance to award contracts  involving non-concession-related goods and services. MWAA’s  1993 contracting guidance does not address this matter. Weaknesses in MWAA’s evaluations of contractor proposals also raise  concern about whether contractors have been treated fairly in competing  for MWAA’s contract awards. Likewise, MWAA’s (1) practice of  improperly exercising contract options that MWAA did not compete as  part of its initial solicitation, (2) use of existing contracts to obtain goods  and services that are beyond the scope of work contained in its contract  solicitations, and (3) improper use of sole-source awards fail to ensure  that MWAA obtains the best value available in the marketplace for the  goods and services it purchases and could result in MWAA’s paying higher  prices than necessary. At the same time,  Congress amended the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act to  declare that “full and open competition, when used with respect to a  procurement, means that all responsible sources are permitted to submit  sealed bids or competitive proposals on the procurement.” Two years  later, upon consideration of the 1986 Metropolitan Washington Airports  Act (which provided for the lease of Dulles and Reagan National), a  senator from Virginia introduced the requirement for full and open  competition at the airports. Instead, we focused our review on  MWAA’s contracts for supplies and services, including construction. 15.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Act of 1986 transferred operating responsibility for Dulles and Reagan National Airports from the federal government to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), an independent, nonfederal, public entity. MWAA, which has a 50-year lease to run the two airports, has entered into a wide range of contracts for supplies, construction, and other services.

What GAO Found

Although MWAA issued guidance in 1993 for the awarding of contracts and concession franchises, GAO found that the guidance does not adequately reflect competitive contracting principles and is out of date in many respects. Moreover, MWAA does not use its guidance to award contracts for non-concession goods and services. MWAA did not obtain full and open competition for 15 of the 35 contracts GAO reviewed, raising concerns about whether MWAA obtained the best value for the goods and services provided. The failure to obtain full and open competition also raises concerns about whether MWAA has (1) deprived prospective contractors of the chance to compete for contracts and (2) fairly evaluated all of the contractors that have competed for procurements. Finally, by not following recognized competitive principles, MWAA could be giving the appearance of favoritism in its contracting decisions.