to appoint one? What authorities are you allowed to delegate to your COR?
What authorities are not delegable to the COR? ANS >>> 1.604 - A Contracting
Officer's Representative (COR) is an individual designated by the Contracting
Officer to act as their representative in the technical monitoring and surveillance of
contract.
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, These individuals serve as subject matter experts and perform surveillance of a
contract to insure that the goods and services obtained meet the government's
acceptance standards. A COR may be designated other administration duties by the
contracting officer. A COR should be nominated by the requirements official as early
as practicable in the acquisition process. A COR assist in the technical monitoring
or administration of a contract. (A) Contracting officers shall designate a COR for
all service contracts, including both firm-fixed-price and other than firm-fixed-price
contracts, awarded by a DoD component or by any other Federal agency on behalf of
DoD. The surveillance activities performed by CORs should be tailored to the dollar
value/complexity of the specific contract for which they are designated. The COR
does not have the authority to take any action, either directly or indirectly, that could
change the price/cost or fee, quantity, quality, scope, delivery schedule, labor mix or
other terms and conditions of the contract and/or task order. Only the contracting
officer has the authority to make such changes. CORs do not have contractual
authority to issue directions or changes to any contract or purchase order that affects
price, quality, quantity, delivery, or any other aspect that will change the terms and
conditions of the contract. In cases where changes have been made by unauthorized
personnel, the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO) must be immediately notified.
The PCO will then determine if the work performed was within the scope of the
original contract. If the work is determined to be outside the scope of the contract,
corrective action through the ratification process will be taken. CORs shall forward
any correspondence received from the contractor to the PCO. COR restrictions and
limitations include, but are not limited to the following ANS >>> 1) COR authority
may not be re-delegated. 2) Only DoD military or DoD civilian personnel may be
appointed as CORs. Non-DoD personnel, including foreign nationals, shall not be
appointed as CORs. 3) The COR shall not make any agreement with the
contractor requiring the obligation of public funds. 4) The COR shall not sign any
contract, including delivery orders, purchase orders, nor modify a contract, or in a
n way obligate funds for the Government. 5) The COR shall not encourage the
contractor by words, actions, or a failure to act to undertake new work or an
extension of existing work beyond the contract period. 6) The COR shall not
interfere with the contractor's management prerogative by "supervising" contractor
employees or otherwise directing their work efforts. 7) The COR shall not authorize
a contractor to obtain property for use under a contract. 8) The COR shall not allow
government-furnished property accountable
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, under one contract to be used in the performance of work under another contract.
9) The COR shall not issue instructions to the contractor to start or stop work. 10)
The COR shall not order or accept goods or services not expressly required by the
contract. 11) The COR shall not discuss acquisition plans or provide any advance
information that might give one contractor an advantage over another contractor in
future procurements.
2. What is a Contracting Officer? What is the authority given to a Contracting
Officer? What are the responsibilities of a Contracting Officer? ANS >>> 1.602 -
A Con- tracting Officer is a person who has been given authority to enter into,
administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and
findings for the
U.S. Government.
Contracting Officers are responsible for ensuring performance of all necessary
actions for effective contracting, ensuring compliance with the terms of the contract,
and safeguarding the interests of the United States in its contractual relationships.
3. One of your specialists is new to contracting policies and procedures and
asks you to explain a "D&F". How would you describe a D&F? ANS >>> 1.7 - .
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, Deter- mination and Findings" means a special form of written approval by an
authorized official that is required by statute or regulation as a prerequisite to
taking certain contract actions.
The "determination" is a conclusion or decision supported by the "findings.''
The findings are statements of fact or rationale essential to support the determina-
tion and must cover each requirement of the statute or regulation.
4. What is an unauthorized commitment? What steps do you take in evalu-
ating, processing and approving an unauthorized commitment? ANS >>>
1.602-3 - An unauthorized commitment is means an agreement that is not binding
solely because the Government representative who made it lacked the authority to
enter into that agreement on behalf of the Government. The act of approving an
unauthorized commitment is called a ratification. Unauthorized commitments may
be ratified only when the conditions of FAR 1.602-3(c) are met. a) Use of
appropriated funds, b) Provided to or accepted by the Government - received a
benefit, c) Ratification official has the authority to ratify, d) Resulting contract must
otherwise be proper,
e) Price must be fair & reasonable, f) Funds are available and were available at
the time the action occurred, g) The CO recommends payments, h) It is IAW other
requirements and limitations
price is fair and reasonable
funds are available
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