Essentially, this is a complex arrangement involving the Navy, the city of Indianapolis, and Hughes Technical Services Company. Under this arrangement, in which the facility is leased, the contractor promises to maintain certain levels of manpower and technology, and the Navy promises a certain level of work. Other facility closures pursuant to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission legislation promise similar opportunities. The challenges for lawyers are many and only some of them are obvious. Meeting performance guarantees can be endangered by a lack of funding or a termination for convenience.
Private financing can be difficult under standard government contract terms and conditions.
One agreement may have a disputes clause while a parallel agreement has an arbitration clause. And, of course, there is the ever-present question of responsibility for environmental cleanup. The Administration, the Heritage Foundation, and many in Congress also urge the privatization of the Air Traffic Control system within the Federal Aviation Administration. On the horizon, DOE may manage to introduce an outstanding example of privatization in the area of waste disposal. For government contracts attorneys, the focus will be on the issues associated with contracting out.