Author: Christopher M. Stone
On this day 40 years ago, October 27, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law a little noticed, bipartisan bill that sailed through Congress.
The “Brooks Act”, named for its sponsor, then-Representative Jack Brooks (D-TX), provided for an innovative and creative way to select firms to perform architecture, engineering and related services by contract to federal agencies. Years before “best value’, “past performance” and other modern procurement processes were even dreamed of, Messrs, Nixon and Brooks, political rivals, and other Republicans and Democrats had the vision to recognize the “lowest bid” did not always mean the best deal for the taxpayer.
Have you ever wondered by countries like Haiti and Mexico suffer such abject building failures when earthquakes of similar or greater magnitude are less severe in the United States?
