I consider that to be a good idea.
However, the government is trying to find a company to do the work because the government is largely giving up. The Civil Servants and Perfumed Princes who have been trying to manage IT Projects for DOD have done a terrible job over the years and they are throwing in the towel. They hope some H1-Bs out in Silicon Valley will do a better job. I mean -- what's the worst that could happen?
It takes the private sector which thrives on rewarding efforts above and beyond the call of duty, like working 80-to-100-hour weeks, to actually accomplish things in the world of IT. If the Perfumed Princes can't do the work in 40 hours, they'll just leave it whatever state of completion, or incompletion, that the project finds itself.