Next Generation Procurement Reform

Posted on by

The White House recently released a pair of Executive Orders (EOs) that aim to streamline the way the government acquires products and services. The complexity and inefficiency of government procurement has long been decried by industry and government officials alike. Numerous steps have been taken to simplify processes and open access to businesses that can provide the innovative solutions the government needs. These latest EOs focus on reforming the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA), the two guiding principles of federal procurement.

Common Sense FAR

The "Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement" EO highlights the fact that the federal government is the world's largest buyer, spending nearly $1 trillion on procurement contracts each year. However, the provisions that guide that buying are cumbersome and, in many cases, outdated. The FAR is 2,000-plus pages containing 3,000-plus directives. The EO seeks to overhaul the FAR with plain English and eliminate nearly all non-statutory and duplicative regulations.

The administration cited some examples of regulations that could be quickly eliminated, including the requirement that contractors must submit every single paper document double-sided on paper with "at least 30% post-consumer fiber." Another requirement, that contractors must provide training and education around the dangers of texting and driving, was put in place when smartphones were introduced to the market. Now that nearly every state and territory ban texting while driving, and multiple federal and state agencies run campaigns against distracted driving, the requirement is not as necessary.

The EO mandates that within 180 days, the administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy must propose changes to the FAR to align with the EO's objectives. This is defined as stripping the FAR down to provisions "required by statute or essential to sound procurement." Agencies must also designate senior procurement officials to review and revise their FAR supplements. Additionally, the EO states that any FAR rule not required by law must expire after four years unless renewed by the FAR Council.

Increasing Commercial Solution Use

The commercial acquisition priority order emphasizes the procurement of commercially available products and services over that of non-commercial, custom options. This EO urges agencies to align more closely with the long-standing FASA law. The White House cited a 2019 report that found that the federal government could have saved an estimated $345 billion over the last 25 years if it had abided by FASA and purchased more commercial off-the-shelf IT solutions, rather than building systems from scratch.

The EO requires federal agency contracting officers to undertake a 60-day review of "all pending contracts for non-commercial products or services." A waiver will need to be submitted to "justify the necessity" of any non-commercial solution. Federal agencies have 120 days to report their FASA law compliance and progress on implementing the executive order. Annual agency reports on compliance will follow.

Supporting Reform

Overall, response to the EOs has been overwhelmingly positive, with wide agreement around the need to streamline government procurement. However, officials warn that reforms cannot begin and end with procurement. Changes to underlying business rules and operations at agencies will need to be made to accommodate wider commercial solution use. As an example, to acquire a commercial payroll system, there will need to be changes made to the federal payroll process that conform to commercial best practices and processes.

To stay on top of government acquisition policy and trends, check out these resources from GovEvents and GovWhitePapers.

For more on government acquisition reform, search for additional events and resources on GovEvents and GovWhitePapers.

Comments are closed temporarily due to excessive Spam.