Tag Archives: Federal Acquisition Regulation

Streamlining Government with a Back-to-Basics Approach

Posted on by

Building efficiencies into government requires more than adopting new technologies that automate processes. It also involves updating how the government procures those technologies, as well as other goods and services. Several Executive Orders (EOs) have addressed improving the procurement process across government. In response, some recent updates and guidance show progress is being made in revisiting the requirements companies must meet to sell to the government.

OneGov

The General Services Administration (GSA) was created as a centralized function for the administration of government. This included managing procurement, office space, supplies, and records. Over time, these functions have migrated back into individual agencies for a variety of reasons, a key one being (ironically enough) efficiency. Many agencies started their own contracting vehicles and took on more procurement activity because they felt they could better serve the needs of their workforce and missions themselves. In some cases, this was true, but the spread of responsibility led to great duplication in effort and weakened the government's buying power. Continue reading →

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 However, the provisions that guide that buying are cumbersome and, in many cases, outdated.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. Continue reading →

Security Takes a Leading Role in Acquisition

Posted on by

Recent security breaches via software have made supply chain security a priority across government. No longer is it enough to build security into a solution; now every product that is part of that solution is being examined for its security and risk. In response, the Biden Administration issued a Cybersecurity Executive Order that aims to provide more control over the content of code that comes in contact with government systems and infrastructure.

Continue reading →

Veterans Affairs’ overspending at conferences linked to poor contract execution

Posted on by

Originally posted by Charles S. Clark on Government Executive

Among the many lapses the Veterans Affairs Department may have committed in planning two lavish training conferences in Orlando, Fla., in 2011 was a failure to adhere to contracting procedures.

The inspector general's report on the $6.1 million pair of employee gatherings, which led to the resignation of the department's Chief Human Capital Officer John Sepulveda, focused mostly on overspending, wrongful acceptance of gifts by employees and unnecessary advance trips to plan the conferences.

Continue reading →