THE CONTRACTING PENDULUM
In 1974, Congress passed legislation to establish the Office of Federal Procure- ment Policy (OFPP) within the Office of Management and Budget. OFPP provides direction for government-wide procure- ment policies, regulations and procedures; it also promotes economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the acquisition process. One way in which OFPP provides this direction is through the Federal Acquisi- tion Regulation (FAR).
Te FAR, implemented in 1984, provides uniform policies and procedures governing federal government contracts. Accompanied by the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), these regulatory policies inun- date contracting professionals and industry partners. In 1984, Congress also passed the Compe- tition in Contracting Act. Tat act requires competition for award of all government contracts. Te theory is that more competition for procurements reduces costs and allows more small businesses to win federal government contracts. It also established that if a protest is submitted to the U.S. Govern- ment Accountability Office (GAO) before contract award, the awarding of the contract will be suspended until GAO rules on the protest.
systems be replaced with an electronic contracting system within five years.
CONTRACTING REFORM INITIATIVES Acquisition reform is important and provides a check and a balance between regulatory accountability and agile acqui- sition. Because of recent reform initiatives, the contracting pendulum has swung from complex to streamlined contracting processes, providing for efficient and rapid acquisition in support of the warfighter.
and eliminate duplication of efforts across agencies. An example of strategic sourc- ing for the Army is in the procurement of commercial hardware and software purchases under the CHESS (Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solu- tions) program.
Of 312 authorities identified in the FAR and DFARS, the Army delegated 159 authorities to a level lower than the assistant secretary of
the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. This increased efficiency.
In 1994, Congress passed the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act. Tat legis- lation established a preference for the use of commercial products and exempted commercial products from various stat- utory and regulatory requirements. It raised the ceiling for the use of “simpli- fied purchase procedures” and raised the threshold for issuance synopsis. It exempted the micro-purchase from virtually all statutory requirements, and it required that paper-based contracting
36 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2020
In 2005, OMB asked the OFPP to identify goods and services the govern- ment can purchase more effectively and efficiently through strategic sourcing. Stra- tegic sourcing is an approach to supply chain management that formalizes the way information is gathered and used so that an organization can leverage its consolidated purchasing power to find the best possible values in the marketplace. As a result, the U.S. General Services Administration and Department of the Treasury established the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative to address government- wide opportunities to strategically source commonly purchased goods and services
Ten, in December 2014, OFPP issued a memorandum that directed agencies to take specific actions to implement category management, an approach based on indus- try leading practices, to further streamline and manage entire categories of spending across government more like a single enterprise. (See “Te Power of the Purchase,” Page 134.) Tis approach includes stra- tegic sourcing along with a broader set of strategies, such as develop- ing common standards in practices and contracts, and improving data analysis and information sharing to better leverage the government’s buying power and reduce unneces- sary contract duplication.
Te NDAA passed in 2016 stream- lined the acquisition process and eliminated redundant and duplica- tive requirements. Section 809 of the NDAA required that the secre-
tary of defense establish a nine-member advisory panel consisting of experts in acquisition and procurement policy. Te objective of the panel is to review DOD’s acquisition regulations and provide recom- mendations for streamlining procurement.
Some of the significant recommen- dations made by the panel include expanding and clarifying the use of other-transaction authority for produc- tion. Other-transaction authority is the term commonly used to refer to DOD’s authority to carry out “certain prototype, research and production projects” other than contracts. Such authority gives
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