Reforms in Federal Procurement: The GAO Perspective

GAO has been monitoring the development of the Uniform Procurement System. The system deals with revisions to modify, eliminate, and simplify procurement laws and regulations. GAO strongly endorses a modern statutory basis for the system, which will form the foundation for the new simplified regulation. The plan provides a blueprint for improving organization and management systems by enhancing accountability and control over the procurement process. GAO approves the strong oversight role prescribed for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). The plan proposes to foster increased competition and to encourage innovations in satisfying the Government's needs for goods and services. Traditional concepts of competitive procurement need to stress greater use of market research and flexible specifications. Formal advertising and free competition should not be abandoned without assurances that the Government not only has enlightened business practices, but also adequate controls to assure fairness to qualified suppliers desiring to compete for contracts. Possibly the most important part of the plan is a set of proposed steps for developing a high quality workforce. GAO approves the proposal for giving OFPP responsibility for fostering and promoting workforce development programs and making each agency procurement executive responsible for adequate training, certification, and career development within his agency. Proposed initiatives in management have high potential for improving the efficiency of Defense procurement practices while reducing the cost of weapons. Steps to assure the implementation of the acquisition process management improvements may be the most important of these initiatives. Additionally, GAO supports the initiative to encourage multiyear contracting for major weapon systems when based on a case-by-case benefit/risk analysis, and it supports the Department of Defense effort to implement preplanned product improvement as a means of lowering weapon system technological risks. In the past, the Secretary of Defense has maintained oversight of major programs by reviewing progress at four key program transition points. Decisions involving major defense expenditures should be approved both before initiation of the program and when the commitment to production is made. A major problem has been the lack of consistent and sufficient funding to phase out a weapon system program as planned.