Ensuring Commercial, Cost-effective Solutions In Federal Contracts

Objective: Eliminate unnecessary taxpayer expenditures and improve government procurement practices.

Key Issues Identified:

• Previous administrations favored custom products over commercially available solutions, leading to increased spending and delays.
• A lack of integration of commercial innovations in government procurement.

Policy Directive:

• Agencies are required to use commercially available products and services whenever possible, in line with the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (FASA).

Definitions:

• Agency: Includes executive departments, military departments, independent establishments, and wholly owned government corporations.
• Approval authority: Senior procurement executive responsible for acquisition management.
• Contracting officer: Defined in federal regulations.

Agency Responsibilities:

• 60-day Requirement: Review all existing solicitations for non-commercial products/services and consolidate findings for approval.

  • Must include market research and price analysis justifying the need for non-commercial products/services.

• 30-day Assessment: Approval authority must evaluate compliance with FASA and recommend alternatives when deficiencies are found.

• 120-day Reporting: Agencies must report annually to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on compliance with FASA and implementation progress.

Proposal Process:

• For non-commercial products/services solicitations, contracting officers must submit a detailed proposal to the approval authority.

  • The proposal must include market research and price analysis.

• The approval authority can seek input from the Director of OMB on the proposal validity.

Implementation Notes:

• The order does not limit the authority of executive departments or the functions of the OMB.
• Implementation is subject to existing laws and appropriations.
• The order does not create enforceable rights for individuals against the U.S. government or its entities.