H.R. 3763 To Reauthorize the Office of Federal Procurement Policy

H.R. 3763 would reauthorize the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and shift the emphasis for the next 3 years to one of leadership in policy development rather than one of policy direction. The Procurement Commission believes there has been a void in policy leadership and responsibility in the procurement area, and that the OFPP should have directive authority rather than merely advisory authority. The bill would take away from OFPP overall directive authority over procurement policies, regulations, and forms, with the unfortunate result that each agency would be making its own decisions with respect to overall procurement policy. One way to mitigate this loss of directive authority is to require that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget concur in all directives issued by OFPP. Positive aspects of the bill include: development of a professional workforce in Federal procurement and making the Federal Acquisition Institute an integral part of OFPP; encouragement to conduct more research in improvement of procurement practices by the Institute; assurance of funding for the Institute; and elevation to a statutory level the OFPP role in taking action on the recommendations of the Procurement Commission. More action needs to be taken on the 149 recommendations made 6 years ago by the Commission. The Commission suggests that H.R. 3763 should: clearly indicate the meaning of the terms "uniform procurement system" and "management system" in relation to the OFPP main objectives; require more comprehensive reporting by OFPP to Congress on the recommendations of the Commission; and establish the role of the General Services Administration in the management system.