OMB is to designate GSA as the executive agent for all government-wide acquisition contracts for IT. Image: Rena Schild/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffAn executive order requires consolidating in the GSA the procurement of “common goods and services” by non-defense agencies, saying that “will eliminate waste and duplication, while enabling agencies to focus on their core mission of delivering the best possible services for the American people.”
Agencies are to submit to the GSA within 60 days, and GSA is to submit to OMB within 30 days after that, “a comprehensive plan to procure common goods and services across the domestic components of the government.”
OMB further is to designate GSA as “the executive agent for all government-wide acquisition contracts for information technology,” although the GSA may leave such contracts in the hands of individual agencies “when necessary to ensure continuity of service or as otherwise appropriate.”
On an ongoing basis, GSA also is to “rationalize government-wide indefinite delivery contract vehicles for information technology for agencies across the government, including as part of identifying and eliminating contract duplication, redundancy, and other inefficiencies.”
Says a White House fact sheet, “For too long, agencies have independently purchased office productivity software, leading to numerous challenges and inefficiencies, including pricing inconsistencies . . . Agencies buy a wide range of common goods like band saw blades and televisions, which could be centralized in GSA and result in major savings for the American taxpayer.”
It also says agencies buy services such as those to prevent and respond to data breaches “in a decentralized manner, leading to inconsistent pricing and underutilization of volume-based discounts.” Similarly, it says, while centralized procurement of computers through GSA has produced an average saving of 38 percent over the last 10 years, “not every agency has taken advantage of the program to reduce their costs.”
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