Federal procurement reforms

This 1982 executive order directs federal agencies to reform procurement practices by reducing administrative burdens, strengthening competition, simplifying small purchases, ensuring timely contractor payments, and creating professional procurement workforces. It mandates completion of a unified Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) by year-end 1982 and assigns coordination roles to OMB, OPM, and the Defense/GSA/NASA triumvirate.

47 FR 12125

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Impact dates

Dec 31, 1982
Secretary of Defense, GSA Administrator, and NASA Administrator to consolidate common procurement regulations into single simplified Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Key directives

Establish programs to reduce administrative costs and burdens in procurement
Simplify small purchases and minimize paperwork on small businesses
Ensure timely payment to contractors, especially small businesses
Designate agency-wide Procurement Executive with oversight and certification authority
Consolidate common procurement regulations into single Federal Acquisition Regulation by end of calendar year 1982
Develop career management programs for professional procurement workforce
Establish criteria to enhance competition and limit noncompetitive actions
OMB to review agency implementation and keep President informed

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

Agency heads must establish procurement reform programs and designate Procurement Executives
OMB/OFPF to begin providing policy guidance and reviewing agency implementation

Near term (90d)

Agencies to develop programs reducing paperwork, simplifying small purchases, establishing competition criteria, and creating career management programs
OPM to ensure personnel policies meet procurement workforce needs

Long term

Consolidation of defense, GSA, and NASA procurement regulations into single Federal Acquisition Regulation
Ongoing OMB review of agency implementation and legislative recommendations for inconsistent procurement laws

Risks & tensions

Year-end 1982 deadline for FAR consolidation was extremely ambitious given scope of interagency regulatory unification
Vague 'as appropriate' and 'where practical' language in Sections 1(a) and 1(d) leaves substantial discretion to agencies, potentially weakening implementation
No enforcement mechanism specified for non-compliance with reporting or certification requirements
Potential tension between streamlining regulations and maintaining accountability safeguards
Small business focus appears throughout but without specific numerical targets or set-asides