The procurer

Unless you are a government contractor, you can go through life without giving a moment's thought to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. This small part of the Office of Management and Budget oversees the government's procurement of more than $200 billion worth of products and services each year. President Bush has yet to name an administrator to head the office, but whoever gets the job may be thrust into several high-stakes controversies, including oversight of faith-based-initiative and affirmative action contracts.

Under President Clinton, the office was used to streamline government procurement practices, and it successfully reduced red tape and cut costs, say industry officials. Now, groups such as the Information Technology Association of America want Bush's OFPP to continue to improve along those lines, said Harris Miller, the association's president. To that end, the association has given its support to one of several applicants for the office, Miller said. He declined to name any of the applicants but said they have experience in both government and industry. "We care a lot" about the OFPP, he said. "It has a lot of impact."

But the Bush Administration may have its own focus. John DiIulio, who directs Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, says the government needs to develop new yardsticks to measure the performance of faith-based service providers, who will bid for contracts overseen by OFPP. The new yardsticks should measure outcomes, he said, such as how long a faith-based organization's clients stay off drugs. Any proposed yardsticks are bound to spur criticism from opponents of the faith-based-initiatives program.

Bush's OFPP will also have to deal with some Clinton Administration legacies, specifically its "blacklisting" policy. Under this regulation, issued on Dec. 20, government contract officers were encouraged to examine bidders' compliance with a wide range of federal laws, including civil rights, antitrust, and tax laws. Industry officials fear the new regulation gives government agencies more power to penalize them for real or alleged violations, even if their contract bids are judged to offer the most value to government buyers. On Feb. 2, the General Services Administration issued a memo saying the rule should be voluntarily lifted for six months, and sparked protests from three Democratic Senators.

Also, if the Bush White House decides to reform affirmative action programs -- or even if it merely decides to leave Clinton-era policies intact -- the OFPP will find itself at the center of subsequent disputes because it is responsible for the details of contract policies that steer more than $5 billion per year to minority-owned firms through the Small Business Administration's 8(a) and Small Disadvantaged Business Certification programs. Return to main story