GSA to review purchasing guidelines for IT services

Updated rules guiding the purchase of information technology services off Federal Supply Service contracts are on the drawing board after a General Accounting Office report found that some Department of Defense contracting officers were spending millions of dollars without a clear understanding of the current guidelines. GAO's report, "Contract Management: Not Following Procedures Undermines Best Pricing Under GSA's Schedule" (GAO-01-125) examined four Defense Department contracting offices and the methods they used to purchase IT services during fiscal year 1999. A GAO review of 22 IT service purchases totaling $112.7 million found that 17 of the transactions did not comply with Federal Acquisition Regulation rules requiring competitive bids. Though GSA issued rules for service purchases in 1998, GAO found that contracting officers did not know about the provision. "The key reason that established procedures were not followed is that many contracting officers were not even aware of GSA's requirement to seek competitive quotes," the report said. "The Federal Acquisition Regulation does not indicate that special procedures should be used to order certain types of services, and does not describe those procedures and when they should be used." Carolyn Alton, FSS' assistant commissioner for acquisition, responded to GAO's findings, noting that the FAR should be updated to include services in its language. Alton said the agency would increase its outreach efforts to inform contracting officers of the rules for buying IT services. Kenneth Oscar, acting deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, agreed with GAO's findings and said a rule change was being drafted and a proposed rule would be forthcoming.