The General Services Administration (GSA) has released new details on its overhaul of Federal purchasing policies that aims to streamline and consolidate government procurement activities.
The Tuesday announcement follows an executive order from President Donald Trump in April to overhaul the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to “create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible.” The order says that FAR had become “an excessive and overcomplicated regulatory framework.”
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) new “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Page” (RFO) says the effort will modernize FAR by eliminating what the agency has said are non-statutory and duplicative regulations, rules related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and “wokeness,” and other “burdensome requirements.”
“This is about permanent change in how the government partners with the private sector to accelerate innovation and promote competition,” said GSA Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian in a statement. “We’re cutting the outdated red tape and focusing on value for American taxpayers.”
The FAR Council will begin immediately providing streamlined versions of the FAR for agencies to use, GSA said.
Other resources available under the initiative include “buying guides” which GSA said will serve as category-specific guidelines for making purchasing decisions in technology, infrastructure and national defense, developed with feedback from the acquisition workforce.
The first guide made available will focus on Software as a Service (SaaS), the agency said, adding that there are “more to follow.”
GSA added the RFO initiative is open for public comment, and that feedback will “help shape formal rule changes and ensure the final systems works in practice – not just on paper.”
“Stakeholders across industry and government alike will see how we are reducing bureaucracy to accelerate procurement, reduce costs, and increase competition,” said OMB Senior Advisor Kevin Rhodes in a statement.