The General Services Administration (GSA) said today that it is taking action to tighten its Multiple Awards Schedule (MAS) program to prioritize “value and fiscal responsibility” in Federal contracting.
MAS is a government-wide procurement program that streamlines purchasing from pre-approved vendors and exceeded $51.5 billion in sales during fiscal year (FY) 2024.
Changes to the program announced Monday by Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum include:
- Allowing contracts to expire that fail to meet sales thresholds;
- Addressing contractor non-compliance and performance concerns;
- Reducing redundancies with other Federal procurement channels;
- Simplifying processes, eliminating inefficiencies, and ensuring proper alignment of program management and oversight; and
- Eliminating items with insufficient market demand or outweighed high administrative costs.
“With these actions, we can put our agency resources where they get the most impactful return on investment – and that means the goods and services that are most in demand by federal customers,” said Gruenbaum in a statement.
Thousands of commercial vendors are part of MAS and will be impacted by these changes, though it is unclear exactly how many will experience significant impacts.
The move falls in line with the Trump administration’s stated attempts to cut Federal government waste and improve efficiency, which has so far resulted in the firing of thousands of Federal workers and mass reorganization efforts within the Federal government.
“By refocusing the program on the items and services the government is actually buying, we can help our industry partners maximize their time and efforts while providing the best pricing possible for these mission-critical needs,” said Gruenbaum about the MAS changes.
GSA added in its announcement today that FAS is “evaluating all programs under its purview to determine how they can become leaner and more efficient.” The review is intended to eliminate “inefficiencies” and reduce “waste,” according to the agency.
The MAS announcement also comes as GSA makes expected major changes to its Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). GSA’s FedRAMP revamp plan expected to be announced today will be geared toward increasing the pace of authorizations for cloud computing products and services.
The MAS action also follows an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last week that aims to consolidate Federal contracting under the General Services Administration (GSA), including IT contracts.
