Federal Procurement Reform

Executive Order 12931 of October 13, 1994

Federal Procurement Reform

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and in order to ensure effective and efficient
spending of public funds through fundamental reforms in
Government procurement, it is hereby ordered as
follows:

Section 1. To make procurement more effective in
support of mission accomplishment and consistent with
recommendations of the National Performance Review,
heads of executive agencies engaged in the procurement
of supplies and services shall:

    (a) Review agency procurement rules, reporting
requirements, contractual requirements, certification
procedures, and other administrative procedures over
and above those required by statute, and, where
practicable, replace them with guiding principles that
encourage and reward innovation;
    (b) Review existing and planned agency programs to
assure that such programs meet agency mission needs;
    (c) Ensure that procurement organizations focus on
measurable results and on increased attention to
understanding and meeting customer needs;
    (d) Increase the use of commercially available
items where practicable, place more emphasis on past
contractor performance, and promote best value rather
than simply low cost in selecting sources for supplies
and services;
    (e) Ensure that simplified acquisition procedures
are used, to the maximum extent practicable, for
procurements under the simplified acquisition threshold
in order to reduce administrative burdens and more
effectively support the accomplishment of agency
missions;
    (f) Expand the use of the Government purchase card
by the agency and take maximum advantage of the micro-
purchase authority provided in the Federal Acquisition
Streamlining Act of 1994 by delegating the authority,
to the maximum extent practicable, to the offices that
will be using the supplies or services to be purchased;
    (g) Establish clear lines of contracting authority
and accountability;
    (h) Establish career education programs for
procurement professionals, including requirements for
successful completion of educational requirements or
mandatory training for entry level positions and for
promotion to higher level positions, in order to ensure
a highly qualified procurement work force;
    (i) Designate a Procurement Executive with agency-
wide responsibility to oversee development of
procurement goals, guidelines, and innovation, measure
and evaluate procurement office performance against
stated goals, enhance career development of the
procurement work force, and advise the agency heads
whether goals are being achieved; and
    (j) Review existing and planned information
technology acquisitions and contracts to ensure that
the agency receives the best value with regard to price
and technology, and consider alternatives in cases
where best value is not being obtained.

Sec. 2. The Director of the Office of Personnel
Management, in consultation with the heads of executive
agencies, shall ensure that personnel policies and
classification standards meet the needs of executive
agencies for a professional procurement work force.

Sec. 3. The Administrator of the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy, after consultation with the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall
work jointly with the heads of executive agencies to
provide broad policy guidance and overall leadership
necessary to achieve procurement reform, including, but
not limited to:

    (a) Coordinating Government-wide efforts;
    (b) Assisting executive agencies in streamlining
guidance for procurement processes;
    (c) Identifying desirable Government-wide
procurement system criteria; and
    (d) Identifying major inconsistencies in law and
policies relating to procurement that impose
unnecessary burdens on the private sector and Federal
procurement officials, and, following coordination with
executive agencies, submitting necessary legislative
initiatives to the Office of Management and Budget for
the resolution of such inconsistencies.

Sec. 4. Executive Order No. 12352 is revoked.

    (Presidential Sig.)>

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    October 13, 1994.