Ensuring Commercial, Cost-Effective Solutions in Federal Contracts

Executive Order 14271 of April 15, 2025

Ensuring Commercial, Cost-Effective Solutions in
Federal Contracts

By the authority vested in me as President, by the
Constitution and laws of the United States of America,
it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose. A major goal of my Administration
is to eliminate unnecessary and imprudent expenditures
of taxpayer dollars. Previous administrations evaded
statutory preferences and abused the Federal
contracting framework by procuring custom products and
services where a suitable or superior commercial
solution would have fulfilled the Government's needs.
Doing so simultaneously stifled the integration of
commercially available innovations in Government
procurement while increasing Government spending,
resulting in avoidable waste and costly delays to the
detriment of American taxpayers. My Administration will
enforce existing laws directing the Federal Government
to utilize, to the maximum extent practicable, the
competitive marketplace and the innovations of private
enterprise to provide better, more cost-effective
services to taxpayers.

Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of my Administration
that agencies shall procure commercially available
products and services, including those that can be
modified to fill agencies' needs, to the maximum extent
practicable, including pursuant to the Federal
Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-
355, as amended) (FASA).

Sec. 3. Definitions. For purposes of this order:

    (a) “Agency” means an executive department, a
military department, or any independent establishment
within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 101, 102, and 104(1),
respectively, and any wholly owned Government
corporation within the meaning of 31 U.S.C. 9101(c).
    (b) “Approval authority” means the senior
procurement executive, designated pursuant to 41 U.S.C.
1702(c), who is responsible for management direction of
the acquisition system of an agency, including
implementation of the unique acquisition policies,
regulations, and standards of the agency.
    (c) “Contracting officer” has the meaning given
in 48 C.F.R. 2.101.

Sec. 4. Review of Pending Actions. (a) Within 60 days
of the date of this order, each agency's approval
authority shall direct the agency's contracting
officers to conduct a review of all open agency
solicitations, pre-solicitation notices, solicitation
notices, award notices, and sole source notices for
non-commercial products or services, such as highly
specialized, Government-unique systems, custom-
developed products or services, or research and
development requirements where the agency has not
identified a satisfactory commercial option. Each
contracting officer shall consolidate each such agency
solicitation, pre-solicitation notice, solicitation
notice, award notice, and sole source notice into a
proposed application requesting approval for the
purchase of the non-commercial products or services,
which shall be submitted to the agency's approval
authority. The proposed applications shall contain the
market research and price analysis used to determine
the availability of commercial products and services to
meet the Government's needs and to justify the
procurement of a non-commercial product or service, as
required by 41 U.S.C. 3307(d) and 10 U.S.C. 3453(c) and
3453(d), as applicable, and the rationale for pursuing
a Government-unique, custom-developed or otherwise non-
commercial product or service.

    (b) Within 30 days of the date of the receipt of
the proposed applications for solicitation of non-
commercial products or services under subsection (a) of
this section, each approval authority shall:

(i) assess each proposed application's compliance with FASA, including the
sufficiency of the market research and price analysis provided in support
of the procurement of non-commercial products or services, and take
appropriate action with respect to any deficiencies in the proposed
application, including returning the application or any portion of the
application to the contracting officer for additional research or action
with respect to potential commercial products or services; and

(ii) make appropriate recommendations to advance the solicitation of
commercial products or services where those products or services would be
sufficient to serve the applicable procurement needs.

(c) Within 120 days of the date of this order and
annually thereafter, each agency's approval authority
shall provide a report to the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) detailing the agency's
compliance with FASA and its progress toward
implementing the policies of this order.

Sec. 5. Oversight of Non-Commercial Procurements. (a)
Whenever an agency proposes to solicit a non-commercial
product or service, the applicable contracting officer
shall provide the agency's approval authority with a
description of the proposed procurement, which shall
include the specific reasons a non-commercial product
or service is required, including all market research
and price analysis in support of the proposed
solicitation for such product or service. The approval
authority shall review and approve or deny the proposal
in writing.

    (b) In conducting the review under subsection (a)
of this section, the approval authority may seek input
regarding the proposal from the Director of OMB. In
such cases, the Director of OMB, in consultation with
the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, shall
review and assess the validity of the proposal,
including the thoroughness of the market research and
price analysis, and shall notify the approval authority
in writing whether the Director of OMB recommends that
the proposal be approved or denied.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.

    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    April 15, 2025.