Saturday, March 13, 2010
In its first year, the Obama contracting and procurement reform agenda has been heavy on executive orders and memos to “rein in” contractors. These were largely in response to campaign commitments and led to a flurry of activity in agencies. But now...

In its first year, the Obama contracting and procurement reform agenda has been heavy on executive orders and memos to “rein in” contractors. These were largely in response to campaign commitments and led to a flurry of activity in agencies.

But now the new administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Dan Gordon, has been in office for 100 days. Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller, reports that Gordon told the Coalition for Government Procurement that they shouldn’t expect large-scale statutory or regulatory changes to the procurement system, but that he identified three priorities he plans to emphasize:

  • Reviewing whether there are too many multiple awards schedules.
  • Revamping the definition of functions considered inherently governmental.
  • Increasing the use of strategic sourcing by agencies, where agencies band together to use their purchasing power to buy commodities – such as paper, copiers, and printers -- at a discount.