White House to rewrite rules for acquisitions of supplies, services

The White House will rewrite regulations executive agencies use to acquire supplies and services.

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy, which is within the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, will review and revise the Federal Acquisition Regulation, according to an announcement. A group called the FAR Council, led by the procurement policy office, will rewrite the regulations “in plain English,” eliminate non-statutory and duplicative rules, add buyer guides to replace taxing and outdated requirements and remove “DEI and wokeness,” the White House said.

Dubbing the revision a “Revolutionary FAR Overhaul,” the White House said it will ensure a faster acquisition cycle, lower barriers to entry for small businesses, startups and other entities and eliminate “wasteful bureaucratic bloat.”

“This overhaul will reduce more than 40 years of bureaucratic buildup that will unleash our procurement system with generational change and results,” Senior Adviser Kevin Rhodes of OMB said in a news release. “We are Making America Great Again.

President Donald Trump’s accompanying executive order directed the OFPP administrator to amend the FAR within 180 days. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., ranking member of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called the revision “rushed.”

“A focus driven primarily by timelines and the president’s desire to cut regulations based on arbitrary metrics reflects a flawed process driven by appearances rather than thoughtful outcomes,” Connolly said. He suggested the Trump administration engage stakeholders and the public in a “meaningful” and “transparent” way.

“To achieve real, effective reform, the process must include formal rulemaking and public comment periods, giving all affected communities and stakeholders the opportunity to provide valuable input,” Connolly said. “Without this input, the administration’s approach could stifle innovation, limit small business participation in federal procurement, reduce contracting with minority-owned businesses, and ultimately reduce competition and efficiency.”

The Federal Acquisition Regulation, issued jointly by the Department of Defense, General Services Administration and NASA, contains standard solicitation provisions and contract clauses. It has a stated purpose of codifying and publishing uniform policies and procedures for acquisition by all executive agencies.

The regulations have been updated since they became effective in 1984, five years after OFPP was directed to issue policies for the implementation of a uniform procurement system.

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at [e-mail].