	Background

Section 1423 of the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 directed the  Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy to establish an acquisition  advisory panel to (1) review all federal acquisition laws and regulations  and, to the extent practicable, governmentwide acquisition policies, with a  view toward ensuring effective and appropriate use of commercial  practices, performance-based contracting, the performance of acquisition  functions across agency lines of responsibility, and the use of  governmentwide contracts and (2) make any recommendations for the  modification of laws, regulations, or policies that are considered necessary  to    protect the best interests of the federal government;    ensure the continuing financial and ethical integrity of acquisitions by  the federal government; and    enhance effective, efficient, and fair award and administration of  contracts for the acquisition of goods and services. Our work is generally consistent with the panel recommendations, and we  have issued numerous products that address the importance of a robust  requirements definition process and the need for competition. The panel made recommendations to change the guidance to contracting  officers in awarding contracts to small businesses. All but one of the recommendations requires legislation  for implementation. Our work is generally consistent with the panel findings and  recommendations on the acquisition workforce. Contractors Supporting the Federal Government

The panel reported that, in some cases, contractors are solely or  predominantly responsible for the performance of mission-critical  functions that were traditionally performed by government employees,  such as acquisition program management and procurement, policy  analysis, and quality assurance. Further, the panel noted that this  development has created issues with respect to the proper roles of, and  relationships between, federal employees and contractor employees in the  “blended” workforce. OFPP Plans to Address Most SARA Panel Recommendations

OFPP representatives told us the office agrees with almost all of the 89  panel recommendations and has already acted on some SARA  recommendations, while potential actions are pending on others. Table 1 shows how OFPP expected the 89 recommendations to be  implemented. Panel recommendations directed to Congress include  such potential legislative changes as authorizing the General Services  Administration to establish a new information technology schedule for  professional services and enacting legislation to strengthen the preference  for awarding contracts to small businesses. OFPP has identified 51 recommendations that it plans to address. Conclusions

The SARA Panel, like GAO, has made numerous recommendations to  improve federal government acquisition—from encouraging competition  and adopting commercial practices to improving the accuracy and  usefulness of procurement data. To do this, OFPP will need to work with the  chief acquisition officers and senior procurement officials across all the  federal agencies to lay out a strategy or plan that includes milestones and  reporting requirements that OFPP could use to establish accountability,  exercise oversight, and gauge the progress and results of implementing the  recommendations. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To determine how the Service Acquisition Reform Act (SARA) Acquisition  Advisory Panel recommendations compare to GAO’s past work and  recommendations, we reviewed and analyzed the panel report and related  GAO products. To determine how the panel recommendations will likely be addressed, we  obtained the Office of Federal Procurement Policy’s (OFPP) comments on  each recommendation and how OFPP plans or expects them to be  implemented. As a result, we present the recommendations in  the following categories: (1) legislative action, (2) changes to the FAR, (3)  OFPP actions, and (4) agency actions. Reliability of Federal Procurement Data.
Why GAO Did This Study

A growing portion of federal spending is related to buying services such as administrative, management, and information technology support. Services accounted for about 60 percent of total fiscal year 2006 procurement dollars. The Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA) of 2003 established a Services Acquisition Advisory Panel to make recommendations for improving acquisition practices. In January 2007, the panel proposed 89 recommendations to improve federal acquisition practices. GAO was asked to determine how the panel recommendations compare to GAO's past work and identify how the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) expects the recommendations to be addressed. To do this, GAO analyzed the panel report and compared its findings and recommendations to GAO's past work and recommendations, obtained OFPP's views on how it expected the recommendations to be implemented, and reviewed proposed legislation in Congress to determine if legislative provisions had the potential to address some recommendations.

What GAO Found

The SARA Panel, like GAO, has made numerous recommendations to improve federal government acquisition--from encouraging competition and adopting commercial practices to improving the accuracy and usefulness of procurement data. The recommendations in the SARA Panel report are largely consistent with GAO's past work and recommendations. The panel and GAO have both pointed out: the importance of a robust requirements definition process and the need for competition; the need to establish clear performance requirements, measurable performance standards, and a quality assurance plan to improve the use of performance-based contracting; the risks inherent in the use of interagency contracts due to their rapid growth and their improper management; stresses on the federal acquisition workforce and the need for a strategy to assess these workforce needs; concerns about the role of contractors engaged in acquisition program management and procurement traditionally performed by government employees and the proper roles of federal employees and contractor employees in a "blended" workforce; and the adverse effects of inaccurate and incomplete federal procurement data, such as not providing a sound basis for conducting procurement analyses. The panel also made recommendations that would change the guidance for awarding contracts to small businesses. While GAO's work has addressed some small business policy issues, GAO has not made recommendations that would change the guidance to be used for awarding contracts to small businesses. OFPP representatives told GAO that OFPP agrees with almost all of the panel recommendations and expected that most of the 89 panel recommendations would be implemented through one of the following means: congressional actions; changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation; OFPP actions, such as issuing new or revised policy; and federal agency actions. OFPP has already acted on some SARA recommendations, while other actions are pending or under consideration. Milestones and reporting requirements are in place to help OFPP gauge the implementation status of some recommendations but not for others. Moreover, OFPP does not have a strategy or plan to allow it to exercise oversight and establish accountability for implementing all of the panel recommendations and to gauge their effect on federal acquisitions.