Congress passes GSA bill
The House has passed the Senate’s version of a bill that creates a single fund for the newly formed Federal Acquisition Service within the General Services Administration.
Information on the GSA modernization act
The House has passed the Senate’s version of a bill that creates a single fund for the General Services Administration’s newly formed Federal Acquisition Service.
Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform Committee and sponsor of the GSA Modernization Act, said this legislation will streamline the agency’s business processes and make its arrangement better mirror the federal marketplace.
The modernization act officially merges the Information Technology Fund and the General Supply Fund into the Acquisition Services Fund. It also blends the Federal Supply Service and the Federal Technology Service into a new Federal Acquisition Service supported by the Acquisition Services Fund.
GSA had already merged the two services internally but needed the legislative authority to blend the General Supply and Information Technology funds.
GSA annually spends more than $30 billion on private-sector products and services that the agency resells to federal agencies.
FTS and FSS each managed their own funds. FTS used the IT Fund to assist agencies in acquiring and managing technology solutions. It also offered information security services to help protect agencies’ data and systems. FSS used the General Supply Fund to buy commercial goods and services.
Davis said that although GSA's construct originally made sense, the business case for separate systems no longer exists. Many GSA customers require a blended delivery model that facilitates end-to-end customer service.
Davis introduced the bill May 4, 2005. The Government Reform Committee held several hearings on the topic.