Davis asks GAO to review SARA panel report

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) asked the Government Accountability Office to review the Acquisition Advisory Panel's report on reforms to government procurement regulations two months ago, according to a letter from Davis.Davis, who wrote the letter when he was still chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, requested that GAO consider whether the recommendations should be adopted. He also asked the office to assess whether they will improve the federal acquisition system, protect the government’s best interest and ensure the financial and ethical integrity of the government’s acquisitions, the letter states.“To assess the merits of the various recommendations, it is important to hear the views of all of the various stakeholders in the acquisition process,” Davis wrote. GAO is one of those stakeholders.The Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003, which created the panel, was passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004. It directed the administrator for federal procurement policy to establish an advisory panel to review acquisition laws and regulations.The panel looked at commercial practices, performance-based contracting, interagency contracts and governmentwide contracts. The legislation also mandated that the panel recommend improvements of laws, regulations and policies.The panel released its draft report last month. A final version of the report will be available by Jan. 20.The report drew mixed reviews from the federal contracting community. No one knows yet whether the recommendations will produce procurement changes.