Davis preps acquisition reform

New legislation to be introduced by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) in the coming weeks would exempt information technology buys from "buy American" requirements and would again seek to let state and local governments use the General Services Administration's schedule contracts, Davis said.

The Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA), which could be officially unveiled as early as Oct. 25, also would create a preference for performance-based contracts and would add incentives for agencies that use innovative contracting concepts such as share-in-shavings, Davis said. He made his comments during a speech Oct. 23 at the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association's annual Vision Conference in Alexandria, Va.

One of the most controversial parts of the bill, however, would be to re-examine socioeconomic requirements, such as provisions that call for agencies to set aside a certain amount work for disadvantaged businesses. The required dollar thresholds have not been updated since they were created, Davis said. Some have argued that although the thresholds may have been fine when they were instituted, they now need to be adjusted for inflation.

"The thresholds are not in line," Davis said, acknowledging that the provision will be controversial.

Davis said, however, that the most important factor for government procurement is getting the best value for the taxpayers.

The legislation was in the works before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but has been delayed because of the attacks and the anthrax scare that prompted the House of Representatives to close down.

For the past several years, Davis also has been pushing to allow cooperative purchasing, which would let state and local governments use the GSA IT schedule. The provision has largely failed because of non-IT firms — specifically pharmaceutical companies — that were concerned about potential competition. Davis said that SARA will focus on cooperative purchasing for IT contracts only.

Davis is also working on a bill that will cover IT worker pay issues.