GSA official urges passage of cooperative purchasing bill for security

A top executive with the General Services Administration urged Congress on Tuesday to pass a bill that would allow state and local governments to buy security products and services off federal contracts.

Comment on this article in The Forum.Jim Williams, commissioner of GSA's Federal Acquisition Service, said the contracts, offered on Schedule 84, provide commercial information and physical security solutions, such as biometrics and cameras. Agencies buying the security products and services include those involved in law enforcement, fire, rescue, marine craft, and emergency and disaster response. Sales on Schedule 84, which was awarded in 2002 and had a five-year extension in 2007, have reached $1.8 billion so far in fiscal 2008.

"We look forward to the Schedule 84 extension passing quickly," Williams told an audience at the Security Industry Association's 2008 Government Summit. "State and local governments have the same security requirements [as the federal agencies], have the same need to save money and are also dealing with a scarcity in acquisition expertise. Why would you say no to this?"

The Local Preparedness Acquisition Act (H.R. 3179), introduced by Rep. Edolphus Towns, D, N.Y., authorizes state and local governments to buy security products and services off the federal supply schedules. The bill was introduced on July 25, 2007, and the House passed it on Dec. 17. The Senate is considering the bill.

Williams said he personally would like to open all GSA vehicles to awardees of federal grants as well. He said federal grant winners and state and local governments share the same needs and desire to save money by leveraging GSA's contract vehicles. Williams said the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 government identification program was placed on Schedule 70 largely because cooperative purchasing was already in place for that program.

The practice of allowing state and local governments to purchase products and services off the schedules is called cooperative purchasing and currently is allowed only for information technology products on GSA's Schedule 70 IT contract. Former GSA administrator Lurita A. Doan and Rep. Henry Waxman, D, Calif., said at last year's SIA government summit that they supported expanding cooperative purchasing, because it could save money.