Waxman Raps GSA Advisory Panel

Despite the problems with GSA’s Multiple Awards Schedule vehicles, some in Washington think that an advisory panel might not be the best way to fix them.

Former GSA Administrator Lurita Doan convened the panel in March to look at how GSA could make it easier for companies attempting to do business with the government via the schedules. Companies had expressed increasing frustration with the myriad rules and pricing regulations associated with the contracts.

However, over four meetings from May and June, only one customer agency, the Justice Department, showed up to express its views. Panel members have since invited more agencies to speak, but there is not much indication that interest has grown.

Thursday, though, House Oversight Committee Henry Waxman, D-Cali., sent a letter to acting GSA Administrator David Bibb, questioning whether the panel is “a wise use of taxpayer’s money.” Waxman’s query was based on the indication that no one in the agency aside from Doan and no vendors had expressed the need for such a panel.

The panel last met on July 21. Its next scheduled meeting will be on Aug. 18. Only time will tell if that meeting will come to pass, or if Bibb will heed Waxman’s advice and simply let the panel wither away.