Williams completes FAS review

With his third month as the new commissioner of the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service coming to an end, Jim Williams is ready to propose a handful of changes for his division.Williams, who was named to his post in June, said Friday morning that he is meeting with GSA administrator Lurita Doan today to discuss his . Doan, he said, will make the final call whether the changes should be implemented.While he would not disclose his immediate plans, Williams said after a breakfast briefing sponsored by market research firm FedSources Inc. of McLean, Va., that although he will not propose wholesale changes, he is leaving no stone unturned.“There is not a single part that doesn’t need improvement,” Williams said. In particular, Williams said he wanted to make sure the authorities were in place so FAS can be an effective and critical division within GSA.“I did look at the ingredients I need to do my job,” he said. “Do I have everything I need? I think I need certain authorities to make FAS a success.”As part of his analysis, Williams said he met with FAS and regional leaders last week in Baltimore to discuss the proposed changes. During the meeting, the officials signed an agreement to work together to implement whatever final changes are imposed.Meanwhile, Williams said he is also working with Defense Department officials to ensure that as GSA’s largest customer, DOD continues working with the agency. Despite a recent DOD inspector general that found fault with how DOD acquires services with GSA, Williams said the two agencies understand how important their relationship is to their missions.“With [GSA] left today, DOD would have a hard time meeting its mission,” Williams said. “If DOD went away from us, we’d have a hard time” as well.