Executive Order 12931—Federal Procurement Reform

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to ensure effective and efficient spending of public funds through fundamental reforms in Government procurement, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. To make procurement more effective in support of mission accomplishment and consistent with recommendations of the National Performance Review, heads of executive agencies engaged in the procurement of supplies and services shall: (a) Review agency procurement rules, reporting requirements, contractual requirements, certification procedures, and other administrative procedures over and above those required by statute, and, where practicable, replace them with guiding principles that encourage and reward innovation; (b) Review existing and planned agency programs to assure that such programs meet agency mission needs; (c) Ensure that procurement organizations focus on measurable results and on increased attention to understanding and meeting customer needs; (d) Increase the use of commercially available items where practicable, place more emphasis on past contractor performance, and promote best value rather than simply low cost in selecting sources for supplies and services; (e) Ensure that simplified acquisition procedures are used, to the maximum extent practicable, for procurements under the simplified acquisition threshold in order to reduce administrative burdens and more effectively support the accomplishment of agency missions; (f) Expand the use of the Government purchase card by the agency and take maximum advantage of the micro-purchase authority provided in the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 by delegating the authority, to the maximum extent practicable, to the offices that will be using the supplies or services to be purchased; (g) Establish clear lines of contracting authority and accountability; (h) Establish career education programs for procurement professionals, including requirements for successful completion of educational requirements or mandatory training for entry level positions and for promotion to higher level positions, in order to ensure a highly qualified procurement work force; (i) Designate a Procurement Executive with agency-wide responsibility to oversee development of procurement goals, guidelines, and innovation, measure and evaluate procurement office performance against stated goals, enhance career development of the procurement work force, and advise the agency heads whether goals are being achieved; and (j) Review existing and planned information technology acquisitions and contracts to ensure that the agency receives the best value with regard to price and technology, and consider alternatives in cases where best value is not being obtained. Sec. 2. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the heads of executive agencies, shall ensure that personnel policies and classification standards meet the needs of executive agencies for a professional procurement work force. Sec. 3. The Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, after consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall work jointly with the heads of executive agencies to provide broad policy guidance and overall leadership necessary to achieve procurement reform, including, but not limited to: (a) Coordinating Government-wide efforts; (b) Assisting executive agencies in streamlining guidance for procurement processes; (c) Identifying desirable Government-wide procurement system criteria; and (d) Identifying major inconsistencies in law and policies relating to procurement that impose unnecessary burdens on the private sector and Federal procurement officials, and, following coordination with executive agencies, submitting necessary legislative initiatives to the Office of Management and Budget for the resolution of such inconsistencies. Sec. 4. Executive Order No. 12352 is revoked. William J. Clinton The White House, October 13, 1994. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:48 p.m., October 13, 1994]