Procurement Reform: Comments on Proposed Acquisition Improvement Act of 1993

GAO discussed the proposed Federal Acquisition Improvement Act of 1993. GAO noted that the bill would: (1) enact a clear preference for the acquisition of commercial items; (2) revise a number of statutory provisions governing civilian agency procurements; (3) provide for more meaningful disclosure of evaluation factors and weights, especially with respect to price and cost to the government; (4) clarify the authority of the General Services Board of Contract Appeals to dismiss protests brought in bad faith, provide authority to assess costs in certain circumstances, and require the General Services Administration (GSA) to compile data from federal agencies regarding the procurement of automatic data processing equipment; (5) revise provisions of the Competition in Contracting Act dealing with protest costs; (6) direct amendment of the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require agencies to provide a requested debriefing to any disappointed offeror when a contract is awarded on a basis other then price alone; (7) provide for an increase in the small purchase threshold; (8) provide for a test program to be administered by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy; and (9) authorize appropriations for GSA through fiscal year 1996, establishing a requirement for reauthorization of agency appropriations in lieu of the current permanent authorization.