Comments on Proposed Amendment to Federal Procurement Regulations

GAO comments were requested on a proposed amendment to the Federal Procurement Regulations which would add a section concerning construction management services. The amendment resulted from a GAO report which recommended that guidance be provided to Federal agencies regarding the use of construction managers and phased construction. GAO recommended that the guidance be directed toward the identification of projects suitable for the use of the techniques and the criteria to be used in selecting construction managers. However, the proposed amendment does not provide the degree of specific guidance which the GAO report indicated was necessary. The proposed amendment fails to establish a clear and uniform framework, and the evaluation criteria for use by construction manager selection boards are general in nature. GAO envisioned the development of regulations which would require agencies to use specific, clearly defined criteria.