Comments on Proposed Federal Acquisition Regulations

GAO was asked to comment on proposed sections to the Federal Acquisition Regulations. GAO had no objection to the proposed sections dealing with equal employment opportunity and acquisition plans. However, the proposed regulation placing the primary responsibility for major system acquisition with the head of an agency does not permit agency heads to delegate the following four key decisions: (1) authorization to begin a major program; (2) approval to advance selected major system concepts to the demonstration phase; (3) approval to advance selected major system concepts to full-scale production and limited production; and (4) commitment of a selected system to production. Under the proposed regulation, the Secretary of Defense would not be permitted to delegate authority to make key decisions to the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. While the proposed regulation is consistent with Office of Management and Budget Circular A-109, upon which it is based, the role of agency heads and heads of agency components in major system acquisition should be clarified.