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Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994

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Citation[]

Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (FASA), Pub. L. No. 103-355 (Oct. 13, 1994) (full-text).

Overview[]

The FASA amended provisions enacted by the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 and other Federal procurement law. It simplified and streamlined the Federal procurement process. The Act repealed or substantially modified more than 225 provisions of law to reduce paperwork burdens, facilitate the acquisition of commercial products, enhance the use of simplified procedures for small purchases, transform the acquisition process to electronic commerce, and improve the efficiency of the laws governing the procurement of goods and services.

FASA made the following, important changes:

  • Requiring cost, performance, and schedule goals for major acquisition programs.
  • Establishing a preference for awarding multiple task- or delivery-order contracts for the same or similar need and providing a fair opportunity (competitive) process for issuing orders against such contracts.
  • Establishing specific requirements for debriefing, including timing and content.
  • Refining the statutory rules for source selection evaluation, including that cost or price must be considered, and that factors and subfactors be identified and their relative importance revealed.
  • Establishing a statutory basis that “encourage[s] the consideration of the offerors’ past performance in the selection of contractors.”
  • Changing the requirements for publicizing certain acquisitions to provide for notice by electronic means (in lieu of Commerce Business Daily announcements).
  • Authorizing OFPP, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Defense to test alternative and innovative acquisition practices.
  • Defining and establishing a statutory preference for commercial item acquisition.
  • Implementing a system for electronic data interchange, the Federal Acquisition Computer Network (FACNET). The FACNET requires the government acquisition process to evolve from the traditional paper-based mode to an expedited data-based mode. The Act establishes parameters for FACNET along functional lines, both for government and private users. These functions are to be implemented by agencies within 5 years of FASA's enactment. The government-wide FACNET will be designed to:

The effect of FASA was the growth of streamlined acquisition alternatives in agencies, including GSA’s multiple award schedule program and agencies’ GWACs.

Sources[]

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