Davis Presents Emergency Procurement Legislation

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., introduced Dec. 6 emergency procurement reform legislation that would simplify procurement procedures for items used in humanitarian, peacekeeping and counter-terrorism efforts.The Federal Emergency Procurement Flexibility Act of 2001, H.R. 3426, is co-sponsored by Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa. It mirrors legislation introduced by Sens. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., ranking member of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and John Warner, R-Va., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee."The federal government needs to respond quickly to the new wartime situation we find ourselves in, and this bill will allow us to act with the speed and efficiency that the war on terrorism requires," said Weldon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee subcommittee on procurement.The legislation would:*Allow for greater use of simplified acquisition procedures for contracts awarded in support of humanitarian or peacekeeping operations;*Raise from $2,500 to $25,000 the amount for which agency officials can use commercial purchase cards for goods and services to defend against terrorism and biological and chemical attacks;*Reclassify goods and services purchased in fiscal 2002 and 2003 to fight terrorism as "commercial" items, allowing for simpler, faster contracting procedures;*Permit agencies involved with homeland security, not just the Department of Defense, to use approaches other than contracts to buy research and development and prototypes for new technologies to fight terrorism."These urgently needed procurement changes will give federal agencies the flexibility they need to quickly acquire the cutting-edge technologies that are vital to our war against terrorism," Davis said. "Our greatest enemy in this fight may be the amount of time it now takes to buy the tools we often need at a moment's notice."Davis said he hopes the legislation will be passed before the end of the year.