DOD proposes new acquisition rules

By Dawn S. Onley

| February 25, 2004

The Defense Department this week proposed publishing 14 rules in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement that would streamline the acquisition process.

The Defense Department this week proposed publishing 14 rules in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement that would streamline the acquisition process.

The proposals deal with major systems acquisition, including establishing a framework for a new DFARS companion resource and deleting or revising hundreds of pages of obsolete text.

The Office of the Director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy published the 14 proposed rules on Monday. The rules are a part of the ongoing DFARS transformation initiative, where a task force has been established to propose much-needed changes to the supplement to speed up the acquisition process.

The changes are designed to eliminate some of the lengthy procurement rules and policies that bog down the process, officials said. They are also designed to reduce acquisition costs and administrative burdens and fine-tune the clarity of the regulations.

"Our objective is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the acquisition process, creating an environment that allows the acquisition work force greater flexibility in meeting customer mission needs," said Lt. Col. Vincent J. Feck, acting director for operations, Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy.

Under the proposals, a companion resource?Procedures, Guidance and Information?will contain mandatory and nonmandatory internal DOD procedures, guidance and supplemental information.

The proposed rules would:

delete text that is obsolete or duplicative of FAR policy

remove the Trade Agreements Act and the Buy American Act from the list of laws to subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial items, because the government does not apply the restrictions of the acts at the subcontract level

delete obsolete text regarding Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty inspections

consolidate text on reporting violations and suspected violations on certain DFARS requirements

delete text dealing with individual privacy and the Freedom of Information Act; the subject is adequately covered in other DOD publications, the proposal states

delete a standard format previously used for research and development solicitations and contracts; the format has become outdated due to advances in technology and use of the Web.

Over the past year, the task force has proposed changes that would slash more than 500 pages from the 1,400-page DFARS and would revise another 22 percent of the document.

Comments on the proposed rule should be submitted before April 23. The DFARS text for the proposed rules will be available at www.acq.osd.mil/dpap/dfars/changes.htm.

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