DHS plans IT center

The Homeland Security Department will open an IT acquisitions center next year as part of an effort to improve its disjointed procurement program, DHS' chief procurement officer said this month at a Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Vienna, Va.

The center will be part of the department's Office of Procurement Operations and will be the "central buying command for DHS," said Greg Rothwell. It will handle large IT purchases and centralize the management of contract vehicles.

DHS comprises 22 agencies with eight separate procurement offices.

Rothwell created the Office of Procurement Operations, the last of the eight offices, in August 2003. This unit manages and fulfills $2.2 billion in procurement requests for the 35 offices created by the Homeland Security Act.