ADP Procurement: Warner Amendment has not Reduced Defense's Acquisition Time
Abstract
The Warner Amendment exempts certain Defense procurements of ADP resources from the provisions of the Brooks Act. The objectives of the Brooks Act are the economic and efficient procurement and use of ADP resources for the federal government. The act gave sole authority for ADP procurements to the Administrator of General Services. The Administrator may procure the resources for an agency or delegate his procurement authority to the agency. The Warner Amendment exempts Defense from the Brooks Act when the acquired ADP resources are to be used for intelligence, cryptology, command and control, or for equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system, or that is critical to and indirect support of military or intelligence missions. The amendment was enacted to enable Defense to streamline its acquisition process and reduce the time required to procure ADP resources for critical missions. Defense implementation of the amendment has undergone several changes and, in efforts to translate the provisions of the amendment into specifically exempt ADP systems, Defense officials have taken an expansive view of the coverage of the law. The House Appropriations Committee became dissatisfied with the lack of high-level review of Warner Amendment system acquisitions, and it directed that general purpose ADP systems be reviewed by the Major Automated Information System Review Council.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- AD1167566
Entities
People
- Charles Arthur Bowsher
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office