Federal Procurements: Comments on Proposed Legislation Affecting Federal Procurements
Abstract
Section 2 of S.1958 contains one of the bill's most important provisions. It would authorize appropriations for the General Services Administration only through fiscal year 1993, thus establishing a requirement for reauthorization of agency appropriations in lieu of the current permanent authorization. We agree that there is a need for increased oversight of GSA on a regular basis. In recent years, Congress has been involved in several individual GSA projects and has kept a watchful eye over some GSA efforts, such as computer procurements and FTS 2000. Congress has not, however, taken as active a role in GSA's overall mission or performance as an agency. A factor hindering sustained attention to GSA is that it does not rely on direct appropriated funds for much of its operations. The majority of GSA's operating funds are generated by charging agencies for goods and services. In fiscal year 1990, direct appropriations accounted for less than 4 percent of the total budget--about $274 million of the $8 billion total. Section 2 of S.1958 is designed to improve legislative oversight. For this to be effective, the focus of periodic reauthorization considerations should be on defining and achieving a number of key agency-wide strategic goals and objectives, irrespective of how the activities involved are funded.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 11, 1992
- Accession Number
- AD1181574
Entities
People
- Milton J. Socolar
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office