Federal Acquisition Regulation

Federal Acquisition Regulation
United States federal government · Public domain · source
Name	Federal Acquisition Regulation
Jurisdiction	United States
Enacted by	United States Congress
Status	In force

Contents

Federal Acquisition Regulation

The Federal Acquisition Regulation provides the primary set of rules and procedures governing procurement by the executive branch of the United States federal executive departments and agencies. It coordinates policy issued by the Office of Management and Budget, Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration to standardize contracting practices across the Department of the Treasury, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, and other civilian and defense agencies. The Regulation interfaces with statutes such as the Competition in Contracting Act, Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, and budget authorities like the Antideficiency Act while affecting procurement decisions at agencies engaged in programs like Medicare, Social Security, NASA Artemis program, and Department of Defense procurement.

Overview

The Regulation is organized into parts that delineate policies for solicitation, evaluation, contract formation, and contract administration across agencies such as the General Services Administration and Defense Logistics Agency. It incorporates clauses and provisions that reference statutes like the Buy American Act, Service Contract Act, Small Business Act, and standards set by bodies including the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Cost Accounting Standards Board. Oversight mechanisms reference offices including the Inspector General of agencies, the Department of Justice, the Office of Special Counsel, and congressional committees such as the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Core principles emphasize full and open competition guided by the Competition in Contracting Act, integrity enforced through the False Claims Act and Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, and socioeconomic policies derived from the Small Business Administration and programs like the 8(a) Business Development Program and Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program. Policy areas include cost principles tied to the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, contract financing shaped by the Office of Management and Budget, and ethics governed by the Office of Government Ethics and cases adjudicated by the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals and Defense Contract Audit Agency. Compliance expectations reflect reporting to the Congressional Budget Office and alignment with international agreements like the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement.

Procedures prescribe solicitation methods such as sealed bidding and competitive procedures under the Competition in Contracting Act, negotiated procurements overseen by the Defense Contract Management Agency, and simplified acquisition procedures for micropurchases tied to the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994. Contract types include fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, time-and-materials, and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity vehicles used by NASA, the United States Postal Service, and defense prime contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon Technologies, and BAE Systems. Source selection processes reference evaluative techniques seen in major procurements like the F-35 Lightning II program and civilian IT competitions involving firms such as IBM, Microsoft, Amazon (company), Google, and Oracle Corporation.

Administration of contracts involves performance monitoring by entities like the Defense Contract Audit Agency, claim resolution through the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals and the United States Court of Federal Claims, and investigations by the Department of Justice and agency Inspectors General. Enforcement tools include suspension and debarment processes managed by the General Services Administration, remedial actions under the False Claims Act, and administrative remedies guided by executive orders from President of the United States and policy memoranda from the Office of Management and Budget. Audit and oversight bodies such as the Government Accountability Office, Congressional Research Service, and Pandora Papers-style inquiries inform reforms and transparency measures.

Origins trace to procurement laws enacted in the early 20th century, including the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, with major reforms emerging from events such as the Watergate scandal-era reforms, the Nixon administration procurement changes, and legislative milestones like the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 and Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994. Subsequent modernization has been driven by crises and programs including the September 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and defense acquisition lessons from the Gulf War and the Iraq War. Contemporary evolution reflects digitization initiatives tied to sequestration policies, the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, cloud computing security standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and procurement modernization efforts led by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Federal Acquisition Institute.