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GAO-04-447R 1 (2004-03-31)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptapyd0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G ~GAO Accountability - Integrity* Reliability United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548 March 31, 2004 The Honorable Susan M. Collins Chairman The Honorable Joseph I. Lieberman Ranking Minority Member Committee on Governmental Affairs United States Senate The Honorable Tom Davis Chairman The Honorable Henry A. Waxman Ranking Minority Member Committee on Government Reform House of Representatives Subject: Agencies' Use of Procurement Flexibilities Provided in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) In the wake of September 11, 2001, Congress enacted the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Title VIII, subtitle F, section 852 of the act provided for a temporary set of emergency procurement flexibilities intended to address the immediate needs for procurement of property (other than real property) or services to be used to defend against or recover from terrorist threats, including nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attacks. These flexibilities, which expired on November 24, 2003, included: Increasing the threshold for simplified acquisition procedures in support of humanitarian, peacekeeping, or contingency operations from $100,000 to $200,000 for contracts awarded and performed within the United States. For contracts awarded and performed, or purchases to be made outside the United States, the threshold was $300,000. In addition, the small business set-aside threshold was raised to be consistent with the increased simplified acquisition threshold.' (Section 853) 'Simplified acquisition procedures refer to the methods prescribed in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 for making purchases of supplies or services valued below the simplified acquisition threshold. These procedures are designed to: (1) reduce administrative costs; (2) improve opportunities for small, disadvantaged, and women-owned businesses to obtain a fair proportion of government contracts; (3) promote efficiency and effectiveness in contracting; and (4) avoid unnecessary burdens for agencies and contractors. Federal Acquisition Regulation, at 13.002 [hereinafter FAR], (January 2004). GAO-04-447R Homeland Security Procurement