Peters and Cruz Bipartisan Bill To Streamline the Federal Procurement Process Advances in the Senate

Peters and Cruz Bipartisan Bill To Streamline the Federal Procurement Process Advances in the Senate

Homeland Security Government Affairs | 5/15/24

Bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Ted Cruz (R-TX) to make the federal procurement process leaner and easier to navigate for agencies and their contractors has advanced in the Senate. The bill would remove obstacles to acquiring products and services in a timely and cost-effective way, increase competition for contracts, and open additional opportunities for more businesses to enter federal contracting. The bill was approved by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where Peters serves as Chair. It now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

The bipartisan Federal Improvement in Technology (FIT) Procurement Act will streamline the procurement process to enable more businesses to participate in federal contracting, which will offer greater competition and better deals for the federal government and taxpayers. The bill would require updates to federal procurement rules to eliminate obsolete, overly burdensome or restrictive requirements, simplify the bidding process for contractors, and expand use of procurement methods that allow agencies to quickly collaborate with the private sector on outcome-based solutions. This bill would also strengthen training for the federal acquisition workforce to ensure they are best prepared to manage the purchase of rapidly advancing technologies, such as artificial intelligence systems.

“Two of our priorities are to help the government improve acquisition outcomes and to support innovation through contracts,” said David Berteau, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Professional Services Council. “This bill will improve those outcomes and expand access to more businesses with innovative solutions.  Competition is the key to delivering successful federal IT contracting.”