[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 24, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1070]]
           GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION MODERNIZATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 23, 2005

  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2066, the General 
Services Administration Modernization Act, was introduced by myself and 
Armed Services Chairman Hunter last month and approved by the Committee 
on Government Reform by unanimous consent on May 5, 2005.
  The legislation would authorize a much needed reorganization and 
streamlining of the General Services Administration, the federal agency 
charged with leveraging the federal government's buying power to 
purchase commercial goods and services for the federal government at 
the best value possible in order to maximize the use of taxpayer funds.
  This legislation has been under consideration in the Government 
Reform Committee for a number of years and has been the subject of 
multiple legislative and oversight hearings. It was also included in 
the President's budget proposal for fiscal year 2006.
  Mr. Speaker, each year GSA buys products and services from the 
private sector worth well over $30 billion and resells them to federal 
agencies through two different Services. The Federal Technology Service 
uses the Information Technology Fund to purchase information 
technology, and the Federal Supply Service uses the General Supply Fund 
to purchase commercial goods and services.
  This bifurcated system may have made sense when the IT fund was 
created two decades ago, when information technology was in its 
infancy. Today, however, laptop computers, cell phones, and e-mail are 
as ubiquitous as desks and phones. The business case for a separate 
system to handle IT goods and services no longer exists. In fact, the 
bifurcated system has become a barrier to coordinated acquisition of 
management services and the technology needed to support a total 
solution.
  Since 2002, Administrator Perry has instituted and is currently 
carrying out an internal reorganization aimed at establishing GSA as a 
modem enterprise more reflective of the current market. H.R. 2066 would 
assist those efforts. Critical to Administrator Perry's efforts to 
modernize the General Services Administration is ensuring that the 
structural reforms are memorialized in GSA's organic legislation so 
that the remedies will endure.
  To accomplish this, H.R. 2066 would consolidate the Federal Supply 
Service and the Federal Technology Service into a single entity 
operating out of a unified fund, providing federal agencies with a one-
stop shop to acquire all of their commercial goods and services. This 
change in statute would provide GSA with the structure it needs to 
bring it in line with the current commercial market.
  Specifically, the legislation would amend the Federal Property and 
Administrative Services Act of 1949 to create a new ``Federal 
Acquisition Service,'' to be headed by a high-level Commissioner 
appointed by the GSA Administrator. H.R. 2066 would also provide that 
the new Federal Acquisition Service be supported by a newly created 
``Acquisition Services Fund'' consisting of the assets of the old 
Information Technology and Supply Funds.

  In addition, H.R. 2066 would authorize the GSA Administrator to 
appoint up to five ``Regional Executives'' for the Federal Acquisition 
Service to facilitate closer oversight and more management control over 
acquisition-related activities.
  Finally, Mr./Madam Speaker, the General Services Administration 
Modernization Act would authorize retention bonuses and reemployment 
relief aimed at maintaining the strength and experience of the federal 
government's civilian acquisition workforce.
  The environment in which the federal government purchases goods and 
services has changed dramatically in recent decades. Relegating the 
federal agency charged with purchasing goods and services for the rest 
of the federal government to an organizational structure that was 
constructed to function in a different era is a waste of taxpayer 
dollars. H.R. 2066 would remove the old structures that inhibit 
efficient federal purchases of solutions that are a mix of products, 
services and technology. The federal marketplace should reflect the 
best of the commercial marketplace: both in the products and services 
we buy and the way we buy them.

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