[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 197 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54723-54725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27314]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4386-D-01]


Revocation and Redelegation of Procurement Authority

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of revocation and redelegation of procurement authority.

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SUMMARY: In this Notice, the Chief Procurement Officer revokes all 
current redelegations of procurement authority and redelegates 
procurement authority to the Director, Office of Procurement and 
Contracts. The Director, Office of Procurement and Contracts further 
redelegates certain procurement authority to each Director, Field 
Contracting Operations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 6, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward L. Girovasi, Jr., Director, 
Policy and Field Operations Division, Office of Procurement and 
Contracts, Room 5262, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 
7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20410; telephone (202) 708-0294 (this is 
not a toll-free number). Hearing or speech-impaired individuals may 
access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information 
Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HUD is implementing a major agency-wide 
improvement effort. The details of this reform effort are set forth in 
the HUD 2020 Management Reform Plan, which was published in the Federal 
Register on August 12, 1997 (62 FR 43204). The reforms are directed 
toward: (1) empowering people and communities to improve themselves; 
and (2) restoring the public trust in the Department's programs and 
operations.
    In an accompanying Notice published elsewhere in today's Federal 
Register, the Secretary of HUD transfers the designation of Senior 
Procurement Executive from the Assistant Secretary for Administration 
to the Chief Procurement Officer, and transfers all Departmental 
procurement authority to

[[Page 54724]]

the Chief Procurement Officer. In this Notice, the Chief Procurement 
Officer revokes all existing procurement authority previously 
redelegated, including the Notice of Revocation and Redelegation of 
Procurement Authority published in the Federal Register on August 4, 
1995 (60 FR 39963), and with respect to the Government National 
Mortgage Association (GNMA), the Notice of Redelegation of Procurement 
Authority, published in the Federal Register on April 15, 1994 (59 FR 
18277). The Chief Procurement Officer then redelegates this authority 
to the Director, Office of Procurement and Contracts, with authority to 
make further redelegations to qualified headquarters and field staff. 
The Director, Office of Procurement and Contracts further redelegates 
certain authority to each Director, Field Contracting Operations.
    While this Notice revokes GNMA's procurement authority with respect 
to GNMA's programmatic functions, this Notice does not preclude or 
limit the authority of GNMA to enter into and enforce its non-
procurement agreements with the issuers of mortgage-backed securities, 
to guarantee such securities and to exercise its ownership rights in 
the mortgages constituting the trust or pool against which the 
securities are issued, as authorized under section 306(g) of the 
National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1721) and 24 CFR part 300 et seq.
    As a result of these changes, all operational contracting 
activities, except simplified acquisitions and contract ordering, will 
be performed by Office of Procurement and Contracts staff in 
headquarters and field offices. Consolidating all operational activity 
within a single office, which reports directly to the Chief Procurement 
Officer, will assure that the Department's procurement reform 
initiatives and policies are implemented in a consistent manner.
    Accordingly, the Chief Procurement Officer revokes and redelegates 
authority, and the Director, Office of Procurement and Contracts 
further redelegates authority as follows:

Section A. Authority Revoked

    This document revokes the Notice of Revocation and Redelegation of 
Procurement Authority published in the Federal Register on August 4, 
1995 (60 FR 39963), which had previously redelegated all Departmental 
procurement authority. Included within the authority revoked by the 
present document is procurement authority with respect to GNMA's 
programmatic functions, which had been redelegated to the President of 
GNMA in the Notice of Redelegation of Procurement Authority, published 
in the Federal Register on April 15, 1994 (59 FR 18277), and was left 
unchanged by the August 4, 1995 Federal Register notice.

Section B. Authority Redelegated

    The Chief Procurement Officer, designated as the Department's 
Senior Procurement Executive, redelegates to the Director, Office of 
Procurement and Contracts, designated as the Department's principal 
Contracting Officer, the power and authority to:
    1. Enter into, administer, and/or terminate all procurement 
contracts and interagency agreements for property and services required 
by the Department (including the placement of paid advertisements in 
newspapers) and make related determinations and findings;
    2. Order debarment, suspension, and/or limited denial of 
participation sanctions, pursuant to HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 24; 
and
    3. Further redelegate the following authority which has been 
redelegated in this notice, to the headquarters and field personnel 
identified below, provided they meet experience, education, and 
training requirements established by the Chief Procurement Officer:
    (a) The authority identified in Section B.1. above, to qualified 
headquarters Office of Procurement and Contracts personnel by way of 
Certificates of Appointment;
    (b) The authority identified in Section B.1. above, and the 
authority to order limited denial of participation sanctions identified 
in Section B.2. above, to the Directors, Field Contracting Operations; 
and
    (c) To qualified Departmental employees, the authority to engage in 
the following purchasing procedures:
    (i) Simplified acquisitions (FAR Part 13);
    (ii) Issuance of orders under contracts established by other 
Government sources (FAR Part 8, e.g., GSA Federal Supply Schedules) or 
under pre-priced indefinite-delivery contracts established by the 
Department; and
    (iii) Purchases using the Governmentwide Commercial Credit Card 
system in accordance with the Department's directives governing credit 
card purchasing. Authority redelegated to the Commercial Credit Card 
Program Administrator may be further redelegated by the Program 
Administrator to qualified headquarters employees for purchases within 
the micropurchase threshold established in FAR Part 13.

Section C. Authority Further Redelegated

    The Director, Office of Procurement and Contracts, hereby 
designates each Director, Field Contracting Operations as a Contracting 
Officer and redelegates to each Director, Field Contracting Operations 
the power and authority, subject to any limitations imposed by the 
Chief Procurement Officer, to:
    1. Enter into, administer, and/or terminate all procurement 
contracts and interagency agreements for property and services required 
by the Department (including the placement of paid advertisements in 
newspapers) and make related determinations and findings with regard 
to: activities within his or her Field Contracting Operations service 
area; or, activities which may be national in scope or which cover more 
than one Field Contracting Operations service area when specifically 
delegated by the Director, Office of Procurement and Contracts;
    2. Order a limited denial of participation sanction, pursuant to 
HUD regulations at 24 CFR 24.700;
    3. Further redelegate the award and administration of an individual 
or class of procurement contracts or interagency agreements to another 
Director, Field Contracting Operations, with the concurrence of the 
Director, Office of Procurement and Contracts;
    4. Further redelegate, by way of Certificates of Appointment, the 
authority redelegated in paragraph C.1., above, to Field Contracting 
Operations personnel, provided that they meet experience, education, 
and training requirements established by the Chief Procurement Officer; 
and
    5. Further redelegate the following authority which has been 
redelegated in this notice, to qualified Departmental employees within 
the service area of the Field Contracting Operations:
    (a) Simplified acquisitions (FAR Part 13);
    (b) Issuance of orders under contracts established by other 
Government sources (FAR Part 8, e.g. GSA Federal Supply Schedules) or 
under pre-priced indefinite-delivery contracts established by the 
Department; and
    (c) Purchases using the Governmentwide Commercial Credit Card 
system, in accordance with the Department's directives governing credit 
card purchasing. Authority redelegated to the Director, Administrative 
Service Center, and Director, Administrative Resources Division may be 
further redelegated by those Directors to qualified field personnel 
within the service area for purchases within the micropurchase 
threshold established in FAR Part 13.

[[Page 54725]]

Section D. No Authority To Further Redelegate

    Except as provided above, the authority redelegated in Sections B 
and C, above, do not include the authority to further redelegate.

    Authority: Sec. 7(d), Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(d)).

    Dated: October 6, 1998.
V. Stephen Carberry,
Chief Procurement Officer.
Craig E. Durkin,
Director, Office of Procurement and Contracts.
[FR Doc. 98-27314 Filed 10-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-32-P