[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 41 (Monday, October 17, 1994)]
[Pages 2003-2004]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Executive Order 12931--Federal Procurement Reform

October 13, 1994

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, and in order to ensure 
effective and efficient spending of public funds through fundamental 
reforms in Government procurement, it is hereby ordered as follows:
    Section 1. To make procurement more effective in support of mission 
accomplishment and consistent with recommendations of the National 
Performance Review, heads of executive agencies engaged in the 
procurement of supplies and services shall: (a) Review agency 
procurement rules, reporting requirements, contractual requirements, 
certification procedures, and other administrative procedures over and 
above those required by statute, and, where practicable, replace them 
with guiding principles that encourage and reward innovation;
    (b) Review existing and planned agency programs to assure that such 
programs meet agency mission needs;
    (c) Ensure that procurement organizations focus on measurable 
results and on increased attention to understanding and meeting customer 
needs;
    (d) Increase the use of commercially available items where 
practicable, place more emphasis on past contractor performance, and 
promote best value rather than simply low cost in selecting sources for 
supplies and services;
    (e) Ensure that simplified acquisition procedures are used, to the 
maximum extent practicable, for procurements under the simplified 
acquisition threshold in order to reduce administrative burdens and more 
effectively support the accomplishment of agency missions;
    (f) Expand the use of the Government purchase card by the agency and 
take maximum advantage of the micro-purchase authority provided in the 
Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 by delegating the 
authority, to the maximum extent practicable, to the offices that will 
be using the supplies or services to be purchased;
    (g) Establish clear lines of contracting authority and 
accountability;
    (h) Establish career education programs for procurement 
professionals, including requirements for successful completion of 
educational requirements or mandatory training for entry level positions 
and for promotion to higher level positions, in order to ensure a highly 
qualified procurement work force;
    (i) Designate a Procurement Executive with agency-wide 
responsibility to oversee development of procurement goals, guide- 

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lines, and innovation, measure and evaluate procurement office 
performance against stated goals, enhance career development of the 
procurement work force, and advise the agency heads whether goals are 
being achieved; and
    (j) Review existing and planned information technology acquisitions 
and contracts to ensure that the agency receives the best value with 
regard to price and technology, and consider alternatives in cases where 
best value is not being obtained.
    Sec. 2. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in 
consultation with the heads of executive agencies, shall ensure that 
personnel policies and classification standards meet the needs of 
executive agencies for a professional procurement work force.
    Sec. 3. The Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement 
Policy, after consultation with the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget, shall work jointly with the heads of executive agencies to 
provide broad policy guidance and overall leadership necessary to 
achieve procurement reform, including, but not limited to: (a) 
Coordinating Government-wide efforts;
    (b) Assisting executive agencies in streamlining guidance for 
procurement processes;
    (c) Identifying desirable Government-wide procurement system 
criteria; and
    (d) Identifying major inconsistencies in law and policies relating 
to procurement that impose unnecessary burdens on the private sector and 
Federal procurement officials, and, following coordination with 
executive agencies, submitting necessary legislative initiatives to the 
Office of Management and Budget for the resolution of such 
inconsistencies.
    Sec. 4. Executive Order No. 12352 is revoked.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
October 13, 1994.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:48 p.m., October 13, 
1994]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on 
October 17.