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General Services Agency recentralizes procurement, cites backlog and complex federal purchases
Summary
GSA acting procurement officials told lawmakers they recentralized procurement to improve consistency, that buyers processed thousands of requisitions this fiscal year, and that complex federal-funded procurements and late agency submissions contribute to delays.
The General Services Agency’s procurement staff told the legislature on June 19 that the agency has recentralized procurement functions and is working through a backlog of requisitions from line agencies.
Adriana Kidako, the acting chief procurement officer (GSA), said the office moved some delegated procurement functions back to trained GSA buyers to improve compliance and consistency. "When fiscal year 25 was coming about, I had decentralized that process. So I took it back, and it's only the general services agency buyers that are properly trained to conduct procurement that can process these requisitions," she said.
Why it matters: Federal grants and major capital acquisitions require properly scoped specifications and procurement planning. DOA and senators described failed or delayed procurements — for example, an electric school bus procurement that stalled when specifications were unclear and a bidder went out of business — as drivers of unspent federal funds.
GSA told the committee it received more than 2,000 requisitions as of May, and about 100 of those were complex solicitations (invitation for bids and requests for proposals). Kidako said a reasonable turnaround time for straightforward procurements is 15 to 30 days; complex procurements and end-of-year surges lengthen that timeline. The agency reported it now has roughly five buyers onboard and two vacancies (a buyer supervisor II and a buyer I) drawn from the FY budget request.
DOA Director Edward Byrne and senators said late agency submissions and inadequate advance procurement planning contribute to year-end rushes that overwhelm GSA. "The budget law asks agencies to submit their procurement plan at the beginning of the year. Not many of them do that and those that do don't necessarily adhere to that," Byrne said. GSA said it will continue to work with agencies to improve market research, specification drafting and use of indefinite-delivery contracts and a government store tender to reduce small purchases.
Ending: GSA said it will continue to strengthen spec development and agency engagement and to expand indefinite-quantity contracts and government-store suppliers to reduce repeated procurements. Senators signalled interest in monitoring GSA staffing and procurement outcomes.
