Description:
S. 583 would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report on innovative techniques for procurement and to develop guidance and training to improve procurement methods based on the experience of its Procurement Innovation Lab. In addition, the bill would require the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) to convene the Chief Acquisition Officers Council to identify and widely disseminate best practices to improve federal contracting. CBO expects that S. 583 would codify many existing policies and practices. DHS currently reports and issues guidance based on its experience with the lab, and OFPP memoranda and policies have stressed innovation to make federal procurement more effective and efficient since 2014. Thus, although CBO expects that S. 583 would probably change some methods and activities in the procurement process across most federal agencies, we estimate that implementing the bill would not significantly affect spending subject to appropriation over the 2021-2026 period. Because most federal agencies would be affected by the bill requirements, enacting S. 583 could affect direct spending by some agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.
