Summary: In the late 1960's Congress created the Commission on Government Procurement to devise fundamental improvements in the patchwork of federal procurement laws, directives, and regulations which had accumulated with expansion. The Commission developed 149 integrated recommendations that required congressional and executive branch action. Recent Congresses have launched a subcommittee to oversee installation of the reforms and introduce legislation, and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) to lead in making needed changes.
Success of the reform program is still not assured. Much important groundwork has been laid, but relatively few of the Commission's recommendations are a part of day-to-day operations. The outlook for many incomplete actions is not encouraging. The inherent difficulty of bringing about governmentwide change, loss of momentum, and the complexity of some issues will require renewed effort in both branches of government. In addition, several conditions within OFPP have dimmed the chances for realization of the Commission's reforms.
