Expanded and consolidated procurement authority is now legislatively established by the GSA (General Services Administration)

Expanded and consolidated procurement authority is now legislatively established by the GSA (General Services Administration)

The General Services Administration (GSA) has recently unveiled a comprehensive suite of acquisition reform proposals aimed at modernizing federal acquisition law and reducing statutory burdens on agencies and contractors. The final version of these legislative proposals, released in July 2025, includes 16 legislative proposals.

Key highlights of the proposals include:

1. Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Threshold Increase: The proposal would raise the CAS applicability threshold from $2 million to $35 million, exempting nearly half of the contractors currently covered by CAS while maintaining coverage for over 90% of total federal contract dollars. This aims to reduce compliance burdens on small and mid-sized firms without compromising oversight of large contracts.
2. Purchasing Threshold Increases: The Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) would increase significantly, notably to $10 million. However, the small business set-aside requirement between the micro-purchase threshold and SAT would remain capped at $250,000, potentially allowing more contracts in the $250,000 to $10 million range to be awarded to large businesses rather than small business contractors.
3. Micro-Purchase Threshold (MPT) Increase: The MPT would be raised from $10,000 to $100,000 over a five-year phase-in. This would be decoupled from the Buy American Act (BAA) applicability, meaning purchases over $10,000 would still need to adhere to domestic sourcing and “America First” policies.
4. FAR Part 6 Revisions: The FAR Council has released model deviation text revising Competition Requirements to streamline procedures, removing prescriptions around socioeconomic concerns while retaining contracting officers’ discretion on small business set-asides. GSA has implemented this in its class deviations.

In addition to these changes, GSA has proposed several other measures to streamline federal procurement. These include:

• Enhancing Simplified Acquisition Procedures for small-dollar contracts.
• Modernizing the Multiple Award Schedule program to better reflect commercial practices.
• Granting permanent Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) authority to the Department of Homeland Security and GSA, with a contract ceiling of $100 million.
• A companion provision aims to expand Section 876 of the National Defense Authorization Act, restoring its original intent by ensuring all services contracts - including construction - can benefit from price competition at the order level.

The legislative package also includes measures supporting state and local divestment from Sudan-linked companies, and a nominal user fee for the Integrated Award Environment, potentially generating $40 million annually.

However, the implementation of these proposals is contingent on Congressional enactment. The package was submitted to Congress on July 16, 2025. The user fee structure includes a $75 to $125 charge for new Unique Entity Identifiers and a $25 to $50 annual maintenance fee.

It's important to note that the Polaris contract protest ruling disrupted GSA's multibillion-dollar IT acquisition plans. The Micro-Purchase Threshold will increase from $10,000 to $100,000 over five years. After September 30, 2030, the threshold will be $10,000,000.

These proposals represent a deregulatory vision focused on efficiency and easing administrative burdens within government contracting. The GSA aims to standardize task and delivery order protest thresholds across defense and civilian agencies, promote fair pricing, and reduce ambiguity in service contract acquisitions. The aim is to create a more efficient and effective federal procurement system.

1. The federal workforce is about to see a reimagined environment, as the General Services Administration (GSA) has proposed several measures to streamline federal procurement, including enhancing Simplified Acquisition Procedures for small-dollar contracts.
2. The proposed changes in the federal acquisition law could significantly impact businesses operating within the federal workforce, with the Purchasing Threshold Increases allowing more contracts in the $250,000 to $10 million range to be awarded to large businesses.
3. The reimagined federal workforce could also witness changes in lifestyle, as the implementation of the proposed legislative package includes a nominal user fee for the Integrated Award Environment, potentially generating $40 million annually, which might affect the overall budgeting and financial management within the federal workforce.

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