Acquisition Advisory Panel Begins Work The new Acquisition Advisory Panel plans to hold about a dozen meetings during its yearlong review of federal acquisition policies, but only two of the sessions may be open for public testimony. The panel was created under the Services Acquisition Reform Act in 2003. Its charter is to “review laws and regulations regarding the use of commercial practices, performance-based contracting, the performance of acquisition functions across agency lines of responsibility, and the use of governmentwide contracts.” The panel’s chair, Washington lawyer Marcia Madsen, indicated it will focus on the nuts and bolts of acquisition. “We can make grand policy pronouncements that are not very useful or things that are maybe a little less grand but more useful,” she said at the group’s organizational meeting in Washington Feb. 9. Madsen said she hopes to arrange one or two meetings in the western half of the country, but Congress appropriated no money for the panel’s operations. It will borrow staff from GSA and the Office of Management and Budget. In addition to hearing public comments in two of its meetings, Madsen said the panel will accept written comments. She said smaller working groups will be established to discuss particular policy issues. The panel set its first substantive meeting Feb. 28 at the Interior Department’s headquarters in Washington. Because of security measures and limited seating, anyone wishing to attend must pre-register with laura.auletta@gsa.gov.