GSA, DOD Continue to Work Out Differences A top GSA official says he is “encouraged” by discussions with the Defense Department on the department’s use of GSA contract vehicles. Jim Williams, commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, said DOD is telling its acquisition personnel to “go get the best value you can, and if that’s GSA, then so be it.” He spoke Sept. 6 at a conference in McLean, VA, sponsored by the Coalition for Government Procurement. The two agencies signed an agreement in December to work on ironing out differences that have led some DOD contracting shops to shy away from GSA contract vehicles. DOD is GSA’s largest customer. The director of defense procurement and acquisition policy, Shay Assad, said the department wants to use GSA vehicles judiciously. “We really don’t want to have GSA be a provider of every kind of service that’s out there,” Assad told Federal Computer Week. “If they are the most efficient and effective folks to provide IT support services, then we want to focus on that with them and get the rest of the department to say, ‘We want you all buying your IT support services from GSA,’ for example.” Williams said officials of the two agencies continue to meet regularly. In a fact sheet released last month, GSA said it has reached agreement on increased oversight of DOD purchases, including justifications for sole-source orders through GSA vehicles. In addition, the two agencies have begun joint training of contracting personnel. “GSA has taken the [agreement] very seriously and has done many things to implement it,” the statement said. DOD’s purchases through GSA vehicles slowed sharply after a series of investigative reports found irregularities in several regional offices of GSA’s Federal Technology Service. Partly as a result of the loss of DOD business, GSA announced deep staff cuts at its Assisted Acquisition Services unit, the successor to the Technology Service. About 250 of the unit’s 600 employees will be transferred to other parts of GSA. In a conference call with reporters on Sept. 7, Williams said the Assisted Acquisition Service is projected to lose about $50 million this year on sales of $3.5 billion. AAS is funded by fees paid by its government customers. The unit recorded about $8 billion in sales before the inspector general’s investigations found abuses in its contracting practices in 2004.