October 27 2006 Copyright 2006 Business Research Services Inc. 301-229-5561 All rights reserved.
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GSA Reorganizes Headquarters, Not Regions GSA Administrator Lurita Doan signed an order October 13 creating a new Federal Acquisition Service, completing the reorganization of GSA headquarters. The Acquisition Service combines the old Federal Supply Service and Federal Technology Service. The reorganization was finalized after Congress authorized the merger of GSA’s two revolving funds, the IT Fund and the General Supply Fund. But the reorganization does not change GSA’s 11 regional offices. An earlier version had contemplated folding them into six “zones.” Next month GSA will announce phase two of the reorganization, detailing the structure of the regional offices. The Federal Acquisition Service commissioner, Jim Williams, said he plans a long-term study of how to organize the regions and their relationships with headquarters. Regional office personnel do not report to him. Critics have complained that the regional offices, usually headed by political appointees, often acted independently of the Washington headquarters, following different policies and confusing customers and contractors. It was the regional offices that were found to be skirting procurement laws and regulations in a series of investigations by the agency’s inspector general and the Government Accountability Office. Over the two year-period that the reorganization was being discussed, GSA officials spoke of the need for “one GSA” or a “team GSA.” Those phrases were absent from the announcement of the final reorganization plan. The Federal Acquisition Service organization chart lists four business portfolio offices: General Supplies and Services; Travel, Motor Vehicle and Card Services; Integrated Technology Services; and the newly established Assisted Acquisition Services. There are six support offices: Controller, Chief Information Officer, Customer Accounts and Research, Acquisition Management, Administration and the newly established Strategic Business Planning and Process Improvement office.
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