Page 34 - FCW, July/August 2018

TheLectern
The rise of the microconsultants
Changes to the micropurchase threshold have opened the door to buying services by government credit card, and the impact could be huge
BY STEVE KELMAN
One of the first and still one of the most important chang- es during the procurement reform era of the 1990s was the intro- duction of a “micropurchase” authority in the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994. In the background was the desire to give agencies the ability to use a government credit card to make very small purchases directly, without the significant time and administrative cost of working through the contract- ing office.
Even before the 1994 law, agen- cies could make purchases of less than $2,500 without going through a competitive bidding process. Having just arrived in Washington in 1993 to become administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, I was tasked with identifying any statutory barriers to using a credit card for such purchases.
On a tour of contracting offices to prepare me for my job while I awaited Senate confirmation, I met Michelle Craddock, a young contract special- ist at the Department of Health and Human Services. When I asked her how I might improve her ability to do her job, she mentioned that although there was a big-box computer store across the street from her office, HHS could not buy items there because various policies had to be included
Even before the 1994 law, agencies could make purchases of less than $2,500 without going through a competitive bidding process.
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in contract clauses for all procure- ments, even those of the smallest dollar amount. She asked: Could we eliminate those clauses for contracts under $2,500?
When I returned to my office, I asked the team to see what clauses
existed. It turned out there were seven. We put a $2,500 threshold for each into the legislation, which made it into the final law. I told Craddock at the time that if the bill became law, we would invite her to the signing ceremony, which we did, and during the White