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On May 15, 1981 the subject of professional qualification for government
procurement personnel was raised during informal discussion after testimony
on improving the procurement system. You requested of Mr. Walter O'Neil,
one of the NSIA witnesses, that amplification be provided on that subject.

I hope you find this submission helpful in your deliberations on this very important facet of establishing and managing an improved procurement system.

Sincerely,

1. Mr.

Wallace H. Robinson, Jr.
President

WHR/AFB/dc

Enclosure

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION OF
PROCUREMENT PERSONNEL

FOR SEVERAL YEARS THERE HAS BEEN RECOGNITION THAT THERE IS A GREAT NEED FOR THE EDUCATION, TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT PERSONNEL. MOST OLDER EMPLOYEES WITH EXPERIENCE DATING BACK TO WORLD WAR II HAVE LEFT THE GOVERNMENT THROUGH NORMAL ATTRITION. MANY OF THE NEW PEOPLE COMING IN HAVE LIMITED EXPERIENCE AND LACK THE SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDED TO BE CONSIDERED COMPLETELY COMPETENT AT THE LEVELS OF RESPONSIBILITY ASSIGNED. IT IS THEREFORE NECESSARY THAT A SYSTEM BE ESTABLISHED TO ENSURE THE ELIMINATION OF THESE WEAKNESSES.

THE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES TRAINING ACT (5-USC) ASSIGNS RESPONSIBILITY TO EACH AGENCY HEAD FOR DETERMINING THE NEEDS AND PROVIDING FOR THE TRAINING OF HIS AGENCY'S EMPLOYEES. THE FEDERAL POLICY ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1979 (PL96-83) ASSIGNS RESPONSIBILITY TO THE OFFICE OF FEDERAL PROCUREMENT POLICY (OFPP) FOR RECOMMENDING AND PROMOTING TRAINING, CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF PROCUREMENT PERSONNEL. THE FIRST ACT RESULTS IN FRAGMENTED EFFORTS AND A GREAT VARIANCE IN QUALIFICATION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES AND THERE IS NO PROVISION FOR ENFORCEMENT. THE SECOND ACT (96-83) ASSUMES THE VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION OF ALL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES AND THIS IS NOT OFTEN THE CASE. THESE ACTS, IN THEIR CURRENT FORM, THEREFORE, DO NOT ATTAIN THE DESIRED RESULTS.

IT IS THEREFORE NECESSARY THAT A MANDATE BE PROVIDED TO REQUIRE AND ENFORCE GOVERNMENT-WIDE STANDARDS FOR TRAINING, EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATION IF THESE DEFICIENCIES ARE TO BE CORRECTED.

IT IS BELIEVED THAT ASSIGNMENT OF THE ABOVE RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE OFPP WITH AUTHORITY FOR ENFORCEMENT WOULD ACCOMPLISH THE TASK. THE FEDERAL ACQUISITION INSTITUTE OF THE OFFICE OF FEDERAL PROCUREMENT POLICY UNDER OMB HAS ALREADY SET FORTH A CAREER GUIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROCUREMENT PERSONNEL. IT HAS ALSO SPONSORED GOVERNMENT COURSES, ENCOURAGED COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO PROVIDE COURSES, IDENTIFIED CURRICULA, PROVIDED LIBRARY MATERIAL AND ADVERTISED THEIR VALUE TO ALL. WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORITY, HOWEVER, ITS INFLUENCE TOWARD IMPROVEMENT WILL CONTINUE TO BE LIMITED. IT IS BELIEVED THAT IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENT CAN BE ATTAINED BY ESTABLISHING A MANDATORY SYSTEM OF CERTIFICATION (WARRANTS) FOR PERSONNEL. UNDER SUCH A SYSTEM, PERSONNEL WOULD BE REQUIRED TO TAKE APPROPRIATE COURSES, ATTAIN EXPERIENCE AND PASS AN EXAMINATION BEFORE THEY ARE PERMITTED TO BIND OR COMMIT THE GOVERNMENT TO THE EXPENDITURE OF PUBLIC FUNDS. THE LEVEL OF CERTIFICATION SHOULD VARY AND BE COMMENSURATE WITH THE LEVEL TO WHICH THE INDIVIDUAL IS PERMITTED TO FINANCIALLY COMMIT THE GOVERNMENT. THE PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY IN EACH AGENCY SHOULD RETAIN RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACTUAL CERTIFICATION AFTER ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE ABOVE.

ONE WAY TO ADMINISTER THE ABOVE WOULD BE TO DIRECT ALL AGENCIES TO BUDGET SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO PROVIDE TRAINING DETERMINED TO BE NECESSARY FOR CERTIFICATION. AN ALTERNATIVE, AND MORE EFFICIENT WAY, WOULD BE FOR THE CONGRESS TO FUND A CENTRAL ORGANIZATION, SUCH AS THE FAI, TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS AND TO DEVELOP, SPONSOR, AND IDENTIFY COURSES DETERMINED TO BE NECESSARY FOR CERTIFICATION.

COORDINATION

OF SUCH EFFORTS WOULD PREVENT OVERLAPS AND MAKE THE BEST USE OF

EXISTING SCHOOLS, COURSES AND PROGRAMS. TRAINING AND CAREER

IN

DEVELOPMENT, CENTRALLY MANAGED, OR OVERSEEN, WILL PROVIDE A
LEVEL OF UNIFORMITY AND QUALITY THROUGHOUT THE GOVERNMENT,
ADDITION, TO ENSURE THE ABOVE, ACCOUNTABILITY, AS WELL AS
RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD BE ASSIGNED TO FEDERAL AGENCY MANAGERS AND
SUPERVISORS FOR UTILIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR PROCUREMENT
STAFFS AS A CRITICAL ELEMENT OF THEIR PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

PROCEDURES.

THIS WILL ENHANCE THE AGENCIES' ABILITY TO RAISE THE LEVEL OF TRAINING FOR PROCUREMENT PERSONNEL AND ALLOW FOR INCREASED MOBILITY BETWEEN AGENCIES WHOSE PERSONNEL WILL HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO SIMILAR LEVELS OF ACCEPTABILITY.

THE ABOVE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ALONG THE LINES OF THE

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION OF GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT (DEC. 1972).* IT ENVISIONED A CENTRAL ORGANIZATION, OFPP AND FAI, TO CARRY OUT

THESE RESPONSIBILITIES.

THE SUGGESTED LANGUAGE FOR A LEGISLATIVE MANDATE IS AS FOLLOWS:

All Federal government employees must be certified by each agency as qualified to perform their function of office prior to being permitted to bind or commit the Government to the expenditure of public funds. The level of certification will be based upon each individual's level of education, training, and experience and shall be commensurate with the level of authority and responsibility assigned. The Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy will be responsible for oversight of this program and for establishing qualification standards and identifying courses, training, and examinations necessary for the attainment of the appropriate certification levels for all Government procurement personnel. Accountability is assigned to Federal agency managers and supervisors for the development and certification of their procurement staffs as an element of their performance appraisal.**

*CHAPTER 5, PP. 43-55, VOLUME I, REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT, DEC. 1972, USGPO, WASHINGTON, DC 20402.

**SEE CIVIL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 1978 (PL95-454),

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Enclosure I is a summary of key procurement problems based on our reviews of the past few years. Mr. Chris Brewster, Chief Counsel of your subcommittee, requested this summary for insertion in a report on hearings held by your Subcommittee on May 15, 1981. In addition, pursuant to Mr. Brewster's request, Enclosure II summarizes the areas of concern in procurement that GAO intends to review during the next few years.

Enclosure II is a capsulized version of our issue area plan for procurement reviews over the next 18 months. The plan was formed after an extensive review of (1) perennial and topical congressional concerns about procurement, (2) past GAO work in procurement to determine continuing problem areas, and (3) executive agencies' efforts to improve the procurement process. Please note that not all areas of concern identified in Enclosure II will be given equal attention. The plan is intended to be flexible and to accommodate congressional interest, consequently, some areas of concern may be given a great deal of attention while others receive little or no review.

We will be pleased, at your convenience, to discuss in more detail both the key procurement problems extracted from past reviews and our plan for future work in this area.

Sincerely yours,

Donald J. Horan

Donald J. Horan

Director

Enclosures

2

81-896 0-81--7

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