Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement

The order directs the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, working with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council and agency heads, to amend the FAR within 180 days so it contains only provisions required by statute or otherwise necessary to support simplicity, procurement effectiveness, or economic and national security interests. Each agency with procurement authority must designate a senior official within 15 days to support reform efforts, and OMB's Director must issue an implementation guidance memorandum to agencies within 20 days. The Administrator may issue deviation and interim guidance until final rules are published. The order also instructs the Administrator and FAR Council to consider a "regulatory sunset" mechanism that would let non-statutory FAR provisions expire four years after the final rule unless renewed.

The order does not itself repeal or revise any FAR provision — all substantive changes must go through the formal rulemaking process. It also preserves existing agency legal authorities and OMB's budgetary functions, and it explicitly creates no enforceable legal rights for any outside party.

Federal agencies that procure goods and services under the FAR, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the FAR Council, and OMB. Businesses — especially smaller vendors — that contract with or seek to contract with the federal government stand to be affected by any resulting simplification of procurement rules.

The federal government spends nearly $1 trillion annually on procurements. If the FAR is substantially trimmed, businesses — particularly smaller companies currently deterred by regulatory complexity — may find it easier and cheaper to compete for federal contracts, potentially expanding the pool of vendors and affecting how taxpayer dollars are spent.

The reform runs in three overlapping stages: agencies designate procurement officials in the first 15 days; OMB issues a guidance memo within 20 days that also directs new supplemental regulations to follow the ten-for-one deregulation ratio from EO 14192; and the Administrator and FAR Council have 180 days to publish a proposed FAR amendment through formal rulemaking. Interim and deviation guidance can bridge the gap until final rules appear. A sunset clause requiring four-year renewal of non-statutory provisions is proposed but not mandated — the FAR Council retains discretion on whether to include it.