Acquisition reform through best value and the schedule
The proposed statutory authority in the FoRGED Act will immediately open up a world of innovation and efficiency for the government and industry.
The FoRGED Act is the procurement blueprint for the National Defense Authorization Act of 2026. A section of the FoRGED Act contains language that will change the statutory authority for the General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) to embrace best value acquisition procedures. This proposed statutory authority will immediately open up a world of innovation and efficiency for the government and industry.
The current statutory language has been interpreted by some to require the lowest price regardless of terms and conditions at the contract level. We maintain it means lowest cost at the order level, considering administrative costs, time savings, life cycle cost and other savings associated with the GSA’s MAS streamlined ordering procedures. Competition at the order level includes price competition. At the order level, sometimes, price is the determining factor for an order. Sometimes, quality, delivery, innovation, or other benefits are more important than price. The best value language will ensure that the continuum of acquisition strategies is available to contracting officers.
Amending the statutory language to “best value” would mean an end to the Price Reductions Clause (PRC), an archaic, noncommercial clause not seen in any other government contracting context. The PRC impacts the normal business operations of a business by forcing it to consider the effect that a commercial transaction might have on its MAS contract pricing. To avoid the PRC and its complicated tracking scheme, GSA mercifully created Transaction Data Reporting (TDR), where companies report data on transactions at the order level, which alleviates the requirement to comply with the PRC.
In addition to solving the lowest price regardless of terms and conditions hurdle, the “best value” statutory language will have other significant benefits. There has been a significant increase in the number of large, professional and information technology service contracts, often with the same contractors that are already on the MAS.
One of the primary reasons for these other contracts is the ability to do cost-reimbursement contracting. Many MAS contractors can perform cost-reimbursement contracts, and the “best value” language could open the MAS up to changes that would allow cost reimbursement order competitions under the MAS among eligible contractors. The “best value” language will also give GSA greater flexibility to allow contractors to provide tangential materials and other direct costs as part of an overall solution. The best value language provides the authority to embrace innovative acquisition approaches, including adopting “other transaction authority” style acquisitions for cutting-edge, innovative technology solutions through the MAS. It will all start with a simple change in statutory language.
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