Policy Alert: Administration Seeks to Reform Federal Acquisition Regulation

Action: Executive Order “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement”

What it does: The Administration has issued an Executive Order directing the Administrator of the Office of Federal Public Procurement Policy to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) within 180 days to ensure it only contains provisions required by statute or that “are otherwise necessary to support simplicity and usability, strengthen the efficacy of the procurement system, or protect economic or national security interests.” Within 15 days, Federal agency heads must designate a senior acquisition or procurement official to work with the Administrator and the FAR Council to reform FAR and recommend any agency-specific supplemental regulations. The Office of Management and Budget will issue a memorandum implementing this Order and the Administrator shall consider setting a regulatory sunset of four years for any provisions not required by statute that remain in the FAR, unless renewed by the FAR Council. The Order limits direct business opportunities for involvement in the process.

Key Insights

The FAR is the primary regulation containing standard solicitation provisions and contract clauses used by all Federal agencies to acquire supplies and services with appropriated funds, governing nearly $1 trillion annually in procurements. The Defense Department, General Services Administration (GSA), and NASA jointly issue the FAR; there are also various agency-specific supplements.
The Administration claims that the FAR is an “excessive and overcomplicated regulatory framework . . . resulting in an onerous bureaucracy.” The Administration’s policy of “removing undue barriers” to “create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible” is part of its broader deregulatory push through executive actions.
The Order cites previous studies on reforming the FAR, including a 2024 Senate Committee report led by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) that called for reforms in “cutting red tape, unleashing innovation, increasing competition, enabling decisive action and modernizing the budget process.”
Three senior Administration officials, including the acting Administrator of the GSA and the Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, criticized the excessive FAR compliance costs that only entrenched vendors can meet and explained the goals of FAR reform: to “overhaul the FAR with plain English, eliminate nearly all non-statutory and duplicative regulations, remove DEI, waste, and wokeness and add helpful buyer guides in place of requirements.”
However, the Order on the FAR does not require public comment and does not seek feedback from the Federal contractors who would be most impacted. Federal contractors can expect uncertainty during this transition, reduced complexity, and potential opportunities for new commercial vendors, though many of the most onerous regulations in the FAR are tied to statute or national security interests.
DOGE employees have also modified the “grants.gov” website that serves as a clearinghouse for over $500 billion in annual grant awards, increasing their authority to review grant opportunities and restricting permissions for many Federal workers who use the website to post grant opportunities, potentially leading to significant slowdowns in awarding grants and raising concerns that money appropriated by Congress might not be spent.
At the National Institutes for Health, a new procedure for providing notices of funding opportunities reportedly involves approval from DOGE reviewers as well as center directors and possibly the NIH Director.

Policy Alert: Administration Seeks to Reform Federal Acquisition Regulation

April 24, 2025

Action: Executive Order “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement”

Key Insights

The FAR is the primary regulation containing standard solicitation provisions and contract clauses used by all Federal agencies to acquire supplies and services with appropriated funds, governing nearly $1 trillion annually in procurements. The Defense Department, General Services Administration (GSA), and NASA jointly issue the FAR; there are also various agency-specific supplements.

The Administration claims that the FAR is an “excessive and overcomplicated regulatory framework . . . resulting in an onerous bureaucracy.” The Administration’s policy of “removing undue barriers” to “create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible” is part of its broader deregulatory push through executive actions.

The Order cites previous studies on reforming the FAR, including a 2024 Senate Committee report led by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) that called for reforms in “cutting red tape, unleashing innovation, increasing competition, enabling decisive action and modernizing the budget process.”

Three senior Administration officials, including the acting Administrator of the GSA and the Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, criticized the excessive FAR compliance costs that only entrenched vendors can meet and explained the goals of FAR reform: to “overhaul the FAR with plain English, eliminate nearly all non-statutory and duplicative regulations, remove DEI, waste, and wokeness and add helpful buyer guides in place of requirements.”

However, the Order on the FAR does not require public comment and does not seek feedback from the Federal contractors who would be most impacted. Federal contractors can expect uncertainty during this transition, reduced complexity, and potential opportunities for new commercial vendors, though many of the most onerous regulations in the FAR are tied to statute or national security interests.

DOGE employees have also modified the “grants.gov” website that serves as a clearinghouse for over $500 billion in annual grant awards, increasing their authority to review grant opportunities and restricting permissions for many Federal workers who use the website to post grant opportunities, potentially leading to significant slowdowns in awarding grants and raising concerns that money appropriated by Congress might not be spent.

At the National Institutes for Health, a new procedure for providing notices of funding opportunities reportedly involves approval from DOGE reviewers as well as center directors and possibly the NIH Director.

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