Temporary acquisition authorities that aid the Department of Homeland Security in getting innovative commercial technologies and goods in response to the COVID-19 crisis should be lasting tools in the department’s acquisition toolbox, the agency’s top acquisition official told a Senate panel.
The DHS other transaction authority (OTA) that allows the agency to conduct pilot projects outside of the traditional competitive bidding regulations expires at the end of each fiscal year.
Soraya Correa, the agency’s chief procurement officer, told lawmakers at a recent hearing of the Senate Finance Committee that she’d like permanent authorization for OTAs.
Similarly, the Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program (CSOP) expires at the end of 2022. Correa would like to see that become a permanent fixture of agency acquisition.
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Instead, the goal of frictionless acquisition is about how contracting officers, program managers, industry and so many others view what it takes to buy a product or service.
That means the new assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition, once they’ve been nominated and confirmed by Congress, will be able to focus more closely on integrating and synchronizing existing space capability and acquisition programs. That’s something sorely needed in the space domain, according to one of the officials working to stand up the new office.
Agencies are expected to spend $194 billion between now and Sept. 30, according to Bloomberg Government. Departments will spend a big chunk of that total on technology — $28 billion — and on professional services — $32 billion.
In the two years since its conception, the Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center has built out its staff from four people to 175 and now commands an annual budget of approximately $240 million.
