Senate committee approves acquisition institute bill
Legislation would reorganize the Federal Acquisition Institute as it trains civilian contracting staff
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today approved a bill designed to strengthen the Federal Acquisition Institute.
The Federal Acquisition Institute Act (S. 2902) would reorganize the training institute to report to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, which is in the Office of Management and Budget. OMB and the General Services Administration would have to tell Congress about FAI’s budgetary needs and necessary authorities to set governmentwide acquisition training standards.
The governmentwide training standards would include developing certifications, overseeing internship programs and managing rotation assignments for acquisition employees. The measure would also create information on a career in federal contracting to hire and then retain more government employees. FAI would also work with the Office of Personnel Management on workforce issues, according to the bill.
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Similar to the Defense Department’s Defense Acquisition University, FAI works on career development and training the civilian acquisition workforce.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the committee’s ranking member, introduced the bill because she said FAI gets much less support than DOD's acquisition university.
The Senate still must vote on the bill before it would go to the House for consideration.
About the Author
Matthew Weigelt is a senior writer covering acquisition and procurement for Federal Computer Week. Follow him on Twitter: @matthewweigelt.