And Policy Leadership
GSA has been changing its focus from operational support to central management and policy-making, but not in the traditional command-and-control sense. GSA's role in policy development provides leadership for interagency teams collaborating in the development of Governmentwide policies that will affect them. As one of three agencies responsible for Federal procurement policy, GSA worked with Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and other agencies to effect Federal acquisition reform. The results simplified procurement procedures across the Government. In FY 1997, GSA developed guidelines and policies to implement the 1995 Federal Acquisition Reform Act. By reengineering the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15 processes used to contract by negotiation, GSA reduced the resources necessary for source selection and the time needed to award contracts. The objectives of the new rules are to ensure that the Government receives the best value and that prospective contractors are treated fairly. GSA has developed a special Internet course on FAR Part 15, which will be the first offering on its Federal Acquisition Institute's new On-line University for Federal acquisition personnel. GSA developed Year 2000 policy guidance to help agencies upgrade their technology and acquire only products that will work in the year 2000. Like the private sector, the Federal Government owns thousands of computers that only recognize years beginning with 19. Upon the turn of the century, these computers may read the year 2000 as 1900. There is widespread concern that many computers will not work in 2000 unless they are upgraded. The new guidance helps agencies acquire IT products and systems that accommodate the necessary changes. GSA guidelines preserved artifacts uncovered during Federal construction that are providing invaluable information about the lives of Africans who lived and died in 18th century New York. GSA provides guidance for determining the cultural significance of artifacts uncovered during new construction. One of the best known cases centers on the site where GSA discovered a centuries-old African burial ground in lower Manhattan during construction of the Foley Square Federal Office Building. It afforded a rare glimpse back on the lives of Africans in colonial New York. Construction at the site was temporarily halted as archaeologists uncovered, identified and moved the remains of some 390 skeletons. Part of the site was reserved for a memorial to commemorate the men, women and children-slave and free-who will be reinterred when studies at Howard University are completed. GSA is supporting ongoing analysis of other artifacts found in the vicinity. GSA influenced legislation that will reform obsolete travel policies and save hundreds of millions of dollars a year. As coordinator of the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP), GSA was instrumental in developing a package of legislative and regulatory reforms of obsolete Government travel policies. Most of the recommended legislative changes were enacted in the 1996 Federal Employee Travel Reform Act. An additional 15 changes were made to the Federal Travel Regulations in March 1997. GSA policy guidance enables agencies to donate surplus Federal computers to schools and nonprofit organizations. In FY 1997, Federal agencies donated more than 90,000 pieces of computer equipment. GSA itself donated over 5,000 computers to schools throughout the country. The agency has also developed a model program for Federal Executive Boards across the country to identify needy schools. The computers-to-schools initiative implements Executive Order 12999 designed to "ensure that American children have the skills they need to succeed in the information-intensive 21st century."
In a partnership to dispose of Governors Island in New York Harbor, GSA
is providing the leadership to ensure preservation of the newly vacant historic
site. A strategic military base for over 300 years-and the Coast Guard's
North Atlantic headquarters since 1966-Governors Island is just a half-mile
off the tip of Manhattan. The Coast Guard closed its facility and turned
the island over to GSA for disposal in FY 1997. To encourage maximum public
participation in determining its future use, GSA held a series of public
forums. The public's comments were used to develop a land-use study which,
in turn, will shape the Environmental Impact Statement that begins the formal
disposal process. The study outlined several options, all of which gave
primary consideration to preservation of the island's 92-acre historic district.
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