The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has passed a bill that would limit the use of “lowest price, technically acceptable” methods by federal agencies in the procurement of technology platforms and services, as reported by Nextgov.
The Promoting Value Based Defense Procurement Act was approved Wednesday through a voice vote following a markup and is now headed to the House floor.
The measure would also direct a government auditor to report on agencies that award contracts to vendors with the lowest bid and use cost as the primary deciding factor for the next three years.
The report said that provision would cover contracts worth more than $5 million.
The use of LPTA contracts has “started to calcify some large chunks of contracting in the federal sphere,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia), one of the bill’s cosponsors.
Connolly added that agencies should consider innovation and quality in the procurement process.
Sens. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) proposed a similar measure last year that would require the Defense Department to avoid the use of LPTA-based contracts to acquire knowledge-based professional services from industry.
