§393 Special streamlined acquisition authority

Summary

Gives the Secretary of Homeland Security temporary power to use faster buying rules for certain purchases through September 30, 2007 when the Secretary writes that the Department’s mission would be seriously harmed without them. The Secretary cannot let a non–Senate‑confirmed officer make that decision. Within 7 days of the written decision the Secretary must tell the House Committee on Government Reform and the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and explain why. The Secretary can name some employees to make these purchases. Those employees’ purchase authority is treated as if the small‑purchase amount is $7,500. The group must be smaller than the current number allowed to buy without competition, spread out to cover likely terrorist targets, and small enough to let supervisors watch them closely. Each designated buyer gets monthly reviews, and each supervisor may oversee no more than 7 buyers. For these purchases, the simplified acquisition limits can be $200,000 inside the U.S. and $300,000 outside. Items may be treated as commercial, and a $5,000,000 limit for property or services is raised to $7,500,000. If a related rule would have expired, it still applies for these buys. Not later than 180 days after the end of fiscal year 2005, the Comptroller General must report to the same two committees about how the authorities were used. The report must say how the purchases helped the Department’s mission, whether prices showed good value, how many employees each agency named, whether monitoring rules were followed, and any recommendations to improve the program.