# The FIT Procurement Act: Making Government Tech Buying Smarter and More Competitive

This bill is about improving how the federal government buys technology and other goods and services. Right now, the government procurement process is often slow, complicated, and difficult for smaller companies to navigate. This bill tries to fix that by making the process faster, simpler, and more open to competition.

The bill focuses on three main areas. First, it improves training for government employees who handle purchasing decisions. These workers will get better education on how to buy technology effectively, including learning about cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. They'll also learn about faster, simpler ways to buy things—like using demonstrations instead of requiring companies to write lengthy proposals. The bill increases funding for this training from 5% to 7.5% of the acquisition workforce budget.

Second, the bill makes it easier and faster to buy things by raising the dollar amounts that allow for simplified purchasing. Currently, purchases under $250,000 can use streamlined procedures; this bill raises that to $500,000. For very small purchases, it raises the limit from $10,000 to $25,000. The bill also allows the government to pay upfront for technology subscriptions and cloud services, which is how most businesses operate today but wasn't clearly allowed before.

Third, the bill tries to level the playing field for small businesses competing for government contracts. It asks federal agencies to accept a wider range of past work experience when evaluating companies—not just previous government contracts, but also commercial work. It also directs officials to identify and remove unnecessary paperwork and qualification requirements that make it harder for small companies to bid. Within two years, agencies must implement changes to reduce these barriers. The bill also requires a study to assess how well small businesses are currently participating in federal technology contracts and what's holding them back.

FIT Procurement Act

Burlison, Eric

Federal Improvement in Technology Procurement Act or the FIT Procurement ActThis bill addresses various issues related to federal procurement policy and the federal acquisition workforce. &nbsp;For example, the bill requires<ul><li>the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) to establish a pilot program to consider incorporating experiential learning into the Federal Credentials Program, the Federal Acquisition Certification-Contracting Officer’s Representative Program, and the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers Program;</li><li>FAI to provide information and communications technology acquisition training for certain acquisition workforce members;</li><li>the General Services Administration to assume responsibility from the Office of Management and Budget for developing and implementing an artificial intelligence training program for certain acquisition workforce members;</li><li>the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) to issue guidance to increase competition among eligible firms, including specifying means to validate non-government past performance references and using evaluation methods other than past performance when appropriate; and</li><li>the OFPP to implement regulatory and other non-legislative actions, based on input from the Chief Acquisition Officers Council and the public, to remove barriers to entry for small businesses seeking to participate in federal government procurement.</li></ul>The bill also increases the simplified acquisition threshold from $250,000 to $500,000 and the micro purchase threshold from $10,000 to $25,000. (The federal government uses less complex procedures for the purchase of property and services valued below the simplified acquisition threshold. Purchases below the micro purchase&nbsp;threshold generally do not require soliciting competitive quotations if the contracting officer considers the price to be reasonable.)