On August 29, 2017, GSA Senior Procurement Executive (SPE), Jeff Koses, signed an Acquisition Letter and SPE Memorandum in response to Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts.
- Acquisition Letter MV-17-03 - Class Deviation - Exercise of Special Emergency Procurement Procedures
- SPE Memorandum 2017-08-29 - Relief Efforts for Hurricane Harvey
These documents and others can be found on the OAP Acquisition Policy Library page on the Acquisition Portal.
The Acquisition Letter explains a new FAR deviation (just signed) which establishes the authority to raise the micro purchase threshold, the simplified acquisition threshold, and the simplified leasing acquisition threshold, all to help us respond to major declared disasters.
The SPE Memo invokes this FAR deviation as part of our response to Hurricane Harvey. The SPE memo walks through details, and your staff should read before taking action.
The simple version is that it is for buying actions in DIRECT support of Hurricane Harvey, not for backfills. Specifically:
- Increased the micro-purchase threshold to $20,000.
- Increased the Simplified Acquisition Threshold to $750,000. $13,000,000 for commercial items.
- Increased the Simplified Lease Acquisition Threshold to $750,000.
The SPE does not have the authority to address the $2,000 threshold under the Davis-Bacon Act or the $2,500 threshold under the Service Contract Act. These thresholds remain unchanged as a result of the Acquisition Letter and SPE Memorandum.
However, the SPE memo does contain the details on the authorities and some other key points on responding to the disaster.
It's very important that COs don't lose the thread on documentation for any action associated with these Special Emergency Procurement Authorities. It's imperative, as always, that we clearly define and document all our actions!