**[Electronic Purchasing and Payment]{.smallcaps}**

**[in the Federal Government]{.smallcaps}**

> **[\-- *Update 2000*]{.smallcaps}**

***Report to Congress***

**http://ec.fed.gov/**

> **\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_**

**United States Office of Management and Budget**

tABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary 2

**SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION 4**

**SECTION 2.**

**GOVERNMENT-WIDE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
[5](#section-2.-government-wide-accomplishments)**

Track 1: Fostering Partnerships [5](#track-1-fostering-partnerships)

Track 2: Re-engineering and Integrating High-Volume Activities
End-to-End
[18](#track-2-re-engineering-and-integrating-high-volume-activities-end-to-end)

Track 3: Re-engineering Additional Buying and Paying Functions
[28](#track-3-re-engineering-additional-buying-and-paying-functions)

section 3. Migration Path [37](#section-3.-migration-path)

APPENDIX A. OMB Guidance for Developing EC Reports
[42](#appendix-a.-omb-guidance-for-developing-ec-reports)

APPENDIX B. Current Framework of E-Gov Coordinating Groups
[45](#appendix-b.-current-framework-of-e-gov-coordinating-groups)

APPENDIX C. EC Activity agency-by-agency
[50](#appendix-c.-ec-activity-agency-by-agency)

Table 1a: Business Opportunities Posted via CBDNet for FY 99
[50](#table-1a-business-opportunities-posted-via-cbdnet-for-fy-99)

Table 1b: Business Opportunities Posted via CBDNet for FY 00
[51](#table-1b-business-opportunities-posted-via-cbdnet-for-fy-00)

Table 2a: Purchase Card Activity for CY 99
[52](#table-2a-purchase-card-activity-for-cy-99)

Table 2b: Purchase Card Activity for FY 00 53

Table 3a: Use of FedBizOpps in CY 99
[54](#table-3a-use-of-fedbizopps-formerly-the-electronic-posting-system-in-cy-99)

Table 3b: Use of FedBizOpps in CY 00
[55](#table-3b-use-of-fedbizopps-in-cy-00)

1.  **EXECUTIVE SUMMARY**

The Federal government continuously searches for ways to integrate the
latest commercial developments into its buying and paying processes.
Today, the Internet and related technological developments are rapidly
transforming the way commercial business is conducted. The commercial
marketplace is using electronic commerce (EC) tools to increase and ease
access to information, reduce transaction costs, create a highly
competitive virtual marketplace, and make payment processes more
accurate and reliable. Similarly, the government is seeking to
capitalize on the potential of electronic business processes to improve
how it does business. These efforts are an integral part of the
Administration's overall effort to create an electronic government that
is more accessible, accountable, efficient, and responsive to the needs
of the American people.

The Administration's EC strategic plan for purchasing and payment,
*Electronic Commerce for Buyers and Sellers,* calls for focused
government action to explore opportunities for applying commercial EC
technologies and business practices to improve Federal buying and paying
operations. This report, *Electronic Purchasing and Payment in the
Federal Government -- Update 2000,* describes the EC activities Federal
agencies are currently pursuing in furtherance of the strategic plan to
strengthen and integrate their buying and paying processes.

Ongoing actions of particular note include the following:

-   **Agencies are making it easier for sellers to pursue Federal buying
    opportunities.** Agencies have taken significant steps that will
    soon enable firms that want to do business with the government to
    have one-stop access on the Internet to the information they need
    (namely notices and solicitations) to pursue Federal contracting
    opportunities over \$25,000. This site would serve as the
    procurement portal for "FirstGov" -- the recently launched,
    first-ever government website to provide the public with easy,
    customer-friendly, one-stop access to all online U.S. Federal
    government resources.

> In addition, a website has recently been developed to serve as a
> gateway of information for women-owned businesses wishing to sell to
> the government. Agencies are also improving the visibility of products
> and services available from small businesses. Efforts include the
> creation of an electronic mall of small disadvantaged businesses
> qualified under the Small Business Administration's 8(a) program.
> These steps toward an electronic government improve agencies' ability
> to service our citizens by making it easier for agencies and
> competitive contractors to find one another.

-   **Agencies have increased use of commercial purchase cards to
    improve the efficiency of their high volume, low dollar purchasing
    and payment activities.** Agencies are now using purchase cards
    (government credit cards) to conduct more than 80 percent of their
    micro-purchases (i.e., buys under \$2,500). By using purchase cards
    rather than paper for these low-dollar, high-volume purchases,
    agencies have reduced administrative costs and are processing
    payments faster and more accurately -- yet another example of how
    electronic government is being used to benefit the agencies, their
    contractors, and the American people.

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-   **Agencies are implementing programs to instill greater confidence
    in Internet transactions.** OMB has issued government-wide guidance
    and agencies are pursuing projects to position the government and
    its business partners to communicate with appropriate assurances of
    security. These efforts include use of electronic signatures and
    encryption.

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-   **Agencies are actively following technological advances and
    developing commercial trends.** Agencies continue to look to EC
    applications that offer opportunities to re-engineer buying and
    paying processes and to the private sector to lead the
    transformation. The government's emerging interest in online
    auctioning represents one such example, as agencies seek to
    determine how the latest technological advances and developing
    commercial trends can be effectively integrated with ongoing
    acquisition reform efforts to strengthen the efficiency of Federal
    contract negotiation processes.

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-   **Agencies are coordinating their efforts across functions.** The
    chairs of the electronic government or electronic commerce
    committees of the Procurement Executives Council, the Chief
    Information Officers Council, and the Chief Financial Officers
    Council meet monthly with the Deputy Director for Management of the
    Office of Management and Budget to establish priorities and discuss
    strategies for pursuing crosscutting initiatives. These meetings
    reflect a shared understanding among senior managers that productive
    collaboration across acquisition, finance, and information
    technology communities is key to the successful integration of EC
    into buying and paying processes.

To achieve the full efficiencies made possible by EC, agencies will
remain challenged to work towards greater interoperability between
purchasing processes and payment systems. Collaborative steps towards
this end include: (a) defining interface points and a common vocabulary
(e.g., a data dictionary) among and between acquisition processes and
financial systems and (b) migrating to more cost-effective data
collection processes that link and exchange data with other common
resources, such as the government-wide point of entry for Federal
business opportunities and contractor performance systems.

The pace of technological change remains rapid. Harnessing the benefits
of this ongoing transformation to bring about an effective electronic
government will demand -- and, undoubtedly, continue to receive -- high
priority attention from Federal buying and paying offices who, during
the course of this Administration, have come to appreciate the potential
of EC to enable improved agency operations and service to our citizenry.

# 

**SECTION 1. *INTRODUCTION***

This report, *Electronic Purchasing and Payment in the Federal
Government -- Update 2000,* describes the activities the Federal
government is undertaking to strengthen and integrate its buying and
paying processes using electronic commerce (EC) technologies. This
report is required by section 30(e) of the Office of Federal Procurement
Policy (OFPP) Act. The information contained in this document is based,
in part, on activities described by agencies in response to an Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum requesting agency progress
reports in the use of EC in purchasing and payment processes. (See
Appendix A.)

This report discusses the ongoing actions agencies are taking and next
steps in implementing the government-wide strategic plan for EC,
*Electronic Commerce for Buyers and Sellers*. The strategic plan was
issued by the President's Management Council's Electronic Processes
Initiatives Committee (EPIC) in March 1998 to help agencies achieve
greater return for their ongoing and future EC activities related to
buying and paying.

The strategic plan envisions Federal activity concentrating and
proceeding simultaneously along three related tracks towards
electronically-enabled business processes that allow agencies to carry
out their missions in a manner that will more effectively meet the needs
of the American people:

1.  **Foster partnerships.** The plan calls upon agencies to manage the
    transition from paper-based to electronic processes by fostering
    partnerships with affected stakeholders within government and with
    industry to address needs and seek out common approaches for process
    improvements.

2.  **Re-engineer high volume activities.** The plan directs agencies to
    re-engineer and integrate buying for high-volume (generally low
    dollar) purchases with end-to-end ordering and payment processing.

3.  **Strengthen key buying and paying functions**. The plan calls upon
    agencies to re-engineer other key functions within the buying and
    paying cycle as promising technologies emerge, even where
    "end-to-end" use of commercial EC services is not possible or is
    otherwise impractical.

Section 2 of this report discusses government-wide accomplishments for
each of the three tracks identified in the strategic plan. Section 3
sets forth a "migration path" table summarizing current activity and
next steps in the government's ongoing efforts to improve its buying and
paying processes through the use of promising EC technologies.

# SECTION 2. *Government-wide Accomplishments* 

## Track 1: Fostering Partnerships

The first track of strategic activities identified in the
government-wide EC plan for buying and paying focuses on "change
management" -- i.e., ensuring that agency transitions from paper-based
to electronic processes are effectively managed and facilitate broad
stakeholder involvement. In furtherance of this goal:

-   Administration guidance continues to promote activities that make
    information more accessible and business interactions faster,
    easier, and less costly.

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-   The electronic government or electronic commerce committees of the
    Procurement Executives Council (PEC), the Chief Information Officers
    Council (CIOC), and the Chief Financial Officers Council (CFOC) meet
    monthly with OMB to discuss priority projects and crosscutting
    initiatives.

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-   OMB instituted new procedures to better coordinate agency budget
    reporting for information technology (IT) system investments.

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-   Efforts are underway to migrate to more cost-effective data
    collection processes and improved measures that will support the
    government's ability to manage for results.

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-   Significant steps are being taken to facilitate effective small
    business participation in an electronic environment.

    These efforts are described in greater detail in the subsections
    below.

    **[A. *Policy Initiatives*]{.underline}**

The Administration has issued several Presidential memoranda to
reinforce agency use of IT in the smartest ways possible to improve
government operations -- from the way business is conducted to the way
services are provided.[^1] Of particular importance to the buying and
paying communities is the renewed emphasis on ensuring easy access to
the information agencies make available online. A December 1999
Presidential memorandum on "Electronic Government" calls for information
in all areas to be organized and made accessible in a topical,
user-friendly manner rather than by agency.

Consistent with this vision, a government-wide acquisition rule was
proposed and published for public comment in the Summer of 2000 that
would establish a single point on the Internet, "FedBizOpps.Gov"
(Federal Business Opportunities), where sellers can access all the
information they need to bid on government contracts from any
agency.[^2]

Under the rule (that would amend the FAR), agencies would make notices
of contracting opportunities currently required to be published in the
CBD accessible through FedBizOpps along with associated solicitations
and amendments. As a result sellers, after identifying notices of
interest, will be able to quickly access related solicitation
information. Prior to this effort, electronic access generally has been
limited to notices of contracting opportunities. Sellers often have
found themselves having to go to individual agency websites and
undertake further searches to obtain the related acquisition information
they need (namely solicitations) for deciding whether to pursue a
business opportunity. Hence, the roll-out of FedBizOpps, reinforced by
the FAR rulemaking effort, represents a significant re-engineering of
processes currently used to obtain information on procurements. [^3]

In addition to addressing improved information flow regarding business
opportunities, recently issued guidance aims to expand the application
of EC technologies in other key aspects of buying and paying activities.
Of particular note, guidance has been issued to address the following
initiatives:

-   [Promoting electronic payments.]{.underline} OMB modified the
    regulations implementing the Prompt Payment Act to reflect and
    promote the increased use of EC as a means of streamlining and
    saving taxpayer dollars.[^4] For example, the rule expands the
    options for making early payments for a single invoice under \$2,500
    and in other cases. This change recognizes that, as the government
    moves steadily into the EC mainstream, agencies are increasingly
    likely to realize efficiencies and cost savings if agencies are
    allowed to pay early when it benefits the government to do so.[^5]

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-   [Increasing use of purchase cards.]{.underline} The Department of
    Defense (DOD) finalized a rule proposed in 1999 mandating use of the
    government-wide commercial purchase card as the method of purchase
    and/or method of payment for purchases valued at or below the
    micro-purchase threshold, unless an exception is authorized.[^6] The
    change implements DOD policy memoranda recognizing that use of the
    purchase card streamlines purchasing and payment procedures and,
    therefore, increases operational efficiency.

######## [Using electronic signatures.]{.underline} The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) provides that electronic records and their related signatures are not to be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability merely because they are in electronic form. Last Spring, OMB issued guidance to assist agencies in developing plans to implement GPEA by October 2003 and pave the way for removing barriers to the ability of citizens to interact with the Federal Government electronically.[^7] Among other things, the guidance provides a framework for helping agencies to consider which electronic signature technology may be most appropriate. It outlines methods of analysis and topics to consider when maximizing benefits and minimizing risks in the implementation of a particular electronic signature technology to secure electronic transactions. This planning will provide the foundation for the effective execution of contracts and associated documents using electronic signatures of the agency and its business partners, with appropriate assurance of security so that buyers and sellers can be properly identified and authenticated and information can be shared without compromising confidentiality and integrity. To help reinforce these efforts generally, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (DARC) recently issued a proposed change to the FAR that clarifies and encourages the use of electronic signatures in Federal procurement.[^8] 

######## 

The PEC EC Committee will continue to consider opportunities to improve
the statutory, regulatory, and policy framework as necessary to ensure
the success of government initiatives to improve acquisition processes
through the use of EC.[^9]

######## [B. *Inter-agency Management*]{.underline}

As efforts continue to expand the use of EC in the buying and paying
process, the need for cross-functional cooperation among agencies and
between procurement, finance, and information technology organizations
has increased. The following actions have been taken to address this
need:

-   [Creation of the E-Gov Coordinating Committee.]{.underline} To
    reinvigorate inter-agency management of EC activities, the
    electronic government or electronic commerce committees of the PEC,
    the CIOC, and the CFOC meet monthly with the Deputy Director of OMB
    to discuss priority projects.[^10] The E-Gov Coordinating Committee,
    which has replaced the EPIC, provides a forum to address and
    coordinate areas requiring cross-agency and interdisciplinary
    involvement. This will be critical to the effective pursuit of
    crosscutting initiatives which might otherwise lag in development.
    In coordinating efforts, the E-Gov Coordinating Committee looks to
    the White House Electronic Commerce Working Group, which provides
    broad policy direction for EC and electronic government.

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-   [Alignment of inter-agency EC coordinating groups.]{.underline} A
    variety of EC working groups -- beyond the EC Committees of the PEC,
    CFOC, and CIOC -- are pursuing EC activities. To ensure activities
    remain focused and aligned with strategic priorities, most groups
    have been adopted by the PEC, CFOC, or CIOC, which now serve as the
    lead organizations for EC and electronic government activity in
    their respective areas. [^11] For example:

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-   The *Inter-agency Acquisition Internet Council* (IAIC), which helps
    procuring agencies to explore the potential of emerging
    technologies, has been aligned with the PEC. Among other things,
    IAIC is closely following developments in the use of Extensible
    Markup Language (XML) for opportunities to improve interoperability
    between applications and web software.[^12]

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-   The *Financial Implementation Team for Electronic Commerce* (FITEC),
    which addresses EC applications related to finance processes, is
    aligned with the CFOC. Among other things, FITEC seeks to promote
    effective use of purchase, travel, and fleet cards.

-   The *Federal Information Technology Accessibility Initiative*
    (FITAI), which promotes service delivery by helping to ensure IT is
    developed, procured, and deployed in a manner that enables
    participation in e-government by people with disabilities
    (consistent with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of
    1998), is championed by the CIOC and facilitated by the General
    Services Administration (GSA) in coordination with the Architectural
    and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board), the
    Department of Education, and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

> This realignment is helping to ensure appropriate attention is paid,
> and overlap reduced, in areas of key interest (e.g., service delivery;
> interoperability; financial applications; procurement, finance and IT
> policy.)[^13] Moreover, it is anticipated that this alignment will
> provide a stabilizing structure for crosscutting initiatives.

Electronic Government/Commerce Coordinating Authorities

New E-Gov

Coordination

Subcommittees

-   [Improvements in the funding mechanisms for high priority
    government-wide EC initiatives.]{.underline} Congress has authorized
    agencies to transfer a limited amount of funds to GSA to support
    initiatives proposed by inter-agency councils.[^14] The PEC, CIOC,
    and CFOC are using this authority to enable agencies and the
    councils to better plan for, and provide a more steady stream of
    resources (with reduced administrative burden) to support
    inter-agency IT, finance, and procurement initiatives, including
    efforts related to EC. A portion of this funding, for instance,
    assists the PEC's efforts to transform the Federal Procurement Data
    System (FPDS) from a passive, after-the-fact data collection system
    to an active, real-time business management information system. It
    also helps to support the Administration's efforts to establish a
    single government-wide point of electronic entry on the Internet for
    easy access to Federal business opportunities.

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-   [Establishment of a framework for exploring interfaces between
    Federal acquisition and financial systems.]{.underline} The PEC EC
    Committee, the CFOC Financial Systems Committee and the Joint
    Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP) have begun to
    explore the development of guidance and standards to improve the
    electronic interface between Federal acquisition processes and
    financial systems. This effort focuses on interfaces relating to
    funds certification, the obligation/deobligation process, payment,
    and contract closeout. To foster a productive collaboration between
    these groups, the JFMIP and the PEC developed a charter to ensure
    the meaningful participation of stakeholders in the affected
    communities and an end product reflecting the needs of these
    stakeholders.

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-   [Facilitation of interdisciplinary review of agency progress on EC
    initiatives.]{.underline} The Office of Electronic Government
    (formerly known as the Electronic Commerce Program Office), which is
    housed in GSA's Office of Government-wide Policy and co-chaired by

> representatives from GSA and DOD, developed a website, using
> commercial technologies, for agencies to use in developing agency EC
> progress reports for OMB. The "On-line Progress Reporting System"
> provided a secure environment to enable easy cross-functional
> participation in the development and review of reports.

-   [Sponsorship of an inter-agency trade fair.]{.underline} In October
    1999, the PEC EC Committee sponsored an EC trade fair to facilitate
    cross-pollination of successful EC technologies and practices.
    Numerous departments and agencies[^15] demonstrated a wide array of
    systems and applications including, among other things, past
    performance data collection, electronic catalogs, and contract
    writing systems. This demonstration gave agencies the opportunity to
    consider proven applications and solutions.

Under the aegis of the E-Gov Coordinating Committee, the EC Committees
of the PEC, CFOC, and CIOC will review the priorities identified in the
Federal EC strategic plan for buying and paying and develop appropriate
revisions to the plan as necessary so that agencies may achieve greater
return for their ongoing and future EC activities.

**[C*. Internal Management: Capital Programming for IT
Investments*]{.underline}**

In recent years, OMB has worked increasingly with the CIOC to improve
the way agencies select, control, and evaluate IT investments, and to
better coordinate and integrate IT into budget reporting. OMB Circular
A-11, sections 52, 53, and 300 now provide unified guidance and criteria
for funding IT investments, including financial management systems. As a
result of this collaborative effort:

1.  IT is integrated into agencies\' overall capital planning and budget
    processes;

2.  Agency managers, OMB, and Congress will have sufficient planning
    data to make well-informed budget decisions; and

3.  Acquisition strategy and cost, schedule, and performance goals are
    more closely linked to agency mission and strategic goals.

In justifying their budget requests, OMB requires agencies to explain
how major IT acquisitions[^16] conform to the agency's enterprise and IT
architectures and technical architecture and infrastructure. This
requirement is intended to promote uniform implementation of IT

investments enterprise-wide to the extent practicable, and may assist
agencies to comply with the requirements of sections 30(c)(1) and
30(c)(2) of the OFPP Act.[^17]

In addition, the PEC has developed a performance measurement program to
enable government-wide and agency assessments of the acquisition system
based on mandatory core performance measures. Meeting cost, schedule,
and performance goals has been identified as one of the core measures.

**[D. *Data Collection and Measurements*]{.underline}**

Collection of transactional information, such as that contemplated by
section 30(e)(4) of the OFPP Act, remains a challenge, primarily because
data reporting systems currently in place generally are not structured
to capture this information in an efficient and comprehensive
manner.[^18] In the Spring of 2000, OFPP rescinded its requirement for
monthly reporting to GSA's Online Statistical Reporting System (OSRS).
OSRS served to facilitate the reporting of certain EC information
gathered by agencies. Many agencies, however, still lack the means to
internally collect data from their files easily and without significant
cost consequences. New architectures, such as FedBizOpps, are being
designed to capture potentially useful transactional information.

To bring about more cost-effective collection processes that will better
enable the government to manage for results as a general matter, the PEC
has initiated an effort to re-engineer FPDS into a management
information system. The goal is for a re-engineered system to: (a) take
better advantage of current technological capability, (b) be easily
accessible, and (c) provide timely, relevant, and reliable acquisition
information to support critical agency business decision-making.

The PEC sponsored a public forum to seek industry input on available
performance solutions on how best to create a system with enabling
technologies that will provide easily accessible and accurate data, and
serve as a management tool integrated with the procurement business
process. The PEC intends to consider a wide range of options. Solutions
might involve public/private partnerships, acquisition of services
instead of equipment, acquisition of a commercial or customized
system(s), or other alternatives that will achieve the government's

performance and results goals and achieve significant reductions in both
operating costs and data

collection cycle time.

Concurrent with the re-engineering of data collection processes, efforts
are being made to identify and apply EC metrics to measure the
effectiveness of electronic applications. In light of the administrative
savings and other benefits of purchase cards (such as enabling
contracting officers to focus on higher dollar buys while program
personnel make micro-purchases), major procuring agencies track the
percentage of micro-purchases made with the purchase card. Other
metrics, where they are used, are often tied to individual agency
efforts. For example, DOD, which has employed a central registry to
improve its management of seller information, measures the amount of
time needed to process a registration to gauge improvements in its
registration processes.

In the Fall of 1999, as a first step in improving the way agencies think
about how progress should be measured, the PEC EC Committee (in
conjunction with OMB and representatives of the CIOC and the CFOC)
developed a series of questions to assist in identifying trends in
agency

EC activities. The PEC EC Committee is reviewing agency input to these
questions towards the identification of appropriate metrics.

[**E. *Outreach***]{.underline}

Analyses continue to point to the Internet's ability to decrease the
cost of doing business. A report by the Department of Commerce's
Economics and Statistics Administration concluded that "\[t\]he Internet
in particular is helping to level the playing field among large and
small firms . . . \[and is\] making it easier and cheaper for all
businesses to transact business and exchange information."[^19] In a
separate report, the Office of Inspector General of the Small Business
Administration (SBA) recognized that the Internet is providing
cost-effective opportunities for reaching small businesses.[^20]

A variety of initiatives, including those described below, have been
undertaken to broaden the reach of EC buying and paying activities.
Several of the described initiatives specifically aim to facilitate
access to Federal Government procurement opportunities, consistent with
the requirements of section 30(c)(3) of the OFPP Act. These initiatives
should help all businesses to save time and money in their business
transactions with the government, including small businesses,
historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) small businesses,
small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses,
veteran-owned small businesses, and small businesses owned by
service-disabled veterans.

-   [Creating "one-stop" access to Federal business
    opportunities]{.underline}. Efforts to designate a single
    government-wide point of electronic entry (GPE) for access to
    Federal business opportunities aim to help sellers gain easy and
    cost-effective access to information on contracting opportunities
    and provide buyers with more effective access to the marketplace.
    The proposed selection of FedBizOpps as the GPE reflects its
    potential to (a) allow easy access from a central point to
    pre-solicitation notices, solicitations, and related
    information, (b) accommodate different commercial electronic means
    for accessing information, and (c) facilitate re-engineering of
    processes used to provide and obtain information on contracting
    opportunities. Results from a survey of users of FedBizOpps indicate
    that small businesses generally are finding that it provides
    user-friendly, easy, and consistent access to business
    opportunities.

> Mechanisms are in place to help ensure concerns are considered and
> acted on as appropriate. For example, a FedBizOpps agency users group
> meets regularly to address concerns by agencies and the vendor
> community. Improvements that are being made in response to vendor
> concerns include:

-   Improving search capabilities, including notice text searches; and

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-   Facilitating opportunities for teaming by allowing vendors to obtain
    information regarding other vendors interested in entering into such
    arrangements.

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-   [Linking PRO-Net to FedBizOpps]{.underline}. The Procurement
    Marketing and Access Network (PRO-Net) has been linked to
    FedBizOpps. PRO-Net is the free-of-charge Internet-based database of
    nearly 185,000 small business vendors operated by SBA as an
    electronic gateway of procurement information for and about small
    businesses. The interface between PRO-Net and FedBizOpps will allow
    small businesses to enjoy the benefits of FedBizOpps -- i.e.,
    increased awareness of government contracting opportunities --
    through their presence on PRO-Net. Since PRO-Net now includes a
    subcontracting opportunities directory ("SUB-NET") that permits
    prime contractors to post subcontracting opportunities, this linkage
    also benefits subcontractors. Although FedBizOpps is designed to
    provide easy and effective access to all businesses, including small
    businesses that may not be registered on PRO-Net, the linkage will
    serve as an added convenience for electronically-enabled small
    businesses on PRO-Net.[^21]

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-   [Increasing small business visibility on popular inter-agency
    contract vehicles and programs.]{.underline} Managers of
    inter-agency buying vehicles are taking steps to increase awareness
    of, and access to, small businesses through the use of EC.

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-   *GSA Advantage!,* a prominent electronic catalog which provides
    access to nearly 3,000 contractors in GSA's multi-billion dollar
    multiple award schedules program, identifies small business
    contractors and permits customers to search for products and
    services of these small businesses. The schedules program affords
    agencies across government the opportunity to competitively select
    from among a wide array of contractors (including approximately
    6,600 contracts held by small businesses). In fiscal year 1998,
    small business schedule contractors received approximately \$2.5
    billion through this program. In fiscal year 1999, this figure
    increased to \$3.2 billion.

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-   *SmallBizMall.gov* was created by the GSA's Federal Technology
    Service (FTS) to provide small disadvantaged businesses qualified
    under SBA's 8(a) business development program the opportunity to
    provide IT goods and services online. SmallBizMall.gov employs EC
    technologies to enable comparison shopping, secure transaction
    processing, and online account management. DOD's Office of Small and
    Disadvantaged Business Utilization issued a memorandum encouraging
    DOD buyers to take advantage of this website to meet the
    Department's IT needs.

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-   [Creating a gateway for women-owned businesses selling to the
    government.]{.underline} The National Womens' Business Council, SBA,
    and GSA, as part of the Inter-agency Committee on Women's Business
    Enterprise, developed a website,
    [www.womenbiz.gov](http://www.womenbiz.gov/), to serve as the
    official gateway of information for women-owned businesses selling
    to the government. The website is intended to greatly enhance the
    visibility of competitive women-owned businesses.

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-   [Improving access to information on the Acquisition Reform Network
    (ARNet).]{.underline} For several years, ARNet has served as a
    central location on the Internet for both government and industry
    for quick access to a wide variety of information relating to
    government contracting. An inter-agency team, including
    representatives from GSA, DOD, the Department of Transportation
    (DOT), DOE, VA, and NASA revamped ARNet to increase its utility and
    user-friendliness. Responding to the user needs, the redesigned site
    highlights recent actions of note (such as recent regulatory changes
    -- including plain language summaries of these changes \-- actions
    by OFPP, and training opportunities) and provides links to key
    procurement committees and councils.

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-   [Making electronic and information technology accessible to people
    with disabilities]{.underline}. On December 21, 2000, the Access
    Board published a final rule establishing the technical and
    functional performance criteria necessary to ensure that electronic
    and information technology used by the Federal Government is
    accessible to Federal employees with disabilities.[^22] These
    standards, developed in response to section 508 of the
    Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, are intended to ensure that
    Federal employees with disabilities \-- including those working in
    the acquisition and finance arenas \-- and members of the public
    seeking information or services from the government have access to
    and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and
    use of information and data by individuals without disabilities. In
    addition, by Presidential Memorandum dated July 26, 2000, all
    executive departments and agencies have been directed to make all
    programs offered on the their Internet and Intranet sites accessible
    to people with disabilities by July 27, 2001.

Recognizing that a successful electronic government for buying and
paying is rooted in a business environment conducive to buyer and seller
participation, agencies will continue to pursue EC applications that
promote easy and efficient interactions between buyers and sellers,
small and large.

## Track 2: Re-engineering and Integrating High-Volume Activities End-to-End

The second track of strategic activities is primarily designed to
facilitate high volume, generally lower dollar, buying and paying
activity through EC. The strategic plan focuses on purchase cards and
electronic catalogs as key EC enablers for reducing and eliminating
paper from transactions in this realm. It emphasizes the importance of
fostering an electronic business environment with appropriate assurances
of security and authentication so that buyers and sellers can be
properly identified and authenticated and information can be shared
without compromising confidentiality and integrity.

Efforts to integrate EC in high-volume activities have resulted in:

-   some enhancements to the capabilities of electronic catalogs;

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-   increased use of purchase cards to more than 80 percent of the
    government's micro-purchases (i.e., purchases under \$2,500);

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-   continued attention on increasing the use of electronic funds
    transfer (EFT);

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-   progress in the development of a secure central agency website for
    authorizing direct deposit and Automated Clearing House (ACH) debits
    and other agency forms processing;

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-   improved efficiencies by some agencies in collecting and managing
    seller information in conjunction with buying and paying processes;
    and

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-   advances in allowing the government's business partners to
    communicate with appropriate assurances of security in an electronic
    environment.

    The following sections describe these accomplishments in greater
    detail.

##  

### *A. Electronic Catalogs*

Agencies generally continue to encourage consideration of electronic
catalogs prior to undertaking open market purchases. This encouragement
is reflected, in part, by the increased sales in GSA Advantage!, GSA's
electronic catalog of items in its supply system. In fiscal year 1999,
total sales were \$86 million, an approximate 40 percent increase in
sales volume over the prior year. In fiscal year 2000, total sales were
\$125 million. Office and IT products are the most popular types of
purchase from GSA Advantage!.

While agencies generally have stated that their use of Federal
electronic catalogs has increased, they identified areas where
improvements could enhance catalog utility. With respect to market
research, for example, customers seek less cumbersome searches, greater
clarity in indicating the currency of information, including pricing
information, and greater ability to make comparisons between catalogs.

For its part, to improve the functionality of GSA Advantage!, GSA has,
or is planning to:

-   Implement new search software which will allow customers faster
    access to information;

-   Connect GSA Advantage! updates electronically to the contract
    modification process (so that data will be more current and allow
    for more meaningful price comparisons by customers between
    catalogs);

-   Simplify the processes used by vendors to put information on GSA
    Advantage!; and

-   Provide e-mails with specific status on delivery.

While electronic catalogs remain a viable tool, opportunities exist to
improve the functionality of catalogs. OMB will work with managers of
GSA Advantage! and DOD's "E-Mall" (another prominent electronic buying
site) as they continue to explore opportunities for enhancing the
strategic use of their vehicles. Steps include:

1*. Reassessing customer needs.* DOD has undertaken pilot projects at
several military service locations to help determine how interest in its
Mall might be enhanced. The Mall is currently aimed at discretionary
buyers who purchase items in small quantities outside the normal
inventory-management mechanisms. These buyers typically make purchases
from sources such as mail-order catalogs, vendors' individual web sites,
local retailers, and internal DOD stocks. One option being explored is
to increase commercial offerings.

2\. *Taking more effective advantage of competitive pressures.* GSA has
developed "E-Buy," an Internet based electronic requests for quotes
solution, to facilitate the request for and submission of quotes for a
wide range of commercial services and products that are offered by
schedule contractors through GSA Advantage! GSA is making a more
concerted effort to analyze customer and supplier profiles and customer
buying practices to identify communities of interest.

3\. *Watching developments in the marketplace for opportunities to
enhance catalog interoperability.* Pilot efforts involving government
and commercially operated catalogs have demonstrated the ability to
successfully search across seller databases with enhanced scalability
and with buyer and seller authentication and security. These pilots took
advantage of applications such as XML, a non-proprietary Internet
standard that offers a way to tag information such that users can search
across different web-based catalog locations and obtain consistent
search results.

In addition to these efforts, the re-engineering of FPDS, discussed
above, will aim to provide greater visibility regarding the award of,
and order placement under, multiple award task and delivery order
contracts (MACs). This contract type typically underlies many of the
more popular inter-agency contracts. Greater visibility of existing MACs
can help senior managers in procurement, program, IT, and finance
offices in deciding whether to establish a MAC. It can also help
customers in their market research and acquisition planning in finding
suitable products and services for purchase under existing Federal
contracts. Efforts will continue towards identifying an appropriate
near-term approach for improving the visibility of inter-agency contract
vehicles.

**[B*. Government-wide Commercial Purchase Cards*]{.underline}**

The purchase card continues to play a central role in the government's
strategy for implementing EC for smaller purchases because it combines
easy application to both buying and paying with the potential for
end-to-end electronic processing and significant administrative savings.

In fiscal year 1999, more than 80 percent of micro-purchases (i.e.,
purchases under \$2,500) were conducted with the purchase card. General
usage rates for the CFO agencies are as follows:

  -------------------- --------------------------------------------------
  **CFO Agency Use of  
  Small Purchase Cards 
  in fiscal year       
  1999**               

  **Small Purchase     **Agencies**
  Card Use Rates**     

  Over 90 Percent      DOC, DOD, DOE, HHS, DOI, DOT, Treasury, VA,
                       Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), NSF,
                       SBA

  Over 80 Percent      USDA, Department of Housing and Urban Development
                       (HUD), Department of Labor (DOL), Environmental
                       Protection Agency (EPA), NASA, NRC

  Over 70 Percent      Education, DOJ, OPM
  -------------------- --------------------------------------------------

OMB's Prompt Payment regulations (codified at 5 CFR Part 1315) provide
guidance to Federal agencies on when to make payments for the purchase
card. The rule instructs agencies to determine credit card payment dates
based on an analysis of the total costs and total benefits to the
Federal government as a whole. When calculating costs and benefits,
agencies are expected to include the cost to the government of paying
early, which includes the interest the government would have earned at
the current value of funds rate, for each day that payment was not made.
Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS) provides a spreadsheet on
its prompt payment website[^23] which calculates when an agency should
pay a credit card invoice.

Among other things, purchase cards issued under GSA's SmartPay contract
are facilitating consolidated invoicing and increased early payment
rebates. In addition, purchase card issuers have the capability to
provide better access to information regarding transactions. This
includes greater insight into buying trends and the impact of card usage
on small businesses. GSA, SBA, DOD, and OMB are working, along with
other agencies, to ensure this information is captured for management
analysis.

**[C. *Payment through Mechanisms Other than Purchase
Cards*]{.underline}**

Payment by purchase card is not always possible or appropriate. In these
circumstances, agencies pursue alternative payment mechanisms to achieve
process improvements. These initiatives include the following:

-   [Electronic payments for prime vendors.]{.underline} VA's electronic
    and paperless payment system, the Prime Vendor Payment Program,
    automates pharmaceutical company payments. It places orders
    electronically, processes them against a credit card‑like account
    established at VA's bank, and electronically posts them to VA's
    accounting system. During 1999, VA successfully processed 315,960
    transactions, worth more than \$1.2 billion, under this program.
    This mechanism enables VA to enjoy the benefits of lower transaction
    costs that otherwise might be lost given the high value of these
    transactions and vendor reluctance to accept purchase cards in light
    of potentially significant fees.

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-   [Use of convenience checks]{.underline}**.** HHS uses convenience
    checks for payments in remote locations where purchase cards are not
    accepted. The check amount is recorded on the monthly statement sent
    to the individual or office. Use of convenience checks help to
    reduce use of the imprest fund \-- improving management controls and
    reducing manual intervention in the accounting for these expenses.
    DOI's bureaus also use convenience checks when their merchants will
    not accept the purchase card. All but two of its major bureaus have
    eliminated use of imprest funds. Although convenience checks are not
    fully electronic since they require a paper check to be written,
    they are processed by the same mechanisms as purchase card
    transactions, and the data from the processor (i.e., the
    card-issuing bank), including payee information, enters the agency's
    financial accounting system through the same interface as ordinary
    card transactions.

    **[*D*. *Payments by* *Electronic Funds Transfer
    (EFT)*]{.underline}**

The government continues to expand its use of electronic funds transfers
(EFT).[^24] In 1999, 78 percent of the 959 million payments made by the
Federal government were electronic. (This was the first year information
was available on the government-wide rate for electronic transactions.)
The percentage includes government purchase and fleet card transactions
and electronic payments by DOD, non-Treasury agencies, and Treasury
(excluding tax payments). Salary payments were 96 percent electronic,
vendor payments were 81 percent electronic and benefit payments were 73
percent electronic.

Treasury is undertaking steps to increase payments made by EFT. Steps
include the following:

-   [Providing remittance information over the Internet.]{.underline}
    Over 80 agencies and 5,000 registered vendors are using FMS' Payment
    Advice Internet Delivery (PAID) system. The system provides Federal
    agencies a method of delivering remittance information (invoice
    numbers, interest penalties, etc.) to their vendors through the
    Internet, thus allowing vendors to reconcile payments and invoices.
    Vendors have the option to view their payments and information
    on-line or have it delivered to them via e-mail. The system is free
    of charge to both agencies and vendors with Internet access.[^25]

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-   [Undertaking outreach.]{.underline} Treasury makes promotional
    materials available to agencies that describe the benefits of being
    paid through EFT. The material (distributed to vendors by agencies)
    encourages vendors to send back necessary information for electronic
    payment.[^26]

######## *[E. Online Payment Processing]{.underline}*

Treasury (FMS) has initiated a program, Pay.gov, to facilitate the
online processing of forms and other transactions between the Federal
government and its transaction partners. Pay.gov allows individuals and
entities doing business with Federal agencies the ability to submit
on-line direct deposit and Automated Clearing House (ACH) debit
authorizations. In addition, Pay.gov features a new system for settling
ACH debits resulting from the debit authorizations. This initiative is
currently being rolled out to a few agencies. The rollout will
accelerate in subsequent quarters of the fiscal year.

***[F. Management of Seller Information]{.underline}***

The government-wide EC strategic plan identifies several approaches for
collecting and managing the information Federal contractors are required
to provide to the government about themselves and their businesses \--
including taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) and EFT information
required by the DCIA. Applications to collect seller information
include: (1) use of a central registry, in which sellers centrally
provide information for multiple contracts; (2) use of financial
intermediaries (networks) to collect and maintain information on network
members; or (3) collection on a contract-by-contract basis.

As discussed in last year's report, DOD has elected to use a Central
Contractor Registration (CCR) database to collect and manage seller
information. The CCR is designed to simplify and streamline processes
relating to the collection and use of vendor information both for
sellers and buyers by eliminating duplicate requirements and processes.
Sellers are able to reduce the number of times they provide information.
Procurement officials may go with confidence to one place to check a
seller's registration status and obtain pertinent information prior to
awarding a contract. As of October 2000, the number of registered
contractors and vendors exceeded 173,000. DOD estimates that the average
registration processing time has been reduced from approximately 30 days
in December 1997 to about 2 days as of March 2000 as a result of the
CCR.[^27]

The CCR is also helping DOD in its efforts to comply with the DCIA's EFT
requirements. Approximately 85 percent of EFT payments made by the
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) for contracts awarded by
the military services and DOD agencies were made using the information
in the CCR. Invoices soon will be paid automatically by matching the
vendor unique identifier on the invoice with the EFT information in the
CCR. This streamlined process will speed the flow of EFT payments from
DOD to vendors. (DFAS has already implemented a web invoicing system
(WInS) so that its contractors can make batch filings of invoices.)

Some agencies outside of DOD are becoming increasingly interested in
CCR's ability to provide ready access to information needed by
contracting and financial management organizations.

-   **NASA.** In October 1999, NASA issued a proposed rule that would
    require prospective contractors to be registered in the CCR database
    prior to any award (with certain limited exceptions) of a contract,
    purchase order, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or
    blanket purchase agreement awarded after March 31, 2001. The rule
    states that the CCR will serve as the data baseline as NASA converts
    to a new agency-wide accounting software system. The rule was
    finalized in August 2000.[^28]

-   **DOT.** Effective January 1, 2001, DOT is using the CCR to obtain
    EFT information. Contractors must be registered in the CCR by this
    date to receive payments under DOT contracts, purchase orders,
    delivery orders, or other contractual vehicles.[^29]

-   **DOI.** DOI has developed an interface between CCR and its
    electronic acquisition system (which is used to automate the
    processing of requisitions and document generation, interface with
    financial systems, and report statistical information to FPDS).

-   **Treasury.** Treasury began a joint finance and procurement pilot
    test and feasibility study for CCR adoption in October 2000.

    ***[G. Identification and Authentication]{.underline}***

Efforts continue to ensure that electronic transactions are conducted
with appropriate assurance of security and authentication so that buyers
and sellers can be properly identified and authenticated and information
can be shared without compromising confidentiality and integrity. These
efforts are highlighted below.

-   [Federal Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).]{.underline}
    Cryptographically-based digital signatures (i.e., public key
    technology) hold great promise for ensuring both authentication and
    privacy in networked interactions. Equally important is the
    potential for these assurances of security to occur in an
    interoperable environment where one electronic credential (a digital
    certificate) serves multiple applications across multiple agencies.

> Towards this end, the Federal PKI Steering Committee (which operates
> under the auspices of the Enterprise Interoperability and Emerging
> Information Technology Committee of the CIOC) continues to pursue a
> strategy where a Federal PKI Policy Authority establishes conditions
> for an agency-specific PKI to interoperate with other agency-specific
> PKIs through a Federal Bridge Certification Authority (FBCA).[^30] The
> FBCA will act as a non-hierarchical "hub." Agency CAs will receive
> permission from the Federal PKI Policy Authority to interoperate with
> the FBCA under terms that are mutually negotiated and accepted. Every
> CA that interoperates with the FBCA will be able to interoperate with
> each other. This strategy avoids each agency having to develop
> bilateral relationships and certificate policy mappings with every
> other agency; instead, that is done once with the Policy Authority.
> This strategy also allows agencies to choose from among a variety of
> competitive PKI providers.
>
> In the Spring of 2000, a prototype FBCA successfully integrated
> disparate PKI domains among five separate entities -- NASA, the
> National Security Agency, the National Institute of Standards and
> Technology (NIST), the Georgia Tech Research Institute, and the
> Government of Canada -- in real time, over a two-day period. The
> production FBCA should be operational early in 2001.
>
> The Federal PKI Policy Authority commenced operation in July 2000, and
> includes six charter members: DOJ, DOD, DOC, OMB, GSA, and Treasury.
> Additional agencies will be added once they are approved to
> interoperate with the production FBCA.[^31]

-   [Access Certificates for Electronic Services (ACES).]{.underline}
    The ACES program enables assured Government interaction with the
    public through a digital signature-based PKI. In the Fall of 1999,
    GSA established a government-wide multiple award schedule under
    which agencies may issue task orders to obtain certificate issuance
    services and other auxiliary technical and support services. The
    ACES contractors perform real-time, on-line certificate validity
    status checks in order to confirm that certificates submitted to the
    Federal government for reliance are valid and have not been revoked
    or suspended.

> ACES seeks to foster inter-agency cooperation by providing a mechanism
> for aggregating requirements for assured government-to-public
> transactions. Toward this end, GSA has formed an ACES Customer
> Advisory Board to help agencies refine their needs and to ensure the
> ACES program continues to address those needs. Recently, to assist
> agencies in getting started, the ACES contractors waived the issuance
> fee for the first 500,000 digital signature certificates.[^32]

-   [Secure transactions on electronic catalogs.]{.underline} A variety
    of Federal agencies worked with CommerceNet, a non-profit consortium
    of Internet companies to improve the functionality of electronic
    catalogs. Efforts included providing for a demonstrable security
    framework. Pilot efforts have: (a) successfully authenticated
    procurement personnel at multiple agencies through a smartcard, (b)
    applied digital signatures to purchase orders, and (c) secured
    procurement communications through virtual private network tunnels.

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-   [Agency planning to implement GPEA.]{.underline} GPEA requires
    agencies to allow citizens, businesses, and other governments the
    option to communicate electronically with agencies in all types of
    transactions. It states that electronic records and their related
    electronic signatures are not to be denied legal effect, validity,
    or enforceability merely because they are in electronic form. GPEA
    sets a deadline of October 2003 to complete this transformation. As
    discussed above, OMB issued guidance in the Spring of 2000 to assist
    agencies in developing detailed plans showing milestones to
    compliance. Among other things, the guidance assists agencies in
    considering a range of electronic signature alternatives. Agency
    plans will lay the foundation for execution of contracts and
    associated documents using electronic signatures.[^33]

## 

##   {#section-4 .unnumbered}

## Track 3: Re-engineering Additional Buying and Paying Functions

The third track of strategic activities focuses on efforts to strengthen
key functions of the acquisition cycle -- from the way vendors learn
about contracting opportunities to the way negotiations are conducted
and contracts are administered \-- for many different types of buys in
different dollar ranges, even where "end-to-end" use of commercial EC
services is not yet possible or is otherwise impractical. Towards this
end:

-   Significant steps have been taken to improve access to information
    vendors need in order to make business decisions on whether to
    pursue Federal contracting opportunities over \$25,000.

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-   Agencies are beginning to explore the potential of online reverse
    auctions as an acquisition tool to determine how the latest
    technological advances and emerging commercial practices may be
    integrated with ongoing efforts to strengthen the efficiency of the
    contract negotiation process.

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-   More agencies are turning to automated systems to collect and
    retrieve information on contractor performance.

-   Agencies, in order to reap the long-term benefits of EC, remain
    challenged to improve the interfaces between acquisition processes
    and payment systems.

    These achievements are addressed in the sections below.

    **[A. *Access to Federal Business Opportunities*]{.underline}**

Significant progress has been made in re-engineering the processes
agencies use to provide, and vendors use to obtain, information on
Federal business opportunities. As discussed above, a proposed rule was
published for public comment in August 2000 that would amend the FAR to
designate Federal Business Opportunities ("FedBizOpps,"
http://www.fedbizopps.gov) as the single government-wide point of
electronic entry for convenient and universal access to government
business opportunities greater than \$25,000.[^34] This includes
pre-solicitation notices (i.e., synopses of proposed contract actions),
solicitations, and associated information.

[1. The rationale for proposing FedBizOpps as the GPE.]{.underline}

In proposing to designate FedBizOpps, OFPP, in consultation with the
PEC, considered the electronic methods that have been used in recent
years to significantly increase access to government procurement
opportunities. In addition to FedBizOpps (formerly known as the
Electronic Posting System), OFPP considered CBDNet and the Federal
Acquisition Computer Network (FACNET). OFPP also examined suitable
commercial alternatives.

OFPP's review of these alternatives was shaped by the following
objectives:

> •  *Create a central point for electronic access to business
> opportunities*. Through the central point, allow access to notices
> that must now be published in the CBD, solicitations, and related
> acquisition information, including information maintained at central
> points or on agency websites.
>
> *•  Follow the commercial lead*. Leverage the investment made by the
> private sector, benefit from the market-driven economies and
> innovation that commercial tools offer, and accommodate different
> commercial electronic means for acquiring information.
>
> •  *Facilitate re-engineering for sellers and buyers*. For sellers,
> this means providing "one stop to business" and a consistent process
> for locating business opportunities.
>
> The GPE must be reliable and easy to use (e.g., easily searchable).
> For buyers, this means the GPE must support streamlined preparation
> and issuance of notices and solicitation information without
> disrupting, eliminating or otherwise requiring the replacement of
> current agency electronic commerce software.

Based on agencies' experiences to date with each of the above-mentioned
alternatives, OFPP believes that FedBizOpps can most effectively meet
the government's objectives.

-   [FedBizOpps creates a central point.]{.underline} FedBizOpps hosts a
    wide variety of business documents, including notices,
    solicitations, and other related acquisition information. It creates
    an index of all business information at one Internet location for
    searching and downloading. Its functionality offers agencies the
    option of "posting" (i.e., housing) their information on FedBizOpps.
    To minimize disruption to individual agency EC applications,
    FedBizOpps alternatively allows agencies to maintain information on
    their own websites for access by sellers through FedBizOpps' central
    indexing portal. Thus, the proposed designation would allow agencies
    to select the most appropriate posting option for their mission
    (posting at FedBizOpps or at the agency website), since either
    achieves the goal of access through a GPE.

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-   [FedBizOpps follows the commercial lead.]{.underline} GSA and the
    agencies (or components thereof) using FedBizOpps (23 agencies as of
    December 2000) have sought to shape FedBizOpps so that it provides
    access through electronic tools that have widespread commercial
    acceptance and interface with sellers' electronic tools, and can
    adapt to new tools as they gain commercial acceptance. FedBizOpps is
    designed to be sufficiently versatile to allow sellers and service
    providers to access and download information through different
    commercial electronic means and business applications, including
    web-based technology, bulk data feeds, and push technology through
    electronic mail (e-mail). FedBizOpps\' ability to accommodate a
    myriad of business techniques enables sellers to choose the means
    (either direct or service-provider enhanced) they find most suitable
    for gaining access to Federal business opportunities.

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-   [FedBizOpps facilitates re-engineering for sellers.]{.underline}
    FedBizOpps provides "one-stop" access to business opportunities.
    After identifying notices of interest for actions above \$25,000,
    sellers may quickly access related solicitation information through
    a direct link. When an agency first transmits a notice of proposed
    contract action to FedBizOpps, FedBizOpps creates a solicitation
    page for that acquisition and employs a relational database to
    capture on that page all notices and solicitation information
    subsequently issued for that acquisition (e.g., any modifications to
    the notice, the solicitation -- including associated specifications,
    plans, drawings, and technical data -- and amendments thereto) and
    any other related information that the agency wishes to make
    available electronically. As a result, when sellers "click" to the
    notice, they are also obtaining, through the solicitation page,
    direct access to all solicitation and related information
    electronically available at that time on the acquisition.

> In addition, FedBizOpps presents indices to information in consistent
> web page formats (i.e., the same user interface) up to the point of
> browsing or downloading the solicitation. This ease the process for
> locating the information (i.e., notices and solicitations) sellers
> need to decide whether to pursue a business opportunity.
>
> FedBizOpps makes notices of proposed contract actions available in a
> standardized format. However, it does not require a standardized
> format for solicitations, so that agencies may maintain flexibility in
> formatting solicitations to accommodate their individual processes and
> needs.
>
> Surveys overseen by GSA indicate that potential offerors generally
> find that FedBizOpps provides easy, user-friendly, and consistent
> access to business opportunities. Users have responded favorably to
> FedBizOpps' automatic e-mail notification feature which provides
> information about contracting opportunities for specific supplies or
> services or specified agencies -- both notices and solicitation
> information initially available and all subsequent information
> relating to that procurement that is made available through
> FedBizOpps. This feature eliminates the need for repeated searches to
> gain access to up-to-date information.

-   [FedBizOpps facilitates re-engineering for government
    buyers.]{.underline} FedBizOpps enables transaction steps to be
    streamlined or eliminated. It can accommodate existing posting
    systems and contract writing systems to allow seamless integration.
    Notices and solicitations may be posted on the Internet from the
    agency buyer's desktop without any rekeying of information by the
    buyer. Agencies without their own posting system or a contract
    writing system that integrates with FedBizOpps can be serviced
    through an easy web-based interface.

> In the past, agencies have maintained individual websites at each
> operating location. When a buyers or contracting officers wanted to
> produce a business opportunity, they would enter the notice
> information into CBDNet through the Internet, and would give their
> solicitation document to a "webmaster" who would post the document to
> the Internet. FedBizOpps allows the processes to be combined: the
> buyer posts the notice information. This information is forwarded to
> CBDNet and FedBizOpps posts the solicitation document via the
> Internet. This reduces process steps and eliminates the need for a
> dedicated webmaster for this function.

The other reviewed GPE alternatives also demonstrated benefits, some
significant, over paper-based processes. However, when considering the
government's objectives in the aggregate, these alternatives did not
exceed the benefits of FedBizOpps in serving as the GPE.

Under the proposed rule, agencies and components thereof that are not
currently providing access through FedBizOpps would have until October
1, 2001 to complete their transition and integration efforts. A final
rule will be published after consideration of public comments has been
completed.[^35]

[2. Statutory changes.]{.underline}

In 2000, the Administration again proposed legislation to permit
electronic notice of business opportunities greater than \$25,000
through the GPE as a substitute for the currently required paper
publication in the CBD. Recognizing electronic publication as a
substitute for (rather than duplication of) hard copy publication allows
agencies to increasingly reap the efficiencies made possible by EC.
Section 810 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year
2001 (Public Law 106-398), which authorizes such substitution, is an
important step in ensuring more efficient and cost-effective government
provision of, and vendor access to, Federal business opportunities, and
a fully successful transition from paper-based to electronically-based
processes.[^36]

**[B. *Online Auctions*]{.underline}**

Rapid technological advances now make it possible for buyers to post
needs and vendors to post competing offers in a virtual market. Agencies
are recognizing that, along with reducing

transaction costs, the immediacy of information exchange in an
electronic environment creates competitive pressures. These
technological advances come on the heels of changes to FAR Part 15 that
have reshaped the regulatory landscape to enable contracting officers,
in the competitive negotiation of contracts, to obtain better value for
the taxpayer dollar. As a result of these occurrences, agencies recently
have begun considering how online reverse auctions might help in meeting
mission needs. (These auctions are referred to as "reverse" auctions,
since competing sellers lower their prices to secure work, whereas in
traditional auctions, competing buyers raise their offers to secure a
purchase.)

Several agencies have begun to experiment with online auctioning and
more appear poised to follow suit.[^37] Initial pilot efforts have
spanned from smaller dollar buys (under \$25,000) to multi-million
dollar acquisitions. Acquisitions have ranged from the purchase of
laptop computers to ship berthing supplies and aircraft ejection seat
components. Initial pilots have yielded significant reductions in
contract price:

-   The Navy conducted a reverse online auction between three
    pre-qualified offerors over a secure server that resulted in the
    award of 756 aircraft ejection seat components at a reported 29
    percent price savings compared with the price the government has
    historically paid for these items. In a separate auction also
    conducted over a secure server, the Navy acquired shipboard berthing
    supplies based on military unique drawings at what it estimates to
    be 32 percent savings.

```{=html}
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```
-   The Army conducted two small dollar auctions for commercial
    off-the-shelf items: one for laptop computers and one for fax
    machines. It reported savings of 50 percent and 24 percent
    respectively based on prices previously paid for these items.[^38]
    The Army also tested the use of an on-line auction for the
    acquisition of a government-unique "mil-spec" item \-- electronic
    connectors. The auction resulted in savings of approximately 35
    percent.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   The Postal Service (USPS) used an auction to acquire 4,600 trailer
    leases, realizing a 12 percent savings (amounting to \$2 million).

GSA, in its role as a central purchaser for government agencies, has
been examining how it can use its current infrastructures and
government-wide contracts to facilitate online auctioning.[^39] One
pilot tool, \"eFAST,\" is designed to aggregate the government's
purchasing power for small dollar purchases of common needs acquired
through the multiple award schedules. eFAST offers customers the
potential to more easily take advantage of dynamic market pressures.
eFAST is one of multiple tools that make up \"Buyers.Gov,\" GSA's
multi-faceted e-procurement solution program that seeks to leverage
promising EC commercial practices and commercially available automated
tools to improve business processes for the benefit of government
organizations.

The CAAC and the DARC are considering the need for guidance on the use
of reverse auction techniques and how guidance can be most effectively
communicated (e.g., through the FAR, best practice guides, agency
instructions, or training). Public comment has been sought to help
determine how best to inform thinking regarding the use of reverse
auction techniques.[^40]

**[C. EC-enabled Contractor Performance Systems]{.underline}**

Agencies continue to turn to automated systems to collect and retrieve
information on contractor performance. The National Institutes of
Health's (NIH) Contractor Performance System (CPS), which collects and
maintains contractor evaluations, is currently used by 17 organizations,
including: HHS, Agriculture, Treasury, DOC, DOJ (Office of Justice
Programs and the Immigration and Naturalization Service), DOE, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Agency for International Development,
DOT, the Environmental Protection Agency, USPS, FEMA, GSA (the Public
Building Service), the State Department, DOI, DOL, and VA.

CPS uses a web-based application accessible through the Internet that
contains a secure socket layer encryption. A separate module has been
developed for each subscribing agency with a unique URL so that each
agency controls its data and has access authority.

CPS currently provides access to numerical ratings and supporting
narrative on, among other things: (a) quality of product or service, (b)
cost control, (c) timeliness of performance, (d) business practices, and
(e) commitment to customer service. The system has been enhanced to
allow for electronic storage of contractor rebuttals and comments on
contractor performance and to support electronic, encrypted transmittal
of evaluations to contractors.

DOD has developed several systems to measure or track contractor
performance. These systems generally fall into two categories:
performance tracking systems, which use existing data to evaluate
contractor performance, and performance appraisal systems, which allow
users to write \"report cards\" on contract performance.

The former include the Navy\'s Product Data Reporting and Evaluation
Program (PDREP), or "Red/Yellow/Green\" system, and the Defense
Logistics Agency's Automated Best Value System (ABVS). Appraisal systems
include the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) Past Performance
Tool, the Army\'s Past Performance Information Management System
(PPIMS), the Navy\'s Contractor Performance Appraisal Reporting System,
and the Air Force\'s Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System.

The Navy, Army, and DISA systems are web-based applications which route
report cards through the various government and contractor individuals
involved in the assessment process. Report cards are then fed into the
Past Performance Automated Information System (PPAIS). PPAIS serves as a
central repository for report cards from each of several DOD past
performance systems. Access is controlled by points of contact in the
DOD components through a distributed group structure. Persons seeking
access to past performance data for source selection contact their
agency group owner. Contractors will soon be able to obtain access to
their own records by establishing a past performance point of contact in
the CCR system. Future enhancements to

PPAIS will include: development of a central performance tracking
system, and consolidation of data from various sources, including the
ABVS and PDREP systems. [^41]

Over time, agency systems (e.g., CPS, PPAIS, NASA's Past Performance
Database System) will be expected to interface with one another to
improve the exchange of current and past performance information and to
achieve greater interoperability between internal agency systems and
common external resources (see discussion on system interfaces, below).

**[D. *Contract Writing Systems*]{.underline}**

Seventeen of the agencies reporting to OMB (pursuant to the memorandum
set forth in Appendix A) indicated they are using an automated
acquisition/contract writing system to assist with a wide variety of
processes including some or all of the following functions:

-   Development and issuance of requisitions by the program
    office/requiring activity to the buying office;

-   Determination if funds are available for a contract;

-   Preparation of synopses for transmission to the GPE;

-   Development of solicitations;

-   Automatic insertion of applicable provisions in solicitations
    necessary to comply with law and regulation;

-   Preparation and issuance of award documentation;

-   Preparation of receiving reports for transmission to and review by
    paying offices;

-   Generation of workload or process statistics; and

-   Collection of contract award data.

DOI, among other agencies, has an agency-wide system. The Interior
Department Electronic Acquisition System (IDEAS) enables all of its
major buying offices to automate the processing of requisitions and
document generation (both for simplified acquisitions and larger dollar
contracts), interface with financial systems, and report statistical
information to FPDS. At the EC Trade Fair sponsored by the PEC EC
Committee, DOI not only showcased IDEAS capabilities, but also discussed
the Department's implementation efforts, which involved securing
cross-functional participation and support of the system's various
stakeholders and customers. Agencies will continue to identify and seek
to take advantage of advances in the capabilities of commercial software
so that their contract writing systems are able to integrate a broad
spectrum of cross-functional needs.

**[E. *System Interfaces*]{.underline}**

In order for the government to reap the full benefits of EC to support
agency buying and paying activities, the various information systems
involved in purchase transactions must be linked to allow the automatic
sharing of data among them. Data re-entry and human intervention for
error correction are inefficient and increase the cost of purchase
transactions. Linking the critical systems that capture and process data
related to purchase transactions eliminates those manual activities,
increases data accuracy, and reduces purchase and payment execution time
and cost. Systems (or processes) that must be linked in support of major
purchasing and payment processes include the following:

(1) buying (notices/solicitations, offers, and awards);

> \(2\) budgeting (funds
> certification/authorization/obligation/deobligation);
>
> \(3\) paying (invoicing, third party payment services, and EFT); and
>
> \(4\) combined processes, in which buying and paying are effected by
> the same mechanism, such as in the use of purchase cards.

Initial interface efforts include the following:

-   [Interfaces between agency systems.]{.underline} The PEC EC
    Committee, CFOC Financial Systems Committee, and the JFMIP have
    agreed to develop guidance to improve the electronic interface
    between Federal acquisition and financial systems. This effort
    focuses on identifying interfaces relating to funds
    certification/authorization, the obligation/deobligation process,
    payment, including financial and managerial accounting related to
    such, and contract close-out.

```{=html}
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```
-   [Interfaces between bank systems and agency financial management
    systems]{.underline}. In 1999, under the GSA SmartPay program, more
    agencies began using EDI to receive invoices and make payments to
    banks electronically. Faster payments can increase refunds made to
    purchasing agencies by the banks under their task order agreements.
    The electronic invoices contain transactions coded with agency
    accounting data. These transactions are designed to interface with
    the financial management system of an agency and record them for
    cost accounting purposes. The GSA SmartPay program also gives
    agencies access to powerful card management systems (referred to as
    electronic access systems) provided by the card-issuing bank to help
    manage agency purchase card programs, including reporting, account
    setup, and account maintenance.

Within the procurement community, concerted efforts will be taken over
the coming year to define interface points and a common vocabulary
between internal agency systems and common external resources such as
FedBizOpps, the Federal Acquisition Management Information System (i.e.,
the re-engineered FPDS), and automated contractor performance systems.

# SECTION 3. *Migration Path*

The government-wide strategic plan for Federal electronic purchasing and
payment, *Electronic Commerce for Buyers and Sellers,* identified three
tracks of activities -- i.e., (1) fostering partnerships, (2)
re-engineering high volume activities, and (3) re-engineering key buying
and paying functions. For each track, the plan identified an initial set
of building block activities and a migration path.

Progress on the strategic plan's migration path and next steps were last
reported in the Administration's 1999 report to Congress, *Electronic
Purchasing and Payment in the Federal Government.* The table below
updates the migration path to reflect the accomplishments described in
Section 2 of this year's report. In addition, the table identifies next
steps currently anticipated to occur through the second quarter of
fiscal year 2001.

+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| **T    | **Bu   | **Pr    | **Status**         | **Next Steps**     |
| rack** | ilding | oject** |                    |                    |
|        | B      |         |                    |                    |
|        | lock** |         |                    |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Partne | Change | Improve | -   Newly formed   | -   E-Gov          |
| rships | Mgmt   | inter   |     E-Gov          |     Coordinating   |
|        |        | -agency |     Coordinating   |     Committee will |
|        |        | man     |     Committee,     |     assess and     |
|        |        | agement |     consisting of  |     delegate for   |
|        |        | str     |     EC Committees  |     action the     |
|        |        | uctures |     from the PEC,  |     priority       |
|        |        |         |     CIOC and CFOC, |     agenda items   |
|        |        |         |     meets          |     that need      |
|        |        |         |     regularly to   |                    |
|        |        |         |     discuss        |   cross-functional |
|        |        |         |     priority       |     attention.     |
|        |        |         |     projects and   |                    |
|        |        |         |     crosscutting   | -   E-Gov          |
|        |        |         |     initiatives.   |     Coordinating   |
|        |        |         |     Its activities |     Committee will |
|        |        |         |     are            |     review and     |
|        |        |         |     coordinated    |     update (as     |
|        |        |         |     with the White |     necessary) the |
|        |        |         |     House EC       |                    |
|        |        |         |     Working Group  |    Government-wide |
|        |        |         |     and NPR.       |     Strategic Plan |
|        |        |         |                    |     for EC.        |
|        |        |         | -   Activities of  |                    |
|        |        |         |     agency EC      |                    |
|        |        |         |     coordinating   |                    |
|        |        |         |     groups have    |                    |
|        |        |         |     been reviewed. |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Partne | Change | Str     | -   Agencies have  | -   EC Committees  |
| rships | Mgmt   | engthen |     shared         |     will continue  |
|        |        | i       |     implementation |     to develop     |
|        |        | nternal |     plans,         |     metrics to     |
|        |        | man     |     progress       |     help managers  |
|        |        | agement |     plans, and     |     make informed  |
|        |        | str     |     experiences    |     business       |
|        |        | uctures |     with viable    |     decisions and  |
|        |        |         |     operating      |     OMB to assess  |
|        |        |         |     systems        |     agency EC      |
|        |        |         |                    |     progress.      |
|        |        |         | -   The PEC        |                    |
|        |        |         |     initiated      | ```{=html}         |
|        |        |         |     efforts to     | <!-- -->           |
|        |        |         |     re-engineer    | ```                |
|        |        |         |     FPDS into a    | -   FAMIS program  |
|        |        |         |     federal        |     office will    |
|        |        |         |     acquisition    |     develop an     |
|        |        |         |     management     |     acquisition    |
|        |        |         |     information    |     strategy plan  |
|        |        |         |     system (FAMIS) |     for the FPDS   |
|        |        |         |     and has        |                    |
|        |        |         |     developed a    |    re-engineering. |
|        |        |         |     preliminary    |                    |
|        |        |         |     set of         |                    |
|        |        |         |     technical and  |                    |
|        |        |         |     information    |                    |
|        |        |         |     requirements.  |                    |
|        |        |         |     FAMIS program  |                    |
|        |        |         |     office has     |                    |
|        |        |         |     been           |                    |
|        |        |         |     established.   |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| **T    | **Bu   | **Pr    | **Status**         | **Next Steps**     |
| rack** | ilding | oject** |                    |                    |
|        | B      |         |                    |                    |
|        | lock** |         |                    |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Partne | Change | Un      | -   A proposed     | -   The FAR        |
| rships | Mgmt   | dertake |     rule for       |     regulatory     |
|        |        | o       |     incorporation  |     councils will  |
|        |        | utreach |     in the Federal |     analyze public |
|        |        |         |     Acquisition    |     comments in    |
|        |        |         |     Regulation     |     formulating a  |
|        |        |         |     (FAR) has been |     final rule     |
|        |        |         |     issued for     |     designating    |
|        |        |         |     public comment |     the GPE.       |
|        |        |         |     to designate   |                    |
|        |        |         |     FedBizOpps.Gov |                    |
|        |        |         |     as the single  |                    |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         |    Government-wide |                    |
|        |        |         |     electronic     |                    |
|        |        |         |     point of entry |                    |
|        |        |         |     (GPE) and      |                    |
|        |        |         |     improve vendor |                    |
|        |        |         |     access to      |                    |
|        |        |         |     information    |                    |
|        |        |         |     through a      |                    |
|        |        |         |     one-stop       |                    |
|        |        |         |     gateway to     |                    |
|        |        |         |     procurement    |                    |
|        |        |         |     information on |                    |
|        |        |         |     the Internet.  |                    |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         | -   PRO-Net has    |                    |
|        |        |         |     been linked to |                    |
|        |        |         |     FedBizOpps.Gov |                    |
|        |        |         |     to enhance     |                    |
|        |        |         |     convenience    |                    |
|        |        |         |     for small      |                    |
|        |        |         |     businesses in  |                    |
|        |        |         |     viewing        |                    |
|        |        |         |     procurement    |                    |
|        |        |         |     opportunities. |                    |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         | -   Small business |                    |
|        |        |         |     visibility is  |                    |
|        |        |         |     being          |                    |
|        |        |         |     increased on   |                    |
|        |        |         |     popular        |                    |
|        |        |         |     inter-agency   |                    |
|        |        |         |     contracts.     |                    |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         | -   A gateway for  |                    |
|        |        |         |     women- owned   |                    |
|        |        |         |     businesses has |                    |
|        |        |         |     been           |                    |
|        |        |         |     established.   |                    |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         | -   ARNet has been |                    |
|        |        |         |     revamped to    |                    |
|        |        |         |     increase its   |                    |
|        |        |         |     utility.       |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| **T    | **Bu   | **Pr    | **Status**         | **Next Steps**     |
| rack** | ilding | oject** |                    |                    |
|        | B      |         |                    |                    |
|        | lock** |         |                    |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| High   | Elec   | Improve | -   Usage of       | -   OMB will work  |
| Volume | tronic | access  |     popular        |     with managers  |
| Ac     | Ca     | to and  |     electronic     |     of electronic  |
| tivity | talogs | use of  |     catalogs has   |     catalogs as    |
|        |        | ele     |     increased.     |     they consider  |
|        |        | ctronic |                    |     ways to        |
|        |        | c       | -   Pilot efforts  |     improve        |
|        |        | atalogs |     demonstrated   |     strategic use  |
|        |        |         |     real time      |     of their       |
|        |        |         |     ordering and   |     contracts.     |
|        |        |         |     payment with   |                    |
|        |        |         |     authentication | -   Program        |
|        |        |         |     and security   |     Managers       |
|        |        |         |     among          |     Council will   |
|        |        |         |     interoperable  |     continue to    |
|        |        |         |     catalogs.      |     work with PEC  |
|        |        |         |                    |     EC Committee   |
|        |        |         |                    |     (PEC ECC) to   |
|        |        |         |                    |     identify       |
|        |        |         |                    |     possible       |
|        |        |         |                    |     approaches for |
|        |        |         |                    |     improving      |
|        |        |         |                    |     visibility of  |
|        |        |         |                    |     inter-agency   |
|        |        |         |                    |     contracts.     |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| High   | Elec   | I       | -   Governmentwide | -   GSA, with      |
| Volume | tronic | ncrease |     usage of       |     support from   |
| Ac     | Pa     | use of  |     purchase card  |     SBA, the E-Gov |
| tivity | yments | p       |     for            |     Coordinating   |
|        |        | urchase |                    |     Committee, and |
|        |        | cards   |    micro-purchases |     commercial     |
|        |        |         |     exceeds 80     |     trading        |
|        |        |         |     percent.       |     partners, will |
|        |        |         |                    |     continue to    |
|        |        |         |                    |     work with      |
|        |        |         |                    |     agencies to    |
|        |        |         |                    |     successfully   |
|        |        |         |                    |     collect data,  |
|        |        |         |                    |     including      |
|        |        |         |                    |     small business |
|        |        |         |                    |     statistics.    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| High   | Elec   | Improve | -   Treasury has   | -   Agencies will  |
| Volume | tronic | p       |     undertaken     |     continue to    |
| Ac     | Pa     | ayments |     steps to       |     reduce their   |
| tivity | yments | made    |     increase       |     reliance on    |
|        |        | through |     payments made  |     paper checks.  |
|        |        | means   |     by EFT.        |                    |
|        |        | other   |                    |                    |
|        |        | than    | -   VA is          |                    |
|        |        | p       |     expanding its  |                    |
|        |        | urchase |     Prime Vendor   |                    |
|        |        | cards   |     payment        |                    |
|        |        |         |     mechanism.     |                    |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         | -   DFAS has       |                    |
|        |        |         |     implemented a  |                    |
|        |        |         |     web invoicing  |                    |
|        |        |         |     system (WinS)  |                    |
|        |        |         |     to enable its  |                    |
|        |        |         |     contractors to |                    |
|        |        |         |     make batch     |                    |
|        |        |         |     filings of     |                    |
|        |        |         |     invoices.      |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| **T    | **Bu   | **Pr    | **Status**         | **Next Steps**     |
| rack** | ilding | oject** |                    |                    |
|        | B      |         |                    |                    |
|        | lock** |         |                    |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| High   | ID &   | PKI and | -   OMB issued     | -   GPEA plans     |
| Volume | Aut    | Certif  |     guidance to    |     will be        |
| Ac     | hen-ti | ication |     agencies to    |     evaluated and  |
| tivity | cation | Auth    |     implement      |     used as a      |
|        |        | orities |     GPEA, to       |     framework to   |
|        |        |         |     include        |     move to        |
|        |        |         |     electronic     |     electronic     |
|        |        |         |     signature      |     government.    |
|        |        |         |     usage.         |                    |
|        |        |         |     Agencies have  | -   GSA will       |
|        |        |         |     submitted      |     monitor the    |
|        |        |         |     plans.         |     effective use  |
|        |        |         |                    |     of ACES        |
|        |        |         | -   GSA awarded    |                    |
|        |        |         |     the ACES       |    certifications. |
|        |        |         |     contract for   |                    |
|        |        |         |     public         | -   The Federal    |
|        |        |         |     transactions   |     PKI Steering   |
|        |        |         |     to facilitate  |     Committee will |
|        |        |         |     secure         |     develop a      |
|        |        |         |     communications |     fully          |
|        |        |         |     using digital  |     operational    |
|        |        |         |     signatures.    |     FBCA.          |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         | ```{=html}         | -   The Federal    |
|        |        |         | <!-- -->           |     PKI Steering   |
|        |        |         | ```                |     committee will |
|        |        |         | -   A Federal      |     explore        |
|        |        |         |     Bridge         |     agencies\'     |
|        |        |         |     Certification  |     policies and   |
|        |        |         |     Authority      |     best           |
|        |        |         |     (FBCA) has     |     practices.     |
|        |        |         |     been piloted   |                    |
|        |        |         |     to permit      |                    |
|        |        |         |     disparate      |                    |
|        |        |         |     agency PKI\'s  |                    |
|        |        |         |     to             |                    |
|        |        |         |     interoperate.  |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| High   | ID &   | Manage  | -   The Internal   | -   The IRS will   |
| Volume | Aut    | Seller  |     Revenue        |     identify       |
| Ac     | hen-ti | Info    |     Service (IRS)  |     strategies     |
| tivity | cation | rmation |     is validating  |     that will      |
|        |        |         |     TINs on a      |     allow it to    |
|        |        |         |     limited basis  |     validate TINs  |
|        |        |         |     for those      |     for numerous   |
|        |        |         |     contractors    |     applications   |
|        |        |         |     who require a  |     across the     |
|        |        |         |     SF 1099.       |     government.    |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         | -   DOD is sharing | -   Civilian       |
|        |        |         |     its CCR        |     agencies will  |
|        |        |         |     database with  |     be encouraged  |
|        |        |         |     DOT, NASA,     |     to consider    |
|        |        |         |     DOI, and       |     the CCR        |
|        |        |         |     Treasury.      |     database and   |
|        |        |         |                    |     use its        |
|        |        |         |                    |     information to |
|        |        |         |                    |     assist in      |
|        |        |         |                    |     payment and    |
|        |        |         |                    |     eliminate      |
|        |        |         |                    |     duplicative    |
|        |        |         |                    |     vendor data    |
|        |        |         |                    |     collection for |
|        |        |         |                    |     payments.      |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| **T    | **Bu   | **Pr    | **Status**         | **Next Steps**     |
| rack** | ilding | oject** |                    |                    |
|        | B      |         |                    |                    |
|        | lock** |         |                    |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Re-en  | Co     | Improve | -   Agencies are   | -   The PEC ECC,   |
| gineer | ntract | access  |     transitioning  |     through the    |
| key    | For    | to      |     to the         |     FedBizOpps     |
| fun    | mation | b       |     FedBizOpps     |     User\'s Group, |
| ctions | &      | usiness |     website to     |     will monitor   |
|        | Admin. | opport  |     index          |     GPE            |
|        |        | unities |     solicitations. |                    |
|        |        |         |                    |    implementation. |
|        |        |         | -   GSA is         |                    |
|        |        |         |     providing an   |                    |
|        |        |         |     electronic     |                    |
|        |        |         |     data           |                    |
|        |        |         |     interchange    |                    |
|        |        |         |     (EDI) feed of  |                    |
|        |        |         |     information    |                    |
|        |        |         |     from           |                    |
|        |        |         |     FedBizOpps for |                    |
|        |        |         |     interested     |                    |
|        |        |         |     service        |                    |
|        |        |         |     providers and  |                    |
|        |        |         |     small          |                    |
|        |        |         |     businesses.    |                    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Re-en  | Co     | Explore | -   Several        | -   The CAAC and   |
| gineer | ntract | opport  |     agencies       |     DARC will      |
| key    | For    | unities |     including      |     evaluate the   |
| fun    | mation | for     |     Navy, Army,    |     need for       |
| ctions | &      | online  |     DLA and USPS   |     guidance on    |
|        | Admin. | auc     |     have begun to  |     the use of     |
|        |        | tioning |     experiment     |     reverse        |
|        |        |         |     with online    |     auction        |
|        |        |         |     auctions.      |     techniques.    |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Re-en  | System | Improve | -   DOI completed  | -   The PEC ECC    |
| gineer | Inte   | int     |     integration of |     will work with |
| key    | rfaces | erfaces |     its financial  |     JFMIP to       |
| fun    |        |         |     and            |     identify the   |
| ctions |        |         |     acquisition    |     interface      |
|        |        |         |     systems.       |     points that    |
|        |        |         |                    |     must be        |
|        |        |         |                    |     maintained     |
|        |        |         |                    |     between        |
|        |        |         |                    |     agencies'      |
|        |        |         |                    |     procurement    |
|        |        |         |                    |     and financial  |
|        |        |         |                    |     systems.       |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         |                    | -   SBA and DOD    |
|        |        |         |                    |     will work to   |
|        |        |         |                    |     assist small   |
|        |        |         |                    |     businesses     |
|        |        |         |                    |     that want to   |
|        |        |         |                    |     enter EFT data |
|        |        |         |                    |     into CCR from  |
|        |        |         |                    |     PRO-Net.       |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         |                    | -   DOD will       |
|        |        |         |                    |     connect CCR    |
|        |        |         |                    |     with WinS in   |
|        |        |         |                    |     order that     |
|        |        |         |                    |     small          |
|        |        |         |                    |     businesses     |
|        |        |         |                    |     expecting      |
|        |        |         |                    |     payment can    |
|        |        |         |                    |     reap the       |
|        |        |         |                    |     benefit of     |
|        |        |         |                    |     having already |
|        |        |         |                    |     registered     |
|        |        |         |                    |     with the DOD.  |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         |                    | -   PEC will       |
|        |        |         |                    |     establish a    |
|        |        |         |                    |     common         |
|        |        |         |                    |     procurement    |
|        |        |         |                    |     vocabulary to  |
|        |        |         |                    |     increase       |
|        |        |         |                    |     Internet       |
|        |        |         |                    |                    |
|        |        |         |                    |  interoperability. |
+--------+--------+---------+--------------------+--------------------+

# APPENDIX A. *OMB Guidance for Developing EC Reports* 

November 10, 1999

MEMORANDUM FOR SELECTED MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENT'S MANAGEMENT

COUNCIL AND OTHER AGENCY OFFICIALS

FROM: Deidre A. Lee /signed/

Administrator

SUBJECT: Agency Electronic Commerce Progress Reports on Federal
Purchasing and Payment for FY 1999

This memorandum requests that Executive departments and selected
agencies submit a progress report to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) identifying the activities they have undertaken in FY 1999 to use
electronic commerce (EC) in their purchasing and payment processes.
Section 30 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Act
requires the OFPP Administrator to submit to Congress an annual report
on the implementation of EC by Federal agencies. Agency reports will
form the basis of OMB\'s next report to Congress on EC activity. This
report is due by March 1, 2000.

Agency reports should describe progress made in FY 1999 on their plans,
submitted to OMB pursuant to OMB Memorandum 99‑02, to implement the
government‑wide strategic plan, *Electronic Commerce for Buyers and
Sellers.* Agency progress reports should specifically address activities
undertaken in furtherance of each of the building blocks identified in
the government‑wide strategic plan, which is available at
http://policyworks.gov/epic. Thus, reports should contain separate
entries addressing: (1) change management, (2) electronic catalogs, (3)
electronic payments, (4) identification and authentication, (5) contract
formation and administration, (6) contract writing systems, and (7)
federal systems interfaces.

Agencies should ensure that discussion in the "change management"
building block addresses efforts being undertaken to comply with section
30(c)(1), (2), and (3) of the OFPP Act. These provisions require that
the head of each executive agency ensure that systems, technologies,
procedures, and processes --

> \(1\) are implemented with uniformity throughout the agency, to the
> extent practicable;
>
> \(2\) are implemented only after granting due consideration to the use
> or partial use, as appropriate, of existing electronic commerce and
> electronic data interchange systems and infra‑structures such as the
> Federal acquisition computer network architecture known as FACNET; and
>
> \(3\) facilitate access to Federal government procurement
> opportunities, including opportunities for small business concerns,
> socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns, and
> business concerns owned predominantly by women.

Agencies should indicate in their discussion of each building block
whether progress is on track with expectations reflected in their
implementation plans. If an agency has significantly modified its
milestones or the major initiatives it is pursuing, this should be noted
as part of the discussion of the effected building block(s). If these
modifications significantly affect a major acquisition, agencies should
indicate how this is reflected in the agency's budget submission (i.e.,
Exhibit 53 and 300B under OMB Circular A-11).

Agencies are encouraged to highlight successful efforts to re-engineer
buying and paying processes that take advantage of new technologies to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of those processes. As in OMB's
report on FY 1998 activity, *Electronic Purchasing and Payment in the
Federal Government,* available at , OMB may highlight these efforts in
the FY 1999 report to Congress. Agencies may wish to refer to OMB's FY
1998 report in preparing their submissions.

An agency EC progress report should be prepared by each of the
departments and agencies identified in Attachment A. Reports should be
submitted to OFPP by December 20, 1999. Questions regarding this
guidance should be directed to OFPP (Julie Basile, 202-395-4821, or
Mathew Blum, 202-395-4953).

Attachment

Attachment A

Agencies Subject to OMB Memorandum

The following is a list of agencies to which OMB Memorandum is
applicable:

The Department of Agriculture

The Department of Commerce

The Department of Defense

The Department of Education

The Department of Energy

The Department of Health and Human Services

The Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Department of the Interior

The Department of Justice

The Department of Labor

The Department of State

The Department of Transportation

The Department of the Treasury

The Department of Veterans Affairs

The Agency for International Development

The Environmental Protection Agency

The Federal Emergency Management Agency

The General Services Administration

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Office of Personnel Management

The Small Business Administration

The Social Security Administration

# APPENDIX B. *Current Framework of E-Gov Coordinating Groups*

The chart below sets forth the current framework of E-Gov coordinating
groups. Groups are identified by area of primary focus (i.e., service
delivery, interoperability, finance, policy). As noted, most groups have
been aligned with the Procurement Executives Council (PEC), the Chief
Financial Officers Council (CFOC), or the Chief Information Officers
Council (CIOC). This alignment is designed: (a) to ensure groups remain
focused on strategic priorities, and (b) to provide a stabilizing
structure for crosscutting initiatives.

**FOCUS: [SERVICE DELIVERY]{.underline}**

+-----------+---------+---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+
| **Organ   | **      | *       | **Main   | **Meet | **C    | *      |
| ization** | Primary | *Source | Issues** | ings** | hair** | *Staff |
|           | Me      | of      |          |        |        | Con    |
|           | mbers** | Au      |          |        |        | tact** |
|           |         | thority |          |        |        |        |
|           |         | /       |          |        |        |        |
|           |         | Council |          |        |        |        |
|           |         | Alig    |          |        |        |        |
|           |         | nment** |          |        |        |        |
+-----------+---------+---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+
|           |         |         |          |        |        |        |
+-----------+---------+---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+
| Access    | SSA,    | NPR\`   | Coor     | M      | Tony   | Tony   |
| America   | NPR,    |         | dination | onthly | T      | T      |
| for       | GS      | *       | of the   |        | renkle | renkle |
| Seniors   | A,USPS, | *CIOC** | Access   |        | / SSA  |        |
| Steering  |         |         |          |        |        | 410-96 |
| Committee | H       |         | For      |        | 410-96 | 5-1550 |
|           | CFA,VA, |         | Seniors  |        | 5-1550 |        |
|           |         |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Tr      |         | Effort.  |        |        |        |
|           | easury, |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Pension |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Benefit |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Gu      |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | arantee |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Corp.,  |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | R       |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | ailroad |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Ret.    |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Bd,     |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | OPM,    |         |          |        |        |        |
|           |         |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | DOL,    |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Corp.   |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | for     |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Natl.   |         |          |        |        |        |
|           | Service |         |          |        |        |        |
+-----------+---------+---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+
| Access    | ED, OMB | OMB     | Coor     | Task   | St     | David  |
| America   |         |         | dination | Force  | eering | Te     |
| for       | DOL,    | NPR     | of the   |        | Comm   | moshok |
| Students  | VA,     |         | Access   | W      | ittee: |        |
| Int       |         | *       | America  | eekly, |        | 202-20 |
| er-agency | DOD,    | *CIOC** | for      |        | Greg   | 8-7655 |
| T         | USPS,   |         | Students | St     | Woods  |        |
| ask/Force |         |         | effort.  | eering |        | C      |
| Steering  | I       |         |          |        | Edu    | harles |
| Committee | RS,SSA, |         |          | Com    | cation | C      |
|           | GSA,OPM |         |          | mittee |        | oleman |
|           |         |         |          | Qua    | Sally  |        |
|           |         |         |          | rterly | Katzen | 202-20 |
|           |         |         |          |        |        | 5-9141 |
|           |         |         |          |        | OMB    |        |
+-----------+---------+---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+
| CIO       | Major   | CIOC    | Implem   | [Bi-]  | Alan   | Sherry |
| Council   | A       |         | entation | {.unde | B      | Cage   |
|           | gencies | *       | of       | rline} | alutis |        |
| E-G       |         | *CIOC** | Pres     |        | / DoC  | 202-48 |
| overnment |         |         | idential | [W     |        | 2-5482 |
| Committee |         |         |          | eekly] | John   |        |
|           |         |         | Di       | {.unde | Dyer / |        |
|           |         |         | rectives | rline} | SSA    |        |
|           |         |         | on       |        |        |        |
|           |         |         |          |        | George |        |
|           |         |         | E-go     |        | M      |        |
|           |         |         | vernment |        | olaski |        |
|           |         |         |          |        | / DOT  |        |
+-----------+---------+---------+----------+--------+--------+--------+

+----------+---------+----------+----------+-------+--------+-------+
| **Organi | **      | **Source | **Main   | **    | **C    | **    |
| zation** | Primary | of       | Issues** | Meeti | hair** | Staff |
|          | Me      | A        |          | ngs** |        | Cont  |
|          | mbers** | uthority |          |       |        | act** |
|          |         | /        |          |       |        |       |
|          |         | Council  |          |       |        |       |
|          |         | Ali      |          |       |        |       |
|          |         | gnment** |          |       |        |       |
+----------+---------+----------+----------+-------+--------+-------+
|          |         |          |          |       |        |       |
+----------+---------+----------+----------+-------+--------+-------+
| Small    | SBA,    | NPR      | Coor     | SBA   | Jim    | M     |
| Business | Agric   |          | dination |       | O\'    | onica |
|          | ulture, | **PEC**  | of small | Pr    | Connor | Har   |
| E-       |         |          | business | ogram |        | rison |
| Commerce | DOC,    |          |          | Off   | SBA    |       |
|          | OMB,    |          | e-       | ices, |        | 20    |
| Working  |         |          | commerce | as    | 202-20 | 2-205 |
| Group    | NPR,    |          | needs,   | n     | 5-6929 | -6706 |
|          | etc.    |          |          | eeded |        |       |
|          |         |          | t        |       |        |       |
|          |         |          | echnical |       |        |       |
|          |         |          | as       |       |        |       |
|          |         |          | sistance |       |        |       |
+----------+---------+----------+----------+-------+--------+-------+
| Federal  | GSA,    | **CIOC** | Ensuring | Mo    | Ron    | Chri  |
| IT       | Access  |          | IT is    | nthly | Kelly, | stine |
| Acces    | Board,  |          |          |       |        | Fr    |
| sibility | DOJ,    |          | De       |       | Di     | azier |
| In       | ED,     |          | veloped, |       | rector |       |
| itiative | DOD,    |          | procured |       | of the | 20    |
|          | Agric   |          | &        |       | Center | 2-501 |
|          | ulture, |          |          |       | for    | -4906 |
|          | US      |          | Deployed |       | Infor  |       |
|          | Census  |          | to       |       | mation |       |
|          | Bureau, |          | enable   |       | Tech   |       |
|          | FCC,    |          | parti    |       | nology |       |
|          | DOI,    |          | cipation |       | A      |       |
|          | IRS,    |          | in       |       | ccessi |       |
|          | NSF,    |          | E-Govt   |       | bility |       |
|          | Pres    |          | by       |       | at GSA |       |
|          | ident's |          | people   |       |        |       |
|          | Council |          | with     |       |        |       |
|          | on      |          | disab    |       |        |       |
|          | Emp     |          | ilities. |       |        |       |
|          | loyment |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | of      |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | People  |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | w       |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | /Disabi |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | lities, |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | Pres    |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | ident's |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | Task    |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | Force   |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | on      |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | Emp     |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | loyment |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | of      |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | Adults  |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | w       |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | /Disabi |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | lities, |          |          |       |        |       |
|          | SSA, VA |          |          |       |        |       |
+----------+---------+----------+----------+-------+--------+-------+

**FOCUS: [INTEROPERABILITY]{.underline}**

+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| **Organ   | **      | **     | **Main   | **    | **C    | *      |
| ization** | Primary | Source | Issues** | Meeti | hair** | *Staff |
|           | Me      | of     |          | ngs** |        | Con    |
|           | mbers** | Aut    |          |       |        | tact** |
|           |         | hority |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | /      |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | C      |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | ouncil |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | Align  |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | ment** |          |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
|           |         |        |          |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Federal   | GSA,    | NIST   | Dev      | Quar  | Teresa | Teresa |
| EDI       | Agric   | FIPS   | elopment | terly |        | So     |
|           | ulture, |        | of       |       | So     | rrenti |
| SMC       |         | Pub.   | governm  |       | rrenti |        |
| Committee | DOC,    | 161-2  | ent-wide |       |        | 703-30 |
|           | DOD,    |        |          |       |        | 5-6514 |
|           |         | **     | Implem   |       |        |        |
|           | ED,     | CIOC** | entation |       |        |        |
|           | DOE,    |        |          |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | Con      |       |        |        |
|           | EPA     |        | ventions |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | for      |       |        |        |
|           |         |        |          |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | EDI      |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Federal   | DO      | CIOC   | De       | Mo    | Rich   | Johnny |
| Public    | D,NIST, |        | veloping | nthly | Guida  | S      |
|           |         | **     | &        |       |        | umners |
| Key       | OMB,    | CIOC** |          |       | 202-62 |        |
| Infra-    | GSA,    |        | su       |       | 2-1522 | 202-21 |
|           |         |        | pporting |       |        | 9-8474 |
| Structure | Tr      |        | PKI      |       |        |        |
| Steering  | easury, |        |          |       |        |        |
|           | DOJ     |        | for the  |       |        |        |
| Committee |         |        | Federal  |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | Go       |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | vernment |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Int       | NSF     | ECPO   | El       | [Qu   | [Brand | Harry  |
| er-agency | ,DOT,   |        | ectronic | arter | Sta    | F      |
|           |         | **     | pr       | ly]{. | nford] | eather |
| E         | HHS,    | CFOC** | ocessing | under | {.unde | stone, |
| lectronic | Agric   |        | of       | line} | rline} | LMI    |
| Grants    | ulture, |        | Federal  |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | grant    | [Am.  | [      | 703-91 |
| Committee | GSA,    |        | inf      | Ins   | (ONR)] | 7-7210 |
|           | NASA,   |        | ormation | t.]{. | {.unde |        |
| (IAEGC)   |         |        |          | under | rline} |        |
|           | DOJ,    |        |          | line} |        |        |
|           | ED,     |        |          |       | [7     |        |
|           |         |        |          | [of   | 03-696 |        |
|           | OMB,    |        |          | Arc   | -5420] |        |
|           | DOL,    |        |          | hitec | {.unde |        |
|           |         |        |          | ts]{. | rline} |        |
|           | DOI     |        |          | under |        |        |
|           |         |        |          | line} | [Eli   |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | zabeth |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | Phi    |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | llips] |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | {.unde |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | rline} |        |
|           |         |        |          |       |        |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | [2     |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | 02-690 |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | -6358] |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | {.unde |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | rline} |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Smart     | Major   | OMB    | Dev      | Bimo  | [Bill  | Sara   |
| Card      | A       | T      | elopment | nthly | Hol    | Wagner |
| Project   | gencies | asking | of smart |       | combe] |        |
|           |         |        | card     | 2^nd^ | {.unde | 202-20 |
| M         |         | **     | te       | Wed., | rline} | 8-4917 |
| anagement |         | CFOC** | chnology |       |        |        |
| Group     |         |        | and its  | AIA   | [GSA]  |        |
|           |         |        | use in   | Board | {.unde |        |
|           |         |        | the      |       | rline} |        |
|           |         |        | Federal  | Room  |        |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | [2     |        |
|           |         |        | Gov      |       | 02-208 |        |
|           |         |        | ernment. |       | -7657] |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | {.unde |        |
|           |         |        |          |       | rline} |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Int       | DOE,    | C      | In       | Mo    | [Ken   | Ken    |
| er-agency | DOI,    | harter | creasing | nthly | S      | Stepka |
| Ac        |         |        | use of   |       | tepka] |        |
| quisition | NASA,   | *      |          |       | {.unde | 202-35 |
| Internet  |         | *PEC** | the      |       | rline} | 8-0492 |
| Council   | Air     |        | Internet |       |        |        |
|           | Force,  |        | in the   |       | [NASA] |        |
| (IAIC)    |         |        | Federal  |       | {.unde |        |
|           | DOC,    |        | Acq      |       | rline} |        |
|           | DLA     |        | uisition |       |        |        |
|           |         |        |          |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | process  |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+

**FOCUS: [FINANCIAL]{.underline}**

+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| **Organ   | **      | **     | **Main   | **    | **C    | *      |
| ization** | Primary | Source | Issues** | Meeti | hair** | *Staff |
|           | Me      | of     |          | ngs** |        | Con    |
|           | mbers** | Aut    |          |       |        | tact** |
|           |         | hority |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | /      |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | C      |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | ouncil |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | Align  |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | ment** |          |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
|           |         |        |          |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Financial | CFO Act | CFOC   | Coor     | Pr    | Sky    | Dan    |
| Imple     | A       |        | dination | ogram | Lesher | M      |
| mentation | gencies | **     | of the   | O     | /      | cGrath |
| Team for  |         | CFOC** | f        | ffice |        |        |
| E         |         |        | inancial |       | DOI    | 202-21 |
| lectronic |         |        | com      |       |        | 9-8474 |
|           |         |        | munity's |       |        |        |
| Commerce  |         |        | inv      |       |        |        |
| (FITEC)   |         |        | olvement |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | in EC.   |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Chief     | Major   | CFOC   | F        | Mo    | Sky    | Monica |
| Financial | A       |        | inancial | nthly | L      | Taylor |
| Officers  | gencies | **     | systems  |       | esher/ | 202-21 |
| Council   | & OMB   | CFOC** |          |       | DOI    | 9-0213 |
| Financial |         |        |          |       |        |        |
| Systems   |         |        |          |       |        |        |
| Committee |         |        |          |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Inter-Gov | Major   | *      | Ma       | Mo    | B.     | B.     |
| ernmental | A       | *PEC** | nagement | nthly | P      | P      |
| Asset     | gencies |        | &        |       | reston | reston |
| Sales     | & NPR,  |        | admini   |       | Rich / | Rich,  |
| Team      | OMB     |        | stration |       | NSF    | 703-   |
| (IGAST)   |         |        | of       |       |        |        |
|           | DOI     |        | public   |       |        | 30     |
|           |         |        | asset    |       |        | 6-1282 |
|           |         |        | sales    |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | and news |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+

**FOCUS: [POLICY]{.underline}**

+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| **Organ   | **      | **     | **Main   | **    | **C    | *      |
| ization** | Primary | Source | Issues** | Meeti | hair** | *Staff |
|           | Me      | of     |          | ngs** |        | Con    |
|           | mbers** | Aut    |          |       |        | tact** |
|           |         | hority |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | /      |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | C      |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | ouncil |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | Align  |          |       |        |        |
|           |         | ment** |          |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
|           |         |        |          |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Chief     | DOC,    | CFOC   | Estab    | Mo    | Sky    | Dan    |
| Financial | Tr      |        | lishment | nthly | Lesher | M      |
| Officers  | easury, | CFO    | of       |       |        | cGrath |
| Council   |         | Act    | common   |       | DOI    |        |
|           | OMB,    |        | goals    |       |        | 202-21 |
| (CFOC)    | Agric   | **     | for      |       |        | 9-8474 |
| E         | ulture, | CFOC** | f        |       |        |        |
| lectronic |         |        | inancial |       |        | 202-21 |
| Commerce  | GSA,    |        |          |       |        | 0-8812 |
| Committee | DOL,    |        | EC;      |       |        | Fax    |
| (ECC)     |         |        | resolve  |       |        |        |
|           | HHS,    |        |          |       |        |        |
|           | VA,     |        | Common   |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | f        |       |        |        |
|           | DOI     |        | inancial |       |        |        |
|           |         |        |          |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | EC       |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | concerns |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Chief     | OMB,    | Exe    | Capital  | Bimo  | Chair: | M      |
| In        | most    | cutive | planning | nthly |        | ichele |
| formation |         |        | & IT     |       | Sally  | He     |
| Officers  | Major   | Order  | man      | Cou   | Katzen | ffner, |
| Council   | A       |        | agement, | ncil: |        | GSA    |
|           | gencies | 13011  | interope |       | OMB    |        |
| (CIOC)    |         |        | rability | 3^rd^ |        | 202-50 |
|           |         | **     | &        | Wed.  | 202-39 | 1-0954 |
|           |         | CIOC** | emerging | of    | 5-4852 |        |
|           |         |        | techn    | odd   |        |        |
|           |         |        | ologies, | no.   | Vice   |        |
|           |         |        | w        | mo    | Chair: |        |
|           |         |        | orkforce | nths. |        |        |
|           |         |        | issues,  |       | Jim    |        |
|           |         |        |          | Exe.  | Flyzik |        |
|           |         |        | o        | Comm. |        |        |
|           |         |        | utreach, |       | Tr     |        |
|           |         |        | etc.     | 1^st^ | easury |        |
|           |         |        |          | Fri.  |        |        |
|           |         |        |          | of    | 202-62 |        |
|           |         |        |          | odd   | 2-1200 |        |
|           |         |        |          | no.   |        |        |
|           |         |        |          | m     |        |        |
|           |         |        |          | onths |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| Pr        | Agency  | C      | Pro      | Mo    | Gary   | Donald |
| ocurement | Proc    | harter | curement | nthly | Krump  | K      |
| E         | urement |        | related  |       |        | aliher |
| xecutives | Exe     | *      | el       | VA    | VA     | (VA)   |
| Council   | cutives | *PEC** | ectronic | Ce    |        |        |
|           |         |        |          | ntral | 202-27 | 202-27 |
| (PEC)     |         |        | c        |       | 3-6029 | 3-8819 |
| E         |         |        | ommerce. | O     |        |        |
| lectronic |         |        |          | ffice |        |        |
| Commerce  |         |        |          |       |        |        |
| Committee |         |        |          |       |        |        |
| (ECC)     |         |        |          |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| E-Gov     | OMB, EC | OMB    | Estab    | Mo    | Sally  | Martin |
| Coo       | Com     |        | lishment | nthly | Katzen | Yeung  |
| rdinating | mittees |        | of EC    |       |        |        |
| Group     | of      |        | pri      |       | OMB    | 202-39 |
|           | CIOC,   |        | orities; |       |        | 5-6910 |
|           | CFOC,   |        | coor     |       |        |        |
|           | PEC     |        | dination |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | of       |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | cros     |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | scutting |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | ini      |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | tiatives |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+
| White     | OVP,    | Presid | Coor     | Bi-w  | Chair: | Eli    |
| House     | OMB,    | ential | dinating | eekly |        | zabeth |
|           |         |        | Pres     |       | David  | Echols |
| E         | DOC,    | Dir    | idential | Tues. | Beier  | (OVP)  |
| lectronic | Tr      | ective | di       |       |        |        |
| Commerce  | easury, |        | rectives | OEOB  | (OVP)  | 202-45 |
| Working   |         |        | on broad |       |        | 6-7711 |
| Group     | State,  |        | el       |       | Vice   |        |
|           | DOJ,    |        | ectronic |       | Chair: |        |
| (WH ECWG) | Agric   |        | commerce |       |        |        |
|           | ulture, |        | issues   |       | Sally  |        |
|           | HHS,    |        | and      |       | Katzen |        |
|           |         |        | issues   |       |        |        |
|           | USTR,   |        | related  |       | (OMB)  |        |
|           | GSA,    |        | to       |       |        |        |
|           | SBA,    |        | p        |       |        |        |
|           | FCC,    |        | roviding |       |        |        |
|           | FTC     |        | go       |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | vernment |       |        |        |
|           |         |        |          |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | services |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | electro  |       |        |        |
|           |         |        | nically. |       |        |        |
+-----------+---------+--------+----------+-------+--------+--------+

#  

# APPENDIX C. *EC Activity agency-by-agency*

### Table 1a: Business Opportunities Posted via CBDNet for FY 99

+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
|    | Posting Opportunities in       |                           |    |
|    | CBDNet                         |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| ** |                                | **Number of Notices**     |    |
| Ag |                                |                           |    |
| en |                                | **Posted in FY 99**       |    |
| cy |                                |                           |    |
| ** |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| A  |                                | 325                       |    |
| ID |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| A  |                                | 3 ,786                    |    |
| gr |                                |                           |    |
| ic |                                |                           |    |
| ul |                                |                           |    |
| tu |                                |                           |    |
| re |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| A  |                                | 16,185                    |    |
| ir |                                |                           |    |
| F  |                                |                           |    |
| or |                                |                           |    |
| ce |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| Ar |                                | 14,077                    |    |
| my |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| Co |                                | 1,379                     |    |
| mm |                                |                           |    |
| er |                                |                           |    |
| ce |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| D  |                                | 1,372                     |    |
| LA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| O  |                                | 57,231                    |    |
| th |                                |                           |    |
| er |                                |                           |    |
| D  |                                |                           |    |
| ef |                                |                           |    |
| en |                                |                           |    |
| se |                                |                           |    |
| (i |                                |                           |    |
| nc |                                |                           |    |
| lu |                                |                           |    |
| di |                                |                           |    |
| ng |                                |                           |    |
| N  |                                |                           |    |
| av |                                |                           |    |
| y) |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| E  |                                | 790                       |    |
| PA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| E  |                                | 191                       |    |
| du |                                |                           |    |
| ca |                                |                           |    |
| ti |                                |                           |    |
| on |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| En |                                | 710                       |    |
| er |                                |                           |    |
| gy |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| FE |                                | 111                       |    |
| MA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| G  |                                | 3,487                     |    |
| SA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| H  |                                | 2,979                     |    |
| HS |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| H  |                                | 408                       |    |
| UD |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| In |                                | 3,465                     |    |
| te |                                |                           |    |
| ri |                                |                           |    |
| or |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| J  |                                | 2,572                     |    |
| us |                                |                           |    |
| ti |                                |                           |    |
| ce |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| L  |                                | 444                       |    |
| ab |                                |                           |    |
| or |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| NA |                                | 2,083                     |    |
| SA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| N  |                                | 48                        |    |
| RC |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| O  |                                | 21                        |    |
| PM |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| S  |                                | 48                        |    |
| BA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| S  |                                | 200                       |    |
| ta |                                |                           |    |
| te |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| Tr |                                | 2,920                     |    |
| an |                                |                           |    |
| sp |                                |                           |    |
| or |                                |                           |    |
| ta |                                |                           |    |
| ti |                                |                           |    |
| on |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| Tr |                                | 1,320                     |    |
| ea |                                |                           |    |
| su |                                |                           |    |
| ry |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| VA |                                | 4,823                     |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| O  |                                | 8,612                     |    |
| th |                                |                           |    |
| er |                                |                           |    |
| Ag |                                |                           |    |
| en |                                |                           |    |
| ci |                                |                           |    |
| es |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| ** |                                | **125,801**               |    |
| To |                                |                           |    |
| ta |                                |                           |    |
| ls |                                |                           |    |
| ** |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+

Source: Department of Commerce

### Table 1b: Business Opportunities Posted via CBDNet for FY 00

+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
|    | Posting Opportunities in       |                           |    |
|    | CBDNet                         |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| ** |                                | **Number of Notices**     |    |
| Ag |                                |                           |    |
| en |                                | **Posted in FY 00**       |    |
| cy |                                |                           |    |
| ** |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| A  |                                | 324                       |    |
| ID |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| A  |                                | 3,232                     |    |
| gr |                                |                           |    |
| ic |                                |                           |    |
| ul |                                |                           |    |
| tu |                                |                           |    |
| re |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| A  |                                | 14,426                    |    |
| ir |                                |                           |    |
| F  |                                |                           |    |
| or |                                |                           |    |
| ce |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| Ar |                                | 13,798                    |    |
| my |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| Co |                                | 1,395                     |    |
| mm |                                |                           |    |
| er |                                |                           |    |
| ce |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| D  |                                | 926                       |    |
| LA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| O  |                                | 46,418                    |    |
| th |                                |                           |    |
| er |                                |                           |    |
| D  |                                |                           |    |
| ef |                                |                           |    |
| en |                                |                           |    |
| se |                                |                           |    |
| (i |                                |                           |    |
| nc |                                |                           |    |
| lu |                                |                           |    |
| di |                                |                           |    |
| ng |                                |                           |    |
| N  |                                |                           |    |
| av |                                |                           |    |
| y) |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| E  |                                | 689                       |    |
| PA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| E  |                                | 185                       |    |
| du |                                |                           |    |
| ca |                                |                           |    |
| ti |                                |                           |    |
| on |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| En |                                | 683                       |    |
| er |                                |                           |    |
| gy |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| FE |                                | 98                        |    |
| MA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| G  |                                | 3,564                     |    |
| SA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| H  |                                | 2,886                     |    |
| HS |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| H  |                                | 324                       |    |
| UD |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| In |                                | 3,395                     |    |
| te |                                |                           |    |
| ri |                                |                           |    |
| or |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| J  |                                | 2,412                     |    |
| us |                                |                           |    |
| ti |                                |                           |    |
| ce |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| L  |                                | 449                       |    |
| ab |                                |                           |    |
| or |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| NA |                                | 2,207                     |    |
| SA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| N  |                                | 64                        |    |
| RC |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| O  |                                | 42                        |    |
| PM |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| S  |                                | 39                        |    |
| BA |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| S  |                                | 234                       |    |
| ta |                                |                           |    |
| te |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| Tr |                                | 3,032                     |    |
| an |                                |                           |    |
| sp |                                |                           |    |
| or |                                |                           |    |
| ta |                                |                           |    |
| ti |                                |                           |    |
| on |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| Tr |                                | 1,234                     |    |
| ea |                                |                           |    |
| su |                                |                           |    |
| ry |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| VA |                                | 5,269                     |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| O  |                                | 7,854                     |    |
| th |                                |                           |    |
| er |                                |                           |    |
| Ag |                                |                           |    |
| en |                                |                           |    |
| ci |                                |                           |    |
| es |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+
| ** |                                | **115,179**               |    |
| To |                                |                           |    |
| ta |                                |                           |    |
| ls |                                |                           |    |
| ** |                                |                           |    |
+----+--------------------------------+---------------------------+----+

Source: Department of Commerce

### Table 2a: Purchase Card Activity for CY 99

  -------------------------- --------------------- ----------------------
  **AGENCY**                 **NUMBER OF CARD      **TOTAL DOLLARS ON
                             TRANSACTIONS**        PURCHASE CARD**

  AID                        5,101                 2,517,220

  Agriculture                2,150,401             494,724,181

  Air Force                  2,557,898             1,150,229,941

  Army                       3,721,721             1,822,749,868

  Commerce                   319,587               118,935,722

  Other Defense              472,355               355,936,549

  DOD Prime Vendor           54                    2,852,247

  EPA                        80,882                31,914,073

  Education                  18,220                8,975,200

  Energy                     327,457               169,383,132

  Energy- Bonneville Power   53,602                18,283,052
  Comm                                             

  FEMA                       27,205                22,073,936

  GSA                        260,273               153,674,494

  HHS                        547,437               258,820,673

  HUD                        19,658                11,525,619

  Interior\*                 2,172,645             440,808,385

  Justice                    733,613               372,372,655

  Labor                      51,419                16,700,969

  NASA                       139,935               70,893,307

  Navy                       2,579,226             1,462,970,250

  Nuclear Regulatory         5,921                 3,068,874

  OPM                        18,887                11,825,250

  SSA                        101,385               50,615,706

  SBA                        23,205                8,039,937

  State                      51,998                30,214,773

  Transportation             769,559               294,478,829

  Treasury                   533,427               166,461,318

  VA                         2,352,829             1,303,790,449

  VA Prime Vendor            322,073               1,505,608,124

  Other Agencies             1,229,292             444,077,810

  TOTALS                     **21,647,265**        **\$10,804,522,543**
  -------------------------- --------------------- ----------------------

\*Department of the Interior has an integrated card (purchase, travel,
and fleet)

Source: Federal Supply Service based on information furnished by GSA
SmartPay contractors.

**[Table 2b: Purchase Card Activity for FY 00]{.underline}**

  -------------------------- --------------------- ----------------------
  **AGENCY**                 **NUMBER OF CARD      **TOTAL DOLLARS ON
                             TRANSACTIONS**        PURCHASE CARD**

  AID                        6,065                 2,954,758

  Agriculture                1,721,346             510,907,971

  Air Force                  2,763,811             1,291,560,828

  Army                       4,087,496             2,049,837,818

  Commerce                   328,620               127,485,950

  Other Defense              535,246               407,815,796

  DOD Prime Vendor           195                   16,491,302

  EPA                        95,125                33,103,753

  Education                  19,198                7,580,954

  Energy                     327,914               170,024,784

  Energy- Bonneville Power   35,743                19,595,518
  Comm                                             

  FEMA                       27,140                21,456,979

  GSA                        269,863               157,217,887

  HHS                        623,968               305,917,666

  HUD                        21,954                11,410,265

  Interior\*                 3,118,096             584,464,678

  Justice                    891,380               467,198,351

  Labor                      53,271                14,696,716

  NASA                       159,691               83,638,991

  Navy                       2,702,346             1,700,620,737

  Nuclear Regulatory         6,422                 2,913,483

  OPM                        22,696                13,908,149

  SSA                        112,022               50,008,991

  SBA                        27,642                9,266,012

  State                      66,813                36,804,753

  Transportation             815,956               317,055,109

  Treasury                   531,164               158,851,002

  VA                         2,425,664             1,340,606,708

  VA Prime Vendor            365,873               1,909,614,088

  Other Agencies             1,294,736             465,734,029

  TOTALS                     **23,457,456**        **\$12,288,744,026**
  -------------------------- --------------------- ----------------------

\*Department of the Interior has an integrated card (purchase, travel,
and fleet)

Source: Federal Supply Service based on information furnished by GSA
SmartPay contractors.

### Table 3a: Use of FedBizOpps (formerly the Electronic Posting System) in CY 99

Agencies, or organizations within agencies, using FedBizOpps:

+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| **Agency**                                | **Ind   | *     | **B   |
|                                           | exing** | *Post | oth** |
|                                           |         | ing** |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| **Participating in CY 99**                |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 1\. Department of Commerce                |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 2\. Department of Health and Human        |         | -     |       |
| Services                                  |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 3\. Department of Housing and Urban       |         | -     |       |
| Development                               |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 4\. Department of Justice                 |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 5\. Department of Transportation          |         |       | -     |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 6\. Department of the Treasury            |         |       | -     |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 7\. Department of Veterans Affairs        | -       |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 8\. General Services Administration       |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 9\. Import Export Bank                    |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 10. National Aeronautics and Space        | -       |       |       |
|                                           |         |       |       |
| > Administration                          |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 11\. Nuclear Regulatory Commission        |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 12\. Social Security Administration       |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 13\. U. S. Air Force                      |         |       | -     |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 14\. United States Naval Home             |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| **Committed with Implementing Connections |         |       |       |
| Pending**                                 |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 15\. Remainder of Department of Defense   |         |       | -     |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 16\. Department of the Interior           | -       |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 17\. Federal Communications Commission    | -       |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 18\. National Science Foundation          | -       |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| **In Evaluation and Piloting**            |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 19\. Environmental Protection Agency      | -       |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+

# 

Source: GSA

**Indexing** - means the agency sends data about their business
opportunities through an email interface with FedBizOpps. This data
includes synopsis and solicitation information. Unless the agency is
also posting through FedBizOpps, the actual synopsis and solicitation
information resides on the agency\'s servers.

**Posting** - means the agency is using FedBizOpps\' software
applications to post synopsis and solicitation information and
FedBizOpps\' file servers to host the actual synopsis, solicitation and
related documents.

### Table 3b: Use of FedBizOpps in CY 00

Agencies, or organizations within agencies, using FedBizOpps:

+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| **Agency**                                | **Ind   | *     | **B   |
|                                           | exing** | *Post | oth** |
|                                           |         | ing** |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| **Participating in CY 00**                |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 1\. Department of Commerce                |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 2\. Department of Health and Human        |         | -     |       |
| Services                                  |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 3\. Department of Housing and Urban       |         | -     |       |
| Development                               |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 4\. Department of Justice                 |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 5\. Department of Transportation          |         |       | -     |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 6\. Department of the Treasury            |         |       | -     |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 7\. Department of Veterans Affairs        | -       |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 8\. General Services Administration       |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 9\. Export - Import Bank of the U.S.      |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 10. National Aeronautics and Space        | -       |       |       |
|                                           |         |       |       |
| > Administration                          |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 11\. Nuclear Regulatory Commission        |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 12\. Social Security Administration       |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 13\. U. S. Air Force                      |         |       | -     |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 14\. United States Naval Home             |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 15\. Federal Deposit Insurance            |         | -     |       |
| Corporation                               |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 16\. Defense Information Service Agency   |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 17\. Peace Corps                          |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 18\. National Labor Relations Board       |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 19\. U.S. Postal Service                  |         | -     |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| **Committed with Implementing Connections |         |       |       |
| Pending**                                 |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 20\. Remainder of Department of Defense   |         |       | -     |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 21\. Department of the Interior           | -       |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 22\. Federal Communications Commission    | -       |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 23\. National Science Foundation          | -       |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| **In Evaluation**                         |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+
| 24\. Environmental Protection Agency      |         |       |       |
+-------------------------------------------+---------+-------+-------+

Source: GSA

# 

[^1]: See the Presidential Memoranda on "Electronic Government"
    (December 17, 1999) , "Use of Information Technology to Improve Our
    Society" (December 17, 1999), and "Facilitating the Growth of
    Electronic Commerce" (November 29, 1999).

[^2]: See 65 Fed. Reg. 50872 (August 21, 2000)**.**

[^3]: See the discussion of Track 3 activities for additional
    information on FedBizOpps and the government's efforts to create a
    single, government-wide point of electronic entry on the Internet.

[^4]: See 5 CFR Part 1315; 64 Fed. Reg. 52580 (September 29, 1999).

[^5]: See also 65 Fed. Reg. 52243 (August 28, 2000) for proposed FAR
    changes.

[^6]: See 65 Fed. Reg. 46625 (July 31, 2000).

[^7]: See 65 Fed. Reg. 25508 (May 2, 2000).

[^8]: See 65 Fed. Reg. 65698 (November 1, 2000).

[^9]: See the discussion in Track 3 on improving access to Federal
    business opportunities for a description of legislative changes that
    were proposed by the Administration to facilitate the transition
    from paper-based to electronic processes and improve the flow of
    information between government buyers and prospective sellers.

[^10]: The CIOC's E-Government Committee, established in the Spring of
    2000, will help, among other things, to coordinate IT support within
    agencies on issues related to the application of EC technologies to
    buying and paying processes.

[^11]: A chart identifying the electronic government coordinating groups
    and their current alignment is set forth at Appendix B.

[^12]: These efforts are being undertaken with the CIOC E-Government
    Committee XML working group.

[^13]: In terms of reducing overlap, the PEC EC Committee has taken on
    the responsibility (formerly handled by the EC Coordinators' Group,
    which no longer meets on a regular basis) of providing agencies with
    opportunities to share accomplishments and promising EC technologies
    and practices. The EC trade fair, discussed below, is one example of
    such an effort.

    ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

[^14]: See, for example, section 637 of the Treasury/Postal
    Appropriation Act for fiscal year 2000, Public Law 106-58.

[^15]: Participants included the Departments of Agriculture, Army,
    Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services (HHS), Interior (DOI), the
    Treasury, and Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as GSA and the National
    Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

[^16]: OMB Circular A-11 Part 3 identifies major acquisitions as those
    requiring special management attention because of their (1)
    importance to the agency's mission, (2) high development, operating,
    or maintenance costs, (3) high risk, (4) high return, or (5) their
    significant role in the administration of programs, finances,
    property, or other resources.

[^17]: Section 30(c)(1) requires agency heads to ensure that systems,
    technologies, procedures and processes are implemented with
    uniformity throughout the agency to the extent practicable. Section
    30(c)(2) requires agency heads to ensure such systems, technologies,
    procedures, and processes are implemented only after granting due
    consideration to the use or partial use, as appropriate, of existing
    EC and electronic data interchange (EDI) systems and
    infrastructures.

[^18]: Transactional data that was collected for this report is set
    forth at Appendix C. Data is reported for: (1) posting of business
    opportunities on CBDNet for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, (2) use of
    purchase cards for calendar year 1999 and fiscal year 2000, and (3)
    use of FedBizOpps (formerly known as the electronic posting system)
    in calendar years 1999 and 2000.

[^19]: See "Digital Economy 2000," June 2000,
    <http://www.esa.doc.gov/de2k.htm>.

[^20]: See "Management Issues in a 'Paperless' Environment," Inspection
    Report No. 99-06-01 (June 1999).

[^21]: As noted above, the proposed designation of FedBizOpps is the
    subject of a proposed FAR rule on which the public was invited to
    comment. If, after consideration of public comments, an alternative
    other than FedBizOpps is selected as the GPE, efforts would be
    undertaken to link PRO-Net to the designated GPE.

[^22]: See 65 Fed. Reg. 80500 (December 21, 2000).

[^23]: See http://www.fms.treas.gov/prompt/ppinterest.html.

[^24]: The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA) requires that
    most Federal payments be made electronically.

[^25]: See www.fms.treas.gov/paid.

[^26]: To increase acceptance of purchase cards \-- which increases EFT
    percentages \-- bank vendors provide data and information to agency
    vendors who do not accept the purchase card to illustrate how its
    use can improve sales and cash management.

[^27]: For additional information on the CCR, *see www.ccr2000.com*.

[^28]: See 65 Fed. Reg. 50152-54 (August 17, 2000) and 64 Fed. Reg.
    54270-72 (October 6, 1999).

[^29]: See 65 Fed. Reg. 44847 (July 19, 2000).

[^30]: A certification authority (CA) is a trusted third party which
    verifies an individual's identity and issues that individual a
    digital certificate to allow the sender to bind his identity to the
    message he sends.

[^31]: For additional information regarding developments with the
    Federal Public Key Infrastructure, see http://gits-sec.treas.gov.

[^32]: For additional information regarding the ACES Program, see
    http://www.gsa.gov/aces.

[^33]: The Electronic Signatures in National and Global Commerce Act
    (E-SIGN) is not discussed in this report. E-SIGN applies broadly to
    Federal statutes and regulations governing private sector (including
    business-to-business and business-to-consumer) activities.

[^34]: See 65 Fed. Reg. 50872 (August 21, 2000). Among other things,
    this proposed rule is intended to address the requirements of
    section 30 (c)(4) of the OFPP Act. The expanded access to
    information that FedBizOpps would provide also furthers section
    30(e)(5) of the OFPP Act, which tasks the government with examining
    the merits and feasibility of providing additional contract
    information electronically to the public.

[^35]: Public comments on the rule were due by October 20, 2000**.**

[^36]: The Administration had also sought reductions (and, in some
    instances, elimination) in the required wait periods between the
    publication of notices and solicitations when such information is
    accessible through the GPE. This authority was not provided in
    Section 810. In an electronic environment where notices and
    solicitations can be accessed immediately through the GPE,
    continuation of this safeguard is largely unnecessary and its
    continued existence may prevent agencies from fully reaping the
    efficiencies made possible by a GPE.

[^37]: Senate Report No. 106-292 urges DOD to develop a pilot program to
    test the use of online auctions.

[^38]: The software used to conduct these auctions allows users, if
    appropriate, to factor non-price considerations into a weighted
    preference algorithm.

[^39]: To assist agencies and industry with understanding the auctioning
    concept, FTS has developed an infrastructure to support agencies as
    well as to facilitate the auctioning process.

[^40]: See 65 Fed. Reg. 65232 (October 31, 2000).

[^41]: For a list of automated past performance information systems used
    by DOD, see OFPP's *Best Practices for Collecting and Using Current
    and Past Performance Information (May 2000)* at Appendix V,
    available at *http*://www.arnet.gov. See also DOD's *A Guide to
    Collection and Use of Past Performance Information (May 1999)* at
    Appendix H, available at http://www.acq.osd.mil.