Report of the Advisory Panel on Streamlining and Codifying Acquisition Regulations

Volume 3 of 3 | January 2019

FAR Reference Document Volume 3

Recommendation 91: Require the Administrator of General Services and the 

Secretary of Defense to maintain the FAR and DFARS respectively, as electronic 

documents with references to the related statutes, Executive Orders, 

regulations, and policies, and with hyperlinks to Federal Register Notices.

Problem

The FAR, codified at Title 48 Code of Federal Regulations, provides the primary regulatory framework 

by which the federal government contracts for supplies and services and implements statutes, 

Executive Orders (EOs), regulations, policies, and Federal Register Notices (FRNs), established by 

organizations across the Federal government. DoD supplements the FAR as needed to accommodate 

DoD-specific statutes, policies, EOs, and FRNs in the DFARS. The FAR system, and consequently the 

FAR and DFARS documents, are necessarily complex because of the depth, breadth and intricacy of the 

acquisition policies and statues implemented and the guidance needed to accommodate the diverse

agencies and missions across federal government. 

This complexity renders the FAR and DFARS challenging to navigate and understand by many of the 

government and industry personnel who are part of the acquisition team described in Section 1.102 of 

the FAR and are responsible for the requirements and acquisition processes that facilitate getting 

supplies and services to warfighters and support other federal missions. This situation has led to 

criticism by both public- and private-sector leaders and stakeholders that the structure and content of 

the FAR and DFARS impede both government and industry acquisition personnel and organizations 

from adequately understanding the complexity of acquisition and transactional processes. These 

commenters also contend that the inability to effectively navigate and understand the regulations 

prevents acquisition personnel from leveraging the flexibilities, methods, and authorities available to 

increase the speed of the acquisition process and encourage innovation, competition, and investment 

by the private sector. 

Background

One of the two enumerated duties of the Section 809 Panel established in Section 809 of the FY 2016 

NDAA was to 

“review the acquisition regulations applicable to the Department of Defense with a view toward 

streamlining and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the defense acquisition process and 

maintaining defense technology advantage.” 

Each of the Section 809 Panel report volumes contains recommended changes to statutory and 

regulatory language in the FAR and DFARS. These recommended changes, as required by the FY 2016 

NDAA, are based on thorough research and analyses of applicable existing FAR and DFARS language 

and related statutory requirements and language. 

As part of its review of acquisition regulations, the Section 809 Panel developed a FAR and DFARS 

reference document that provides data on changes to the FAR and DFARS that have been implemented 

since the FAR was initially published as an FRN on September 19, 1983. This research approach 

resulted in a document with comments to each FAR and DFARS part and subpart that trace back to 
Report of the Advisory Panel on Streamlining and Codifying Acquisition Regulations

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FAR Reference Document Volume 3

and provide information on the FRNs that specify the changes made to the FAR and DFARS since 

September 1983. 

As stated in FAR 1.102 (d), “The role of each member of the Acquisition Team is to exercise personal 

initiative and sound business judgment in providing the best value product or service to meet the 

customer’s needs.” FAR 1.102 (c) states, “The Acquisition Team consists of all participants in 

government acquisition including not only representatives of the technical, supply, and procurement 

communities but also the customers they serve, and the contractors who provide the products and 

services.” Members of the acquisition team need to understand the regulatory requirements stipulated 

in the FAR and DFARS, which requires more than simply reading the FAR and DFARS. It also requires 

knowledge of the history and requirements of the statutes, policies, EOs, and FRNs that form the basis 

of FAR and DFARS regulatory requirements. 

In their current forms, the FAR and DFARS do not provide substantial detail on most FAR and DFARS 

requirements. This shortcoming contributes to challenges experienced by the acquisition workforce in 

navigating and understanding the FAR and DFARS. The research and reference document developed 

by the Section 809 Panel provides detailed reference information that makes it possible for someone—a 

contracting specialist or contracts administrator in government or industry, a policy analyst in 

government or industry, a new member of the acquisition workforce, or a student at the Defense 

Acquisition University—to quickly identify where regulatory and statutory changes have been made 

since 1983. With the comments in this reference document as a base source, users of the document can 

then access from the Internet copies of the FRNs that contain details on the origin of statutory or policy 

changes, the proposed and final rule language, and the public comments.

Discussion

The reference document produced by the Section 809 Panel will help government and industry 

acquisition team members better understand the FAR and DFARS, including the origins and basis for 

language and requirements, resulting in a better informed acquisition workforce. Having a more 

knowledgeable workforce will facilitate better communications between government and industry with

fewer misunderstandings of FAR and DFARS requirements. In turn, both parties will be more likely to

understand and appreciate each other’s concerns and incentives, which could result in more productive 

fact finding and negotiations, a faster contracting process, and reduced acquisition lead time. In 

addition to providing a tool that will contribute to a more knowledgeable workforce, this FAR/DFARS 

reference document can serve as a training resource for classroom, on-the-job, job-specific, and just-intime training. It could also help demystify the FAR rulemaking process. 

Both government and industry are striving to recruit and retain well educated, qualified, and 

motivated acquisition personnel. Incoming members of the acquisition workforce are likely familiar 

and comfortable with using Internet-based research and reference tools. They expect to have tools that 

provide quick access to information. Providing relevant and readily available tools that will contribute 

to their learning, professional development, and work performance can and should be resourced and 

leveraged to expeditiously increase their knowledge, maintain their interest, and successfully motivate 

their performance. 
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The current FAR and DFARS maintained by the FAR and DARS staffs do not include versions that 

provide information on the FRN origins of the FAR and DFARS language like the research document 

developed by the Section 809 Panel. Establishing and maintaining a FAR and a DFARS that provide 

references to the statutes, EOs, regulations, and policies, and hyperlinks to FRNs should be planned 

for, programed, and funded by the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of General Services. 

The hyperlinked capability noted in this recommendation is based on current technology. It is possible 

that future technology could provide other, better means of accomplishing the intent of this 

recommendation. The Administrator of General Services and the Secretary of Defense should employ 

whatever technology best accomplishes the goal of providing the FAR and DFARS as described above. 

Conclusions

The complexity of the FAR system has resulted in FAR and DFARS documents that are challenging to 

navigate and understand for most government and industry acquisition team members involved in the 

requirements and acquisition processes. This situation has led to criticism by senior government and 

industry leaders that the system and the regulations themselves are impeding innovation and timely 

acquisition of critical supplies and services. This frustration has also led to increased use of other 

contractual arrangements that are not governed by the FAR and DFARS. 

As part of the statutory requirement to review acquisition regulations applicable to DoD, the Section 

809 Panel developed a research and reference document that provides information about the sources 

and basis for FAR and DFARS content since the FAR’s issuance in 1983. This tool provides summary 

information on the FRNs that contain the background and rationale for FAR and DFARS content. This

tool can be used by both government and industry acquisition workforce members to improve 

knowledge of the FAR/DFARS and consequently functioning of the acquisition system. 

The Administrator of General Services should plan for and resource development and implementation 

of a FAR that includes references to the statutes, EOs, regulations, and policies, and hyperlinks to FRNs 

that establish the basis for the regulatory language and requirements included in the FAR. The 

Secretary of Defense should plan for and resource development and implementation of a DFARS that 

includes references to the statutes, EOs, regulations, and policies, and hyperlinks to FRNs that establish 

the basis for the regulatory language and requirements included in the DFARS. Deployment of such

capabilities will support efforts to enhance the knowledge and capability of the acquisition workforce, 

establish appropriate buyer and seller relationships, and improve functioning of the acquisition system. 

Implementation

Legislative Branch

§ Require the Secretary of Defense to post and make available to the public the reference 

document for the FAR and DFARS compiled by the Section 809 Panel. 

§ Require the Secretary to develop and maintain a DFARS that includes references to the statutes, 

EOs, regulations, and policies, and hyperlinks to FRNs that establish the basis for the regulatory 

language and requirements included in the DFARS.
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§ Require the Administrator of General Services to develop and maintain a FAR, in a form 

consistent with the DFARS developed and employed by DoD, which includes references to the 

statutes, EOs, regulations, and policies, and hyperlinks to FRNs that establish the basis for the 

regulatory language and requirements included in the FAR.

Executive Branch

§ There are no regulatory changes required for this recommendation.

Implications for Other Agencies

§ There are no cross-agency implications for this recommendation.