I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4250 
To promote category management principles within the Federal Government, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 3, 2017 
Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To promote category management principles within the 
Federal Government, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Buy Smarter and Save 
Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL PROCUREMENT 
GOALS. 
(a) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Beginning with the first 
fiscal year following the date of the enactment of this Act, 
and for each succeeding fiscal year, the Director of the 
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savings that are customized for an individual Execu-
tive agency, which may include goals relating to con-
tract reduction and spend under management. 
SEC. 3. GUIDANCE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF FEDERAL PRO-
CUREMENT GOALS. 
(a) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall de-
velop and issue guidance, in accordance with the require-
ments described in subsection (b) and the considerations 
described in subsection (c), for Executive agencies on the 
implementation of the goals established under section 
2(b). 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The guidance issued under 
subsection (a) shall provide, at a minimum, for the fol-
lowing: 
(1) The maintenance of a category hierarchy 
for common goods and services to be procured using 
category management, consistent with the consider-
ations described in subsection (c). 
(2) The implementation of Governmentwide 
standards, policies, and guidelines for category man-
agement for Executive agencies. 
(3) The establishment of a single authoritative 
source for Governmentwide procurement data that 
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enables category management analytics and report-
ing. 
(4) The maintenance and regular update of a 
set of criteria for, and list of, preferred Government-
wide contract vehicles. 
(5) A description of the specific data required 
to be submitted by each Executive agency to the Di-
rector relating to the implementation of the goals es-
tablished under section 2(b). 
(6) Guidance on calculating and verifying an-
nual contract reduction, spend under management, 
and savings. 
(7) The establishment of standards for Execu-
tive agencies to measure progress with respect to the 
implementation described in paragraph (2). 
(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing guidance under 
subsection (a), the Director shall take into consideration 
the application of category management in a manner 
that— 
(1) maintains a strong industrial and manufac-
turing base in the United States; 
(2) promotes continuous effective competition; 
(3) to the greatest extent applicable, complies 
with the Governmentwide goals for procurement con-
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tracts established under section 15(g) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(g)); 
(4) maintains regular consultation with and 
outreach to entities in the private sector; 
(5) maintains consistency with international 
trade agreements; 
(6) accounts for the benefits and costs of the 
procurement of common goods and services; 
(7) emphasizes the procurement of common 
goods and services that are procured routinely and 
in large amounts; and 
(8) facilitates the ability to conduct a spend 
analysis under section 4(b). 
(d) STANDARDS, POLICIES, AND GUIDELINES.—Not 
later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Administrator for Federal Procurement Pol-
icy, in consultation with the Category Management Lead-
ership Council, shall prescribe regulations or issue guid-
ance as necessary to implement the Governmentwide 
standards, policies, and guidelines described in subsection 
(b)(2). 
(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the end of each fiscal year for which a goal is established 
under section 2(b), the Administrator for Federal Pro-
curement Policy shall submit to Congress a report on the 
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implementation of this Act, which shall include, at a min-
imum, the following: 
(1) The progress of the Federal Government in 
implementing the goals established under section 
2(b). 
(2) An assessment of the performance of each 
Executive agency in implementing the goals estab-
lished under section 2(b). 
(3) The progress achieved by each Executive 
agency in implementing category management. 
(4) Small business participation. 
(5) The state of Governmentwide procurement 
data in terms of accuracy, accessibility, and com-
prehensiveness in data systems such as the Federal 
Procurement 
Data 
System–Next 
Generation 
(FPDS–NG), the System for Award Management 
(SAM), the Contractor Performance Assessment Re-
ports System (CPARS), and Acquisition Gateway. 
(6) The list of preferred Governmentwide con-
tract vehicles, as required under subsection (b)(4). 
(7) Such findings and recommendations as the 
Administrator considers appropriate. 
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SEC. 4. CATEGORY MANAGEMENT DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE 
AGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of an Executive agency 
shall take the following actions to support category man-
agement efforts in the agency: 
(1) Establish agencywide goals for category 
management efforts in support of the goals estab-
lished under section 2(b). 
(2) Designate a category management account-
ability official. 
(3) Issue a policy that outlines the role, author-
ity, and responsibilities of the category management 
accountability official and category management 
practices for the agency. 
(4) Identify preferred multi-agency and agency- 
specific category management vehicles in use. 
(5) Establish and regularly update utilization 
and spend under management goals for category 
management efforts. 
(6) Develop standards to track and assess com-
pliance with the goals established under section 2(b), 
consistent with the guidance issued under section 
3(a). 
(b) SPEND ANALYSIS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and in accordance 
with the guidance issued under section 3(a), the head of 
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an Executive agency shall conduct a spend analysis of pro-
curements by the agency during fiscal year 2017 to estab-
lish a baseline for spend under management. 
SEC. 5. STUDY BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall— 
(1) conduct a study to assess the impact of the 
use of Governmentwide procurement contracts and 
Federal supply schedules on the taxpayer; and 
(2) submit to Congress a report on the results 
of such study. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Executive 
agency’’ means the following: 
(A) An Executive department (as defined 
in section 105 of title 5, United States Code). 
(B) Environmental Protection Agency. 
(C) National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration. 
(D) Agency for International Development. 
(E) General Services Administration. 
(F) National Science Foundation. 
(G) Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 
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(H) Office of Personnel Management. 
(I) Small Business Administration. 
(J) Social Security Administration. 
(2) CATEGORY MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘cat-
egory management’’ means a business practice for 
reducing duplication in contracting, more effectively 
leveraging the buying power of the Federal Govern-
ment, and promoting the use of best-in-class solu-
tions and practices throughout the Federal Govern-
ment. 
(3) COMMON.—The term ‘‘common’’ means, 
when used with respect to a good or service, that 
such good or service is— 
(A) procured by all or most Executive 
agencies; 
(B) not unique to the mission of an indi-
vidual Executive agency; 
(C) interchangeable between Executive 
agencies; and 
(D) generally available commercially. 
(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et. 
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(5) SPEND UNDER MANAGEMENT.—The term 
‘‘spend under management’’ means the number 
equal to the quotient obtained by dividing— 
(A) the total spending on preferred Gov-
ernmentwide contract vehicles; by 
(B) the total spending on all Government-
wide contract vehicles. 
Æ 
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