Welcome to the Bureau of Reclamation
Acquisition and Assistance Management Division
General Overview
The Division has overall responsibility for Reclamation's acquisition, financial assistance, property, competitive sourcing and purchase card programs. As such, the Division issues and maintains Reclamation-wide guidance, performs oversight functions in accordance with OMP Circular A-123, performs data collection, requirement reporting and provides technical assistance to all levels of the organization.
Mission Statement
Provide value-added acquisition and assistance services to our customers in an environment that allows people to optimize their individual potential for the purpose of Managing Water in the West.
Managing for Excellence
To be adequately prepared for the challenges of the 21st Century, it is essential that Reclamation thoroughly examine its core capabilities in a number of key areas, as well as its ability to respond in an innovative and timely manner to future needs.
The Bureau's Managing for Excellence Action Plan outlines a process and timeframe for identifying and addressing the specific 21st Century challenges to fulfill our mission to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public.
The objective of Team 24 under the Managing for Excellence Action Plan is to provide one-stop shopping for acquisition/assistance related guidance and information. As such, the team has developed this web site which will serve as a resource center of acquisition and financial assistance information for use by all Reclamation employees. This web site is designed to clarify roles and responsibilities, steps in the acquisition and/or assistance process, as well as, providing samples and templates.
For additional information on Reclamation's Managing for Excellence, please visit http://www.usbr.gov/excellence.
Getting Started 
- This brochure will help you understand the acquisition process and what your role is in the process:
How To Survive the Acquisition Process - The Decision Tree will help determine which acquisition method may be used for your purchase:
Decision Tree
Delegations of Authority
The authority to obligate the Government either by contract or financial assistance is specifically delegated to an individual as follows:
A. Contracts
The authority and responsibility vested in the Secretary (205 DM 11.1A) and delegated to the Assistant
Secretary-Water and Science (205 DM 11.2A) is re-delegated to the Commissioner, (255 DM 3.1H) Bureau of Reclamation,
to act as the Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA). Additionally as authorized by the Reclamation Acquisition
Regulations, the HCA is further defined as: (1) The Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation; and (2) the Director,
Management Services Office, 84-27000.
The Department of Interior Acquisition Regulations (DIAR 1401.603-1) create a regulatory re-delegation of
contracting authority to the Bureau Procurement Chief (BPC) who is authorized to select, appoint, and terminate
Contracting Officer's authority to individuals. By regulation (DIAR 1402.101) the BPC is defined as the senior
GS-1102 official in a bureau, and is further defined for Reclamation (WBR 1402.101) as the Manager of Acquisitions and
Assistance Management Division (AAMD).
The BPC appoints the Chief of the Contracting Office (CCO) to the senior GS-1102 Contracting Officer within a
contracting office. By definition, a CCO is the senior GS-1102 official in each Reclamation regional contracting
office including the acquisition Denver aquisition operations group, 84-27810 (DIAR and WBR 1402.101).
B. Financial Assistance
The Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, is authorized to exercise all of the authority (subject to specific
limitations) vested in the Secretary and delegated to the Assistant Secretary-Water and Science (209 DM 7.1 and 7.2,
255 DM 1.1 and 3.1).
The Commissioner may act as a Grant and Cooperative Agreement Officer (GCAO) and has delegated the authority to serve
as a Grant and Cooperative Agreement Officer to each of the Regional Directors and the Director, Management Services
Office (MSO).
The Regional Directors and Director, MSO, may re-delegate this authority in writing to individuals (not positions),
with full power to sign and administer grants and cooperative agreements, subject to review and approval, and training
requirements set forth in Reclamation Manual (RM) ACM 01-01. Directors may delegate unlimited authority to their Grant
and Cooperative Agreement Officers, or more typically place limitations on the dollar amount that may be awarded by a GCAO.
C. Purchase Business Line
The authority and responsibility vested in the Secretary (205 DM 11.1A) and delegated to the Assistant Secretary-Water and Science (205 DM 11.2A) is re-delegated to the Commissioner, (255 DM 3.1H) Bureau of Reclamation, to act as the Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA). Additionally as authorized by the Reclamation Acquisition Regulations, the HCA is further defined as: (1) The Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation; and (2) the Director, Management Services Office, 84-27000.
The Department of Interior Acquisition Regulations (DIAR 1401.603-1) create a regulatory re-delegation of contracting authority to the Bureau Procurement Chief (BPC) who is authorized to select, appoint, and terminate Contracting Officer's authority to individuals. By regulation (DIAR 1402.101) the BPC is defined as the senior GS-1102 official in a bureau, and is further defined for Reclamation (WBR 1402.101) as the Manager of Acquisitions and Assistance Management Division (AAMD).
The BPC appoints the Chief of the Contracting Office (CCO) to the senior GS-1102 Contracting Officer within a contracting office. By definition, a CCO is the senior GS-1102 official in each Reclamation regional contracting office including the acquisition operations group, AAMD, 84-27810 (DIAR and WBR 1402.101).
Purchase Line authority is delegated from the BPC to the CCO. The CCO is responsible for issuing, amending or rescinding purchase line authority for the Government charge card. A CCO may redelgate this authority to a Regional Purchase Line Card Coordinator.
Site was last updated March 23, 2007