TREASURY DIRECTIVE 12-11

TREASURY DIRECTIVE 12-11

Date: September 16, 2008

SUBJECT: Procurement Authority

1. DELEGATIONS.

a. Senior Procurement Executive. The Director, Office of the Procurement Executive, Departmental Offices, is designated as Senior Procurement Executive (SPE), in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order (EO) 12931, "Federal Procurement Reform," and 41 USC 414. The SPE is delegated full procurement authority for the Department of the Treasury, except where by law or regulation authority vests in another authority. The SPE is responsible for the maintenance and oversight of a Department-wide procurement system, and is authorized, with respect to:

(1) Policy and Operational Matters,

(a) to prescribe and publish Department-wide procurement policies, regulations, and procedures, including authority to approve individual and class deviations from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) under sections 1.403 and 1.404 of the FAR;

(b) to make determinations and decisions, conduct reviews, and take other actions, including determinations under FAR 5.202(b) and acting as head of agency for the purposes of FAR 11.501, consistent with appropriate laws, Executive Orders, policies, regulations, and procedures with respect to purchases, contracts, leases, interagency agreements, and other contractual procurement transactions, except those required by law or regulation to be made by other authority;

(c) to designate a Purchase Card Coordinator to manage the Department of the Treasury Purchase Card Program under Treasury Directive 76-04, Government Purchase Card Program;

(d) to designate, pursuant to 41 USC 418, the Department of the Treasury advocate for competition, and pursuant to 41 USC 253j, a task and delivery order ombudsman who meets the qualifications required by that provision; and

(e) to promote the use of performance-based contracting in accordance with government-wide and Departmental goals; and

(2) Continuous Improvement,

(a) to establish and chair a Treasury Acquisition Council of Departmental and Bureau officials and front line representatives and convene other working groups to assist in accomplishing pertinent responsibilities;

(b) to oversee the development of procurement goals, guidelines, and innovation, measure and evaluate procurement office performance against stated goals, and advise Bureau Heads whether the goals are being achieved; and

(c) to obtain information on private and public sector best practices related to procurement, including strategic sourcing, and promote implementation of innovative practices and streamlined processes designed to improve procurement management and productivity; and

(3) Career Management,

(a) to enhance career development of the acquisition workforce by:

(i) establishing career management policies consistent with the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Program for acquisition professionals, including requirements for successful completion of educational, experience, and training requirements for entry level positions, promotion to higher level positions, and eligibility for contracting officer warrants;

(ii) managing and redelegating responsibilities for the training of Contracting Officer Technical Representatives (COTRs) consistent with the Federal Acquisition Certification – Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (FAC-COTR) Program requirements; and

(iii) providing oversight of the management of the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-PPM) Program, the implementation of which is delegated to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Systems and Chief Information Officer; and

(b) to establish annual performance goals for the acquisition workforce in accordance with 41 USC 414a; and

(4) e-Government,

(a) to develop and maintain an automated procurement data system, as required by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, as amended, and assure that procurement data submitted to the Federal Procurement Data System is accurate, complete and timely;

(b) to encourage the use of information technology to support procurement and lead/direct efforts towards standardization, including the development of interfaces with other Departmental systems, such as the financial management accounting system, to increase productivity and streamline the procurement process;

(c) to designate, pursuant to 41 USC 252c, a program manager reporting directly to the SPE, to direct the development and implementation of an electronic commerce capability for acquisition management throughout Treasury; and

(d) to approve, prior to development, other Department-wide or Bureau automated procurement systems; and

(5) Evaluation and Monitoring,

(a) to evaluate and monitor the performance of the Department's procurement operations, including internal procurement oversight processes throughout Treasury;

(b) to implement an effective and efficient contract administration program that reviews existing and planned acquisitions to ensure that the Department receives the best value with regard to price and technology and ensures systemized contract performance evaluations, including the qualifications of contracting officers and COTRs; and

b. Head of Contracting Activity Procurement Authority.

(1) The SPE serves as the Head of Contracting Activity (HCA) for Departmental Offices and delegates procurement authority to the HCAs at each of the other Treasury Bureaus. Each HCA is delegated full procurement authority for his or her Bureau, except where by law or regulation authority vests in another authority. Each HCA is responsible for the maintenance and oversight of a bureau-wide procurement system that is in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, standards, and performance goals. The HCA has the authority to issue contracting officer warrants under the guidance established by the SPE.

The following officials of the Department of the Treasury are designated by the SPE to perform the functions of the Head of Contracting Activity for their respective Bureaus:

(a) Administrator, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau;

(b) Comptroller of the Currency;

(d) Commissioner, Financial Management Service;

(e) Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support, Internal Revenue Service;

(f) Director, United States Mint;

(g) Director, Office of Thrift Supervision;

(h) Commissioner, Bureau of the Public Debt;

(i) Inspector General;

(j) Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; and

(k) Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

(2) Each of the officials named in paragraph 1. b. (1) shall also appoint a Bureau Competition Advocate in accordance with 41 USC 418 and regulations or other guidance issued by the SPE.

2. REDELEGATION. The authorities delegated in this directive may be redelegated to any subordinate within the cognizant organizations, except where prohibited by law, regulation, or policy. Warrant authority may only be redelegated to personnel meeting the requisite qualification standards to serve as Contracting Officers for the United States, unless waived by the SPE.

3. LIMITATIONS. All authorities delegated, regardless of whether the affected procurement transactions are funded by appropriated or non-appropriated funds, shall be exercised in accordance with applicable limitations of the:

a. Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949;

b. Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act;

c. "Federal Acquisition Regulation," 48 CFR Chapter 1;

d. "Federal Management Regulation," 41 CFR Chapter 102; and

e. Regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury including, but not limited to, 48 CFR Chapter 10.

4. PROVISO.

a. Limitations in 3.a. through e. shall not affect the exemption established with respect to the United States Mint in 31 USC 5136 which provides in relevant part: "That provisions of law governing procurement or public contracts shall not be applicable to the procurement of goods and services necessary for carrying out Mint programs and operations.”

b. The SPE may exempt the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency from those Department of Treasury Acquisition Regulations and guidelines that implement or are otherwise based upon or refer to specific provisions in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

c. This directive is for the internal management of the Department and does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by any party against the Department.

d. The authority of the Inspectors General is set forth in Section 3 of the Inspector General Act and the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act, and defined in Treasury Order 114-01 (OIG) and Treasury Order 115-01 (TIGTA), or successor orders. The provisions of this order shall not be construed to interfere with that authority.

5. REFERENCES.

a. Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended.

b. 48 CFR Chapter 1, Federal Acquisition Regulation.

c. 48 CFR Chapter 10, Department of the Treasury Acquisition Regulations.

d. 41 CFR Chapter 102, Federal Management Regulation.

6. AUTHORITIES.

a. EO 12931, "Federal Procurement Reform," dated October 13, 1994.

b. "Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994," Pub. L. 103-355.

c. Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act, as amended, 41 USC 403 et. seq.

d. "Competition in Contracting Act of 1984," Pub. L. 98-369, Division B, Title VII, codified in relevant part at 41 USC 418.

e. Treasury Order 101-30, "Designation of 'Head of Agency' for Procurement Matters."

f. 41 USC 414a

7. CANCELLATION. Treasury Directive 12-11, Procurement Authority, dated March 26, 2002, is superseded.

8. OFFICE OF PRIMARY INTEREST. Office of the Procurement Executive.

/S/

Peter B. McCarthy
Assistant Secretary for Management
and Chief Financial Officer