President Joe Biden signed Friday an executive order that directs federal agencies to adopt pro-competitive approaches and regulations to spending and procurement and revoke “regulations that create unnecessary barriers to entry” to address monopolization, overconcentration and unfair competition in the U.S. economy, Government Executive reported Monday.
Under the executive order, the secretary of the Department of Defense should submit to the chair of the newly created White House Competition Council a report on the state of competition in the defense industrial base and propose recommendations on how to improve the solicitation process in accordance with the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984.
The DOD secretary should come up within 180 days a plan to avoid contract terms in procurement agreements that make it difficult for DOD and service personnel to repair their own equipment in the field.
The assistant to the president for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council will lead the White House Competition Council. The secretaries of the departments of the Treasury, Defense, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Agriculture, Labor and Transportation, attorney general and the office of information and regulatory affairs’ administrator will serve as the council’s members.
The order also includes specific policy and regulatory considerations for the heads of the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Maritime Commission and the Surface Transportation Board.