H.R. 4123, FIT Procurement Act

H.R. 4123 would alter certain practices that govern federal contracting for information and communications technology. The bill would increase from 5 percent to 7.5 percent the share of some interagency contract fees credited to the Acquisition Workforce Training Fund (AWTF) and require the Federal Acquisition Institute, in coordination with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, to use those fees to implement training programs for acquisition employees.

H.R. 4123 also would increase the dollar limits on certain federal government purchases and allow agencies to pay in advance for certain commercial technology subscriptions, cloud services, and other shared computing services. Finally, the bill would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on small-business participation and to update guidance concerning conflicts of interest for federal acquisition employees.

The estimated budgetary effects of the legislation are shown in Table 1. The costs of the legislation fall within all budget functions that procure goods and services through the General Services Administration (GSA).

Contract Fees

Under H.R. 4123, the share of fees credited to the AWTF from nondefense agencies for staff training from some of their governmentwide acquisition contracts would increase from 5 percent to 7.5 percent. Using information from GSA and accounting for anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would increase amounts credited to the AWTF by about $13 million annually. Thus, we expect that federal agencies would need $13 million each year in additional funding to cover the cost of additional training, including that for managing acquisitions of information technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence products, and acquisition practices.

Using information about the cost of similar reports, CBO estimates that GAO’s reporting costs would be less than $500,000. In total, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $65 million over the 2026-2031 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Enacting H.R. 4123 also could affect direct spending for agencies that use fees, receipts from the sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending would be negligible because most of those agencies can adjust the amounts they collect to reflect changes in operating costs.

Federal Procurement

Provisions in the bill would affect procurement by increasing the dollar limit on certain government purchases, expanding the use of simplified and innovative procurement methods, and promoting competition in federal contracting. CBO expects that those provisions would primarily affect procurement practices and incentives rather than directly increase or decrease costs. CBO does not have sufficient information to determine whether any increases or decreases in spending would result from implementing those provisions.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.