On March 4, 2015, as part of an effort to reform its procurement process, the General Services Administration ("GSA") issued a proposed rule that would require GSA contract holders to report certain transactional data related to government orders placed against GSA contract vehicles, including the Federal Supply Schedule ("FSS") contracts, as well as other non-FSS contract vehicles. The same proposed rule would eliminate the “basis of award” customer and do away with the Price Reduction Clause found in FSS contracts. Earlier this month, GSA held a relatively rare public meeting on the proposed rule. In this Alert, we provide background on the proposed rule and details about the public meeting.

BACKGROUND -

GSA administers a number of contract vehicles, including FSS contracts and non-FSS contract vehicles such as Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (“GWACs”) and Governmentwide Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (“IDIQ”) contracts (collectively, “GSA Contract Vehicles”). Through these GSA Contract Vehicles, companies can offer products for sale to federal government agencies (and other select public entities) at pre-approved prices and pursuant to pre-negotiated terms and conditions. GSA’s goal in negotiating these contracts is to achieve for the government the same prices and terms as received by a company’s most favored customer; or, at the very least, a fair and reasonable price.