Federal acquisition is undergoing its most consequential transformation in decades in the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul. Three forces are driving this transformative modernization effort: the sweeping rewrite of the FAR; the General Services Administration's drive to unify government buying under a single enterprise strategy; and the rapid integration of AI across the procurement lifecycle.
In this Washington Executive panel discussion, hear from Laura Stanton, Acting Commissioner for the Federal Acquisition Service, and Jylinda Johnson, Senior Vice President for Federal Civilian at GDIT, in a discussion moderated by JD Kathuria, Washington Executive CEO, as they break down what this convergence means for agencies, industry and public services.
Buying as One Enterprise
GSA's OneGov initiative is treating the federal government as a single buyer, harnessing the scale of government for enterprise-wide pricing that individual agencies could not achieve alone. Last year, GSA processed approximately $116 billion through the Federal Acquisition Service, and agencies are already seeing the benefits of leveraging OneGov vehicles. GDIT enabled the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to become the first agency to achieve cloud cost savings from OneGov, showing tangible benefits and results.
Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Changes Everything
As Stanton notes, the RFO is the biggest acquisition change she's seen. The goal is to eliminate decades of accumulated complexity, modernize requirements, and accelerate procurement timelines. Yet the change management challenge is real. Industry engagement early and often will make it a success.
“The FAR rewrite is one of the biggest acquisition changes — probably the biggest one I've seen in my career. Being able to simplify the regulation means we're able to cut out complexity. That means faster procurements, requirements that are more up to date when they come to market, and that means we're saving money.”
AI is Already Inside the Procurement Cycle
Harnessing AI is now embedded into industry and government alike. A critical challenge, Johnson emphasizes, is pushing for greater AI use without letting security slip.
