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Statement Announcing Appointment of Five Members to the Commission on Government Procurement

April 03, 1970

ABOUT one-fourth of the U.S. Government's total budget, more than $50 billion a year, is spent through procurement. The magnitude of this figure is an indication of how important this function can be to effective and efficient operation of government. Despite this importance, and despite the enormous effects of technology on what the Government buys, the procurement process still operates under two basic statutes enacted nearly a quarter of a century ago.

With this in mind, I am today appointing five men to complete the membership of the Commission on Government Procurement. This Commission faces a unique challenge: to review the policies, procedures, and practices affecting the procurement activities of all Government agencies and to recommend changes so we can do a more effective job.

In the extensive hearings conducted by the Committees on Government Operations in both the House and Senate, there was virtually universal agreement on the need for such a Commission. The bill passed in both Houses with substantial majorities, clearly indicating a wide bipartisan resolve to seek the best ways for this Government to conduct its procurement affairs. In making these appointments today, I affirm this administration's cooperation in the Commission's endeavors toward that end.

Representative Chester Holifield is truly the guiding light of this Commission, having been the principal sponsor of the bill and having personally chaired 33 days of hearings last year which established beyond question the need for the Commission. I am therefore suggesting that he call all 12 members together later this month so 'the Commission can organize itself and start to work on its important task.

Note: A White House release, dated April 3, 1970, listing the entire membership of the Commission is printed in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 6, p. 474).

Richard Nixon, Statement Announcing Appointment of Five Members to the Commission on Government Procurement Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240946

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