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Office of Acquisition and Logistics (OAL)

 

Acquisition Policy Flash! Index

What's New? What's Changed? Reminder!

Acquisition Policy Flashes are used to communicate useful information such as Class Deviations, Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Guidance, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Cases, and other information that has the potential to impact day-to-day procurement operations within VA.  Acquisition Policy Flashes can be either stand-alone or introductory documents that communicate and disseminate procedures, guidance, and information to VA’s acquisition workforce.  They can also be used to distribute policy changes contained within Procurement Memorandums.

The table below lists the Acquisition Policy Flashes that have been issued by the Procurement Policy Service and links to those that are still active.  If you have any questions regarding these or past Acquisition Policy Flashes, please email us at va.procurement.policy@va.gov.

Fiscal Year 2019
No.TopicEffective
Date
19-11 Contacts for Alaska Earthquake and California Wildfires Relief Efforts 01/08/2019
19-10 VA Procurement Policy Memorandum 2019-01, Postaward Orientations 01/31/2019
19-09 Reserved  
19-08 Reserved  
19-07 Reserved  
19-06 Reserved  
19-05 Reserved  
19-04 Establishment of the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Core-Plus Specialization in Digital Services (FAC-C-DS) 12/17/2018
19-03 Reserved  
19-02 Notification of the Publication of Various New and Revised Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Parts and the Publication of Various New VA Acquisition Manual (VAAM) Parts Various
19-01 Notification of VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Update 2008-07 to incorporate all VAAR Class Deviations issued between February 9, 2018 through July 31, 2018 10/12/2018
Fiscal Year 2018
No.TopicEffective
Date
18-33 Procurement Policy Memorandum 2016-05 (Revised AUG 2018) - Implementation of the Veterans First Contracting Program as a Result of the U.S. Supreme Court Decision 09/27/2018
18-32 Reserved  
18-31 Reserved  
18-30 Class Deviation from the VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Subpart 813.307 Forms and VAAR Subpart 853.213 Simplified acquisition procedures (SF’s 18, 30, 44, 1165, 1449, and OF’s 336, 347, and 348) 08/01/2018
18-29 Reserved  
18-28 New Executive Order 13834, Efficient Federal Operations 08/01/2018
18-27 Class Deviation from VA Acquisition Regulation 836.213-70, Notice to Proceed 11/26/2018
18-26 Reserved  
18-25 Class Deviation to add VA Acquisition Regulation 813.303-5, Purchases under Blanket Purchase Agreements 08/07/2018
18-24 Reserved  
18-23 Class Deviation from Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to Increase Threshold for Requiring Certified Cost or Pricing Data (FAR Case 2018-005) 08/06/2018
18-22 Service Organization Controls Audits and Reports for certain Critical Services 08/10/2018
18-21 Class Deviation—VAAR 819.72 and 852.219-74 through 852.219-76 07/16/2018
18-20 Notification of the Publication of Revised Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Parts 803, 814, 822 and Issuance of New VA Acquisition Manual (VAAM) Parts M803, M814, and M822 05/16/2018
18-19 Reserved  
18-18 Class Deviation to VAAR 807.105-70, Written Acquisition Plans 03/08/2018
18-17 VA Procurement Policy Memorandum (PPM) 2018-07 (Revised Oct 2018) - Acquisition of Utility Services 10/31/2018
18-16 Notification of revised Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Parts 816, 828, 852 and VA Acquisition Manual (VAAM) Parts M816 and M828 03/23/2018
18-15 Class Deviation from FAR 19.502-2, Total Small Business Set-Aside 03/22/2018
18-14 Reserved  
18-13 VA Market Research Guide for Acquisition Teams 03/01/2018
18-12 Class Deviation from Various VAAR Sections to Reflect Head of Contracting Activity Delegation and Redelegation Authority Changes and to Increase a Threshold 04/01/2018
18-11 Class Deviation from VAAR 808.002, Priorities for Use of Mandatory Government Sources 02/09/2018
18-10 PPM 2018-04, Guidance and Procedures regarding use of Tiered Evaluations (Cascading) for use in solicitations set-aside in accordance with the VA Rule of Two 02/09/2018
18-09 Procedures for Nominating Candidates and Obtaining a Contracting Officer’s Warrant 05/15/2018
18-08 Reserved  
18-07 VA Procurement Policy Memorandum (2018-03) - Mandatory Usage of VA’s Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS) 01/26/2018
18-06 Guidance to Acquisition Workforce Regarding the Application of 38 U.S.C. 8127 Regarding AbilityOne as a Mandatory Government Source 10/27/2017
18-05 Guidance to the Acquisition Workforce Regarding Ordering Officer Appointments to Non-Warranted Personnel 10/27/2017
18-04 Class Deviation from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to remove the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces final rule (FAR Case 2014-025)
Superseded by Final Rule issued at 82 FR 51527 on 11/6/17.		 Superseded
18-03 Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria Exemptions for Equal Opportunity Clauses 10/17/2017
18-02 Class Deviation from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to Implement an Act to Enhance Whistleblower Protection for Contractor Employees 10/23/2017
18-01 Department of Veterans Affairs Update to Incorporate all VAAR Class Deviations Issued From September 9, 2010 Through June 30, 2017 10/10/2017
Fiscal Year 2017
No.TopicEffective
Date
17-32 Department of Veterans Affairs’ Implementation of the Buy American Laws to Maximize the Use of Goods, Products and Materials Produced in the United States 09/20/2017
17-31 VA Procurement Policy Memorandum (2017-13) - Unique Procurement Instrument Identifiers (PIID) 10/01/2017
17-30 New National Interest Action (NIA) for Hurricane Maria 2017 09/20/2017
17-29 Class Deviation from Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) - Implementing Revised Statutory Conditions for the Exercise of Special Emergency Procurement Authorities (FAR Parts 2, 10, 12, 13, 18, and 26) 09/01/2017
17-28 Rescinded/Inactive Acquisition/Procurement Related Information Letters 08/23/2017
17-27 Reserved  
17-26 Veterans Benefits Administration Authority on Architect-Engineer Services in VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Subpart 836.6 07/27/2017
17-25 Procurement Policy Memorandum (PPM) 2017-07, Procedures for Nominating Candidates and Obtaining a Contracting Officer’s Warrant 07/26/2017
17-24 Department of Veterans Affairs FAR Class Deviation - Implement an Appropriations Provision Related to Internal Confidentiality Agreements and the Reporting of Fraud, Waste, or Abuse 07/20/2017
17-23 Acquisition Policy Flash! 17-23, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Source Selection Guide 07/17/2017
17-22 Acquisition Policy Flash! 17-22, 2017 EPEAT® (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) Purchaser Award 06/14/2017
17-21 Reserved  
17-20 Acquisition Policy Flash! 17-20, VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 802.101 and Subpart 809.400, Debarment, Suspension and Ineligibility 06/02/2017
17-19 Acquisition Policy Flash! 17-19, VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Class Deviation from VA Acquisition (VAAR) Subpart 801.602-75, Review Requirements - OGC 04/12/2017
17-18 Acquisition Policy Flash! 17-18, VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Class Deviation from VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Subpart 813.307 Forms and VAAR Subpart 853.213 Simplified acquisition procedures (SF’s 18, 30, 44, 1165, 1449, and OF’s 336, 347, and 348) 04/18/2017
17-17 Reserved  
17-16 Acquisition Policy Flash! 17-16, VA Procurement Policy Memorandum (PPM) - Federal Acquisition Regulation Case 2009-005 Final Rule, Use of Project Labor Agreements (PLA) 02/14/2017
17-15 Authority and Functional Ownership of VA Real Property Leasing Program; Including Policy on Leasing Training, Certification, and Warranting 12/22/2016
17-14 Strategic Sourcing Contracting Support 02/08/2017
17-13 Nonmanufacturer Rule Waiver to the Small Business Administration (SBA) 02/17/2017
17-12 Class Deviation from VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) Subpart 815.3, Source Selection, Section 815.303, Responsibilities 12/15/2016
17-11 Reserved  
17-10 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights 12/09/2016
17-09 Interagency Acquisitions (IAs), Guidance, and Procedures 11/08/2016
17-08 Reserved  
17-07 Use of Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) for Major Acquisitions (Revised) 12/01/2016
17-06 Court Order Enjoining Certain Sections, Provisions, and Clauses in Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-90, Implementing Executive Order 13673, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces 10/28/2016
17-05 Rescinded/Inactive Acquisition/Procurement Related Information Letters (Superseded by Acquisition Policy Flash! 17-28) 10/25/2016
17-04 Adoption and Implementation of the North American Industry Classification System - Revision for 2017 (NAICS 2017) 10/21/2016
17-03 Reserved  
17-02 Reserved  
17-01 VA Procurement Policy Memorandum (PPM) (2017-01) Integrated Oversight Process (IOP)/Technical Reviews (TRs) and Class Deviation from VA Acquistion Regulation (VAAR) 801.602-71 10/06/2016
Fiscal Year 2016
No.TopicEffective
Date
16-22 VA Procurement Policy Memorandum (2016-09) – Rescission of the 1997 Non-codified Material (Formerly the 1997 Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation (VAAR)) 10/03/2016
16-21 Class Deviation from FAR 6.304, Approval of Justification 08/08/2016
16-20 Implementation of the Veterans First Contracting Program as a Result of the U.S. Supreme Court Decision 07/27/2016
16-19 Contracting for Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®) Registered Products 08/08/2016
16-18 2016 EPEAT® Purchaser Award 08/08/2016
16-17 Reserved  
16-16 United States Supreme Court decision concerning the SDVOSB/VOSB contracting program at the Department of Veterans Affairs (See Acquisition Policy Flash! 16-20) Rescinded
16-15 Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) set-asides at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Kingdomware Technologies Inc. v. United States (See Acquisition Policy Flash! 16-20) Rescinded
16-14 Rescinded/Inactive Acquisition/Procurement Related Information Letters (See Flash! 17-05) Rescinded
16-13 Use of VA Handbook 6500-6, Apendex A, Checklist for Information Security in VA Acquisitions 05/19/2016
16-12 Preventing Wage Law Violations in Federal Supply Schedule Task Orders 05/25/2016
16-11 Class Deviation from VA Acquisition Regulation Part 808, Required Sources of Supplies and Services, and 808.002, Priorities for Use of Government Supply Sources 05/10/2016
16-10 VA-Wide Procedures Regarding the Use of Order Officers 05/05/2016
16-09 Guidance on Revised Procedures for Small Business Procurement Reviews and VA Form 2268 Coordination by Heads of Contracting Activities 06/22/2016
16-08 Reserved  
16-07 Industry Engagement 02/23/2016
16-06 Acquisition Principles 02/23/2016
16-05 Department of Veterans Affairs Contract Closeout 02/11/2016
16-04 Contracting Officer Warrant Official System of Record 02/15/2016
16-03 Increasing the Contractor Response Rate for Contract Records in the System for Award Management (SAM) 01/15/2016
16-02 OALC Employee Empowerment Initiative (EEI) - Acquisition Oversight Process Review and Approval Threshold Streamlining 12/15/2015
16-01 Increasing the Contractor Response Rate for Contract Records in the System for Award Management (SAM) 12/07/2015
Fiscal Year 2015
No.TopicEffective
Date
15-18 Reporting Requirement for Purchases of Biobased Products 10/01/2015
15-17 Reserved  
15-16 Reserved  
15-15 Reserved  
15-14 2015 Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®) Purchaser Award 05/12/2015
15-13 Class Deviation - Implement an Appropriations Provision Related to Internal Confidentiality Agreements and the Reporting of Fraud, Waste, or Abuse 04/09/2015
15-12 Procurement Policy Memorandum (PPM) 2015-02, Guidance for VA Procurement Related Suspension and Debarment Committee 05/08/2015
15-11 Class Deviation - VAAR 809.400, Debarment, Suspension and Ineligibility 04/30/2015
15-10 Class Deviation - Permanent Authority for Use of Simplified Acquisition Procedures under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.5, Test Program for Certain Commercial Items
Superseded by Final Rule issued at 80 FR 38311 on 7/2/18.		 Superseded
15-09 Revision of Acquisition Policy Flash! 15-03 Implementation of EO13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors
Superseded by Final Rule issued at 80 FR 75915 on 12/4/15.		 Superseded
15-08 Reserved  
15-07 Reporting Requirements for Congressional Notification of Certain Contract Actions 03/01/2015
15-06 Mandatory Usage of VA’s Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS) 11/12/2014
15-05 Determining Contractor Responsibility (Revised PPM) 11/19/2014
15-04 Class Deviation VAAR 801.603-70, Representatives of Contracting Officers 11/19/2014
>15-03 Class Deviation for EO 13658 - Minimum Wage for Contractors
Superseded by Final Rule issued at 80 FR 75915 on 12/4/15.		 Superseded
15-02 Interagency Acquisition Competition Requirements 10/24/2014
15-01 Biobased Reporting (See Acquisition Policy Flash! 15-18) Rescinded
Fiscal Year 2014
No.TopicEffective
Date
14-07 Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors
Superseded by Final Rule issued at 78 FR 70477 on 11/25/13.		 Superseded
14-06 Procurement Policy Memorandum (PPM) 2014-01, Compliance with the 95 Percent Sustainable Acquisition Goal under Executive Order 13514 and Federal Acquisition Regulation 23.103 08/05/2014
14-05 VA Procurement Memorandum 2012-04, Unique Procurement Instrument Identifier (PIID) Revised 09/08/2014
14-04 Contracting for Environmentally Preferable Products and Services: Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®)-Registered Products (See Acquisition Policy Flash! 16-19) Rescinded
14-03 Acquisition of Printing and Related Supplies 04/30/2014
14-02 Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System 03/05/2014
14-01 Procurement Policy Memorandum (PPM) 2013-06, Interagency Acquisitions (Revised) 12/31/2013
Fiscal Year 2013
No.TopicEffective
Date
13-27 PPM 2013-03, Reporting and Managing Contractor Past Performance Information 08/12/2013
13-26 Reserved  
13-25 Reserved  
13-24 Procedures for Nominating Candidates and Obtaining a Warrant (PPM 2013-09) 08/16/2013
13-23 Reserved  
13-22 Use of Integrated Product Teams for Major Acquisitions (see Acquisition Flash! 17-07) Rescinded
13-21 Extension of Prompt Payments to Small Business Subcontractors 07/15/2013
13-20 Update on PPS Web page 07/15/2013
13-19 OMB Mandated Business Cases 07/05/2013
13-18 Class Deviation to FAR 19.505(b) and (c)
Superseded by Final Rule issued at 79 FR 35864 on 6/24/14.		 Superseded
13-17 Reserved  
13-16 Contracting for Environmentally Preferable Products and Services (See Acquisition Policy Flash! 14-04) Rescinded
13-15 GSA Introduces a New Reverse Auctioning Tool 05/24/2013
13-14 New PPM on Interagency Acquisitions (IAs) 07/15/2013
13-13 FY 2012 Service Contract Inventory Requirements 05/24/2013
13-12 Class Deviation from VAAR 801.602-3 Ratification of Unauthorized Commitments 05/06/2013
13-11 Determining Contractor Responsibility (See Acquisition Policy Flash! 15-05) Rescinded
13-10 Reserved  
13-09 Reserved  
13-08 Federal Acquisition Regulation 13.5, Test Program for Certain Commercial Items 04/03/2013
13-07 Procedures for Determining Whether to Terminate Contracts with Ineligible Firms 03/01/2013
13-06 Contracting for Conferences 01/31/2013
13-05 Contracting Officer’s Representatives (COR) Delegation Reminder 01/31/2013
13-04 Procurement Policy Memorandum 2013-01, Sole Source Contracting under Title 38, United States Code (U.S.C.) Sections 8127 and 8128, the Veterans Benefits, Health Care and Information Technology Act of 2006 02/22/2013
13-03 Miller Act 12/07/2012
13-02 Electronic Invoicing
Superseded by Final Rule at 77 FR 70708 on 11/27/12.		 Superseded
13-01 Biobased Products Reporting Requirement Class Deviation
(See Acquisition Policy Flash! 15-18)		 Expired
Fiscal Year 2012
No.TopicEffective
Date
12-26 Class Deviation:  VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 816.504 and VAAR Clause 852.216-70 10/26/2012
12-25 Class Deviation:  Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.209-5, Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters
Superseded via issuance of FAR Final Rule at 81 FR 67728 on 9/30/16.		 Superseded
12-24 Unique Procurement Instrument Identifier (PIID) (Superseded by Acquisition Flash! 17-31) Rescinded
12-23 Deputy Senior Procurement Executive Change 08/16/2012
12-22 Reserved  
12-21 >Class Deviation:  Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.232-99, Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors
Superseded by Final Rule issued at 78 FR 70477 on 11/25/13.		 Superseded
12-20 Extension of Center for Veterans Enterprise Verification Period from One Year to Two Years 06/27/2012
12-19 Appropriate Use of Incremental Funding 09/25/2012
12-18 Mandatory Small Business Set Asides for Contract Actions Up to the Simplified Acquisition Threshold 06/26/2012
12-17 Mandatory Usage of VA’s Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS) 06/15/2012
12-16 Launch of the Newly Redesigned Procurement Policy Service Web Site 05/23/2012
12-15 Department of Veterans Affairs Veteran Owned Small Business Verification and Small Business Administration Small Business Size Standards 09/27/2012
12-14 Online Reverse Auctions for the Purchase of Commodities 04/06/2012
12-13 Requirements for Acquisition Pursuant to Multiple-Award Contracts 04/02/2012
12-12 Reserved  
12-11 SCI - Notification of Contract File Analysis Reviews and Data Call for FY2011 [Expired] 03/12/2012
12-10 Class Deviation from VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 819.7003, Eligibility [Expired] 06/01/2012
12-09 Mandatory FPDS Reporting Requirements for all Service Contract Actions $25,000 and Above Awarded on or after March 1, 2012 02/29/2012
12-08 Reserved  
12-07 Reserved  
  Contract Actions Exceeding the Micro-Purchase Threshold up to the Simplified Acquisition Threshold 01/31/2012
12-06 Campaign to Cut Waste:  Reduce Contract spending for management support services 01/26/2012
12-05 Expiration of FAR Subpart 13.5, Test Program for Certain Commercial Items 01/06/2012
12-04 852.273-75 Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology Resources (Interim - Oct 2008) 02/02/2012
12-03 Small Business Act of 2010, Section 1331 (See Acquisition Flash 16-20) Rescinded
12-02 Vendor Information Pages Database Deviation [Supersceded by Public Law 111-275] 12/15/2011
12-01 Funding under the 2012 continuing resolution [Expired] 10/27/2011
Fiscal Year 2011
No.TopicEffective
Date
11-10 Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Letter 11-01, Performance of Inherently Governmental Functions 09/29/2011
11-09 Class Deviation from VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) 804.1102 [Superseded by Public Law 111-275] 08/16/2011
11-08 Implementation of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) of 2006 02/04/2011
11-07 Implementation of Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program 02/04/2011
11-7 Launch of Acquisition Workforce Assessment 01/06/2011
11-06 Decreased Threshold for Implementation and Mandated Use of VA’s Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS) 11/29/2010
11-05 Class Deviation to Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.209-8 [Expired with publication of FAC 2005-55] 11/22/2010
  GTSI Suspension Lifted 10/08/2010
  Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) Trailer 10/06/2010
  GTSI Suspended from Federal contracting [Suspension lifted 10/08/2010] 10/01/2010
  Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-45 10/01/2010
Fiscal Year 2010
No.TopicEffective
Date
  Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-46 09/28/2010
  Level 1 Warrants Extended through March 31, 2011 [Expired] 09/17/2010
  Rescission of Information Letter 049-07-10 08/10/2010
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