Disaster Purchasing: Understanding Procurement Under Section 833

Buried in thousands of pages of federal code is a very important section that details the disaster procurement process. In a nutshell, special provisions are set aside to allow a streamlined purchase process for buying during disasters and emergencies. Normally, the procurement process is clunky and slow on a good day, but when minutes matter there is no time for that. 

Special legislative action has been taken over the years to streamline the process, which is exactly what we are going to talk about, along with how GSA Advantage! Helps your federal, state, or even local agency quickly procure emergency items at fixed rate prices and guaranteed deliverables and deliverability. 

What Is Disaster Purchasing?

Alright, so what is disaster purchasing? More specifically, what is the GSA disaster purchasing program? 

There are dozens of different purchasing schedules and channels for making government procurement purchases. Typically, the process for these can take weeks, months, or even years to fully complete, depending on the scale and scope of the project. 

Disaster purchases, on the other hand, are items that are commonly used for disaster recovery and when they are purchased from GSA Advantage, the price is fair and the price is fixed (no price gouging). 

Under the GSA Disaster Recovery Purchasing Program, federal, state, and local agencies can procure goods and services from GSA Schedule contractors in response to a Stafford Act Presidential Declaration—which can only be issued by the President of the United States. This program enables agencies to prepare for, respond to, and recover from both natural and man-made disasters efficiently.

A key advantage of this program is that it allows state and local agencies to quickly source products and services at pre-negotiated, fair, and reasonable prices. During high-stress situations where time and accuracy are critical, agencies can rely on this streamlined process to make cost-effective and efficient purchasing decisions.

Contractors who choose to participate in the Disaster Recovery Program are listed under the Disaster Relief section on GSA Advantage!, making it easier for agencies to locate necessary supplies and services in emergencies. Since the pandemic, this section has been renamed Disaster Relief and Pandemic Products. Additionally, contractors who opt in will have the Disaster Purchasing designation on their eLibrary page.

Legislative Background: Key Acts Governing Disaster Purchasing

Legislative and regulatory actions are evolutionary in nature; they are always evolving to adapt for changes in the environment. In this case, it was to open up fixed disaster purchases through the GSA schedule to state and local emergency response and disaster response agencies. 

At the state and local level, there are usually no sources that have been pre-vetted to provide goods at a fixed price to prevent emergency-induced price gouging. GSA Advantage does exactly this: when a supplier gets on the schedule, their prices are determined and are fixed so the purchasing agent knows exactly what they are buying and for how much. 

The John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 (Section 833)

Section 833 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 is a piece of legislation that impacts procurement processes, particularly in the context of disaster response and national security. This section provides specific authorities and flexibilities to government agencies to expedite the acquisition of goods and services during emergencies. It aims to streamline the procurement process, enabling a swift and effective response to unforeseen events that threaten national security or public safety.

Key provisions of Section 833 include:

  • Expanded authority for emergency procurement: Section 833 grants broader authority to designated agencies to bypass traditional procurement regulations and procedures during emergencies. This allows for faster acquisition of critical resources, such as equipment, supplies, and personnel, to address urgent needs.
  • Simplified acquisition procedures: The legislation introduces simplified acquisition procedures, reducing bureaucratic hurdles and administrative complexities that can hinder timely procurement during crises. This includes provisions for direct contracting, streamlined solicitation processes, and simplified documentation requirements.
  • Enhanced flexibility for contract modifications: Section 833 provides greater flexibility for modifying existing contracts to meet evolving needs during emergencies. This enables agencies to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and ensure that contracts remain relevant and responsive to the crisis at hand.
  • Prioritization of national security and public safety: The legislation emphasizes the importance of prioritizing national security and public safety in emergency procurement. It allows agencies to prioritize contracts that directly support these objectives, ensuring that critical resources are allocated efficiently and effectively.

Overall, Section 833 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 plays an important role in improving the government's ability to respond to disasters and emergencies. By providing expanded authorities, simplified procedures, and greater flexibility, it enables agencies to procure goods and services quickly and efficiently, safeguarding national security and public safety.

The Federal Supply Schedules Usage Act of 2010

The Federal Supply Schedules Usage Act of 2010, also known as S.2868, was a law passed during the 111th Congress (2009-2010) and became Public Law No: 111-263 on October 8, 2010. 

Here are a few core tenets of the Federal Supply Schedules Act:

  • Authorization for use by qualifying organizations: This Act grants the GSA Administrator to allow the Red Cross and other qualifying organizations (described in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act) to use federal supply schedules. 
  • Prohibition to resale: this Act makes it unlawful to use the federal supply schedules by qualifying organizations for resale. This matters because they are buying at fixed rates which could be much less than market value during an emergency.
  • Compliance with GSA guidance: All uses of federal supply schedules have to adhere to ordering guidance that is provided by the GSA Administrator. 
  • State and local government use: this provision is one of the most important because it authorized the GSA Administrator to include procurement of emergency goods or services by state and local governments for disaster preparedness. Access to federal supply schedules was something that had not been done prior to this Act. 

Who Can Participate in Disaster Purchasing?

Obviously, every federal agency with a disaster response role or responsibility has access to the disaster purchasing. But when the President of the United States declares a national disaster or emergency under the Stafford Act, state, local, and tribal governments can also purchase products and services from GSA Schedule contracts.

Up until 2010, this was not the case. Federal agencies had access to federal supply chain schedules but no one else. But it wasn’t very feasible for all the states and especially local governments with much smaller budgets to establish the same rates and guaranteed availability of goods as are already available through GSA Advantage. 

What Items Are Available for Purchase?

GSA Advantage has millions of items available for purchase, but not all of these are disaster purchases. 

All items earmarked for disaster purchases are earmarked and they are the items that are commonly required for natural disasters and other disasters like bulk bottled water, bulk medical supplies, and other response items for terrorist attacks, and even nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attacks.

Benefits of Disaster Purchasing for Emergency Preparedness

Here’s the thing: when mass amounts of disaster response materials are in demand for large-scale disaster response, those items are both scarce and occasionally cost-prohibitive. But items on the federal schedule have a fixed price so your agency can budget effectively for them without worrying about surging prices. 

But since this is an exclusively federal procurement process, these benefits were not previously available for any agency outside of the federal government. Now, all levels of government can access bulk prices and disaster relief tagged items to build up their supplies. But some items have a shelf life and can only be stored for limited times, namely food and water supplies. 

Greenwood Aerospace offers bulk bottled water by the truckload so you can order it on demand rather than have it sitting in storage taking up space and eventually having to be traded out for fresh water. 

Improving Disaster Response Through Efficient Purchasing

GSA Advantage is the original Amazon of federal purchases. You can buy just about anything off of there, and items and vendors are earmarked for different purchasing schedules. Disaster response items are tagged accordingly to make it easier to find them and buy them when time is short and demand is high. 

Greenwood Aerospace offers a number of bulk-buy items for disaster response for your federal, state, local, or even tribal emergency response agencies. Make sure to check out our vendor storefront on GSA Advantage for all emergency and disaster response and recovery items!