General Services Administration / GSA (CongressionalGlossary.com)

From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms

General Services Administration / GSA

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) supports the mission of all federal agencies by providing them with workspace, acquisition services, administrative policies, and citizen engagement tools, so that they can focus on achieving their respective missions. GSA consists of two major services: the Public Buildings Service (PBS) and the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS).

Most federal activity is conducted using technology, furniture, workspace, office equipment, and supplies procured through GSA. GSA provides direct public access to a wide range of government services by managing the official Web portals of the federal government, USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov, its Spanish-language counterpart, and providing goods, services, and workspace to federal agencies at best value.

GSA helps protect the nation by providing equipment and non-tactical vehicles to the U.S. military and by providing federal, state and local governments with law enforcement equipment, firefighting and rescue equipment, and disaster recovery products and services.

The General Services Administration (GSA) has congressional services representatives in each GSA region who serve over 1,400 House district and Senate state offices. The congressional services representatives coordinate requests for space, furnishings and equipment, and other office services, such as moving, custodial, and security services.

The congressional services representatives work under the policies and guidance provided by GSA’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, which works to ensure that GSA services for district and state offices are carried out in accordance with House and Senate rules and policies. GSA, in turn, works through the House’s Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (under the policy guidance of the House Administration Committee) and the Senate Office of the Sergeant at Arms (under the policy guidance of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee). The House chief administrative officer and the Senate sergeant at arms provide the points of contact for congressional offices in obtaining GSA services. They also review leases for offices not in federal buildings.

Statement of Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, April 16, 2012

In another service useful to both members of Congress and their constituents, GSA maintains online a searchable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, facilitating research on grants and other federal funding available to governments, nonprofits, individuals, and other entities. GSA maintains both online and other services to the American public, services for business, and services for government agencies that are useful to members of Congress and their constituents. These services include the consumer information center and the Federal Citizen Information Center.

Also see § 4.160 General Services Administration, in Congressional Deskbook.

More

• House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
• General Services Agency (GSA)
• GSA Auctions
• General Services Administration – Wikipedia
• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
• Federal Citizen Information Center, now USA.gov
• “Overview of the Federal Procurement Process and Resources,” CRS Report RS22536 (14-page PDF)
• “Interagency Contracting: An Overview of Federal Procurement and Appropriations Law,” CRS Report R40814 (38-page PDF)

Courses

• Congressional Operations Briefing – Capitol Hill Workshop
• Drafting Federal Legislation and Amendments
• Writing for Government and Business: Critical Thinking and Writing
• Custom, On-Site Training
• Preparing and Delivering Congressional Testimony and Oral Presentations, a Five-Course series on CD
• Congress, the Legislative Process, and the Fundamentals of Lawmaking Series, a Nine-Course series on CD

Publications

Testifying Before Congress

Pocket Constitution

Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials: A Guide for Citizen Lobbyists and Grassroots Advocates

Congressional Procedure

CongressionalGlossary.com, from TheCapitol.Net