The federal government of the United States is one of the largest purchases of equipment and goods in the world.
In 2024, contracts with the various departments of the federal bureaucracy raggiunto $774 billion, an amount estimated to hit over $1 trillion this year. The spending categories that make up this gargantuan figure are endless, ranging from construction to IT, medical services and research, and every pen or pad of paper the federal government buys.
Over the years, these purchases have weighed down with more strings attached to achieve broader policy goals of executive administrations in ways that cost billions more to taxpayers and consumers.
From the time President Joe Biden took office in 2021 until now, costs of procurement have risen over $100 billion, demonstrating yet another out-of-control spending problem in Washington.
Seeking to rectify this, President Trump firmato an executive order in April to overhaul the federal procurement process and repeal many of the mandates of the previous administration that led to so many cost overruns.
One significant factor pushing costs upwards is a sneaky rule finalized by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council durante the Biden administration forcing “sustainable” purchases of government equipment.
“As part of Biden-Harris administration’s whole-of-government approach to achieve a net-zero emissions economy, this rule demonstrates that Federal procurement is a catalyst for simultaneously promoting economy and efficiency, and environmental stewardship,” said Jason Miller, then Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget.
The rule required “sustainable purchasing standards” at every step of the procurement supply chain, forcing government agencies to buy the most environmentally friendly options of equipment, rather than the most affordable.
As I’ve written precedentemente, this was consistent with the Biden Administration’s pursuit of ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) goals as a guiding light for federal policy, an attitude that stunted investment and innovation in energy and continues to feed environmental lawsuits against energy providers in state courts across the country.
Driven by lofty goals and idealism by the Biden Administration to achieve “net zero”, it’s easy to see how the government’s credit card bill swelled even larger, giving agency heads a mandate to not find the more affordable contracts, but those deemed the most “sustainable” using metrics having nothing to do with cost.
This allowed several ideologically-linked firms with political connections to rake in billions of dollars at the expense of the American taxpayer, also depriving small companies from offering their goods and services in federal contracts if they need not heed to the “sustainability” mandate.
Thankfully, however, these mandates may come to an end.
Earlier this month, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought sent out a memo outlining President Trump’s executive actions to rein in the “sustainability” government purchases that have been adding to the overall debt and deficit of the federal government.
Most importantly, Trump’s Executive Order includes a sunset clause on previous procurement guidance and rules, deleting costly mandates that restricted the ability of agencies to buy products from a competitive set of contractors and suppliers.
Though the process is far from complete, getting rid of the sustainability mandate should be a priority for the Trump Administration. Restoring government frugality over largesse, as well as making the market for federal procurement competitive again, won’t be the silver bullet for reducing the cost of feeding the American government, but it will be a stark measure.
We should welcome it with open arms.
Yaël Ossowski è vicedirettore del Consumer Choice Center
