<P> The procurement process for executive branch agencies (as distinguished from legislative or judicial bodies) is governed primarily by the Armed Services Procurement Act and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act . To address the many rules imposed by Congress and the courts, a body of administrative law has been developed through the Federal Acquisition Regulation . This 53 - part regulation defines the procurement process including special preference programs, and includes the specific language of many clauses in Government contracts . Most agencies also have supplemental regulatory coverage contained in what are known as FAR Supplements . These supplements appear within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) volumes of the respective agencies . For example, the Department of Defense (DOD) FAR Supplement can be found at 10 CFR . </P> <P> Government contracts are governed by Federal common law, a body of law which is separate and distinct from the bodies of law applying to most businesses--the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and the general law of contracts . The UCC applies to contracts for the purchase and sale of goods, and to contracts granting a security interest in property other than land . The UCC is a body of law passed by the U.S. state legislatures and is generally uniform among the states . The general law of contracts, which applies when the UCC does not, is mostly common law, and is also similar across the states, whose courts look to each other's decisions when there is no in - state precedent . </P> <P> Contracts directly between the Government and its contractors ("prime contracts") are governed by the Federal common law . Contracts between the prime contractor and its subcontractors are governed by the contract law of the respective states . Differences between those legal frameworks can put pressure on a prime contractor . </P> <P> The authority to purchase is not one of the explicitly enumerated powers given to the Federal Government by Section 8 of Article One of the United States Constitution, but courts found that power implicit in the Constitutional power to make laws that are necessary and proper for executing its specifically granted powers, such as the powers to establish post offices, post roads, banks, an army, a navy, or militias . </P>

To provide itself with specialized advice and information congress has established the