By December, a half-billion-dollar spend on laptops and desktops will be in three contracts.
Source: Contract Consolidation Effort Saves $2 Billion and Counting – Contracting – GovExec.com
Last week the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) Councils published a spate of new regulations. We discussed one of those last Friday (see Prohibition on Contracting with Delinquent Taxpayers and Felons) and will continue our coverage this week on several that directly affect Government contractors (and prospective contractors). Today we’ll discuss the new prohibition on retaliating against employees who disclose or discuss compensation matters. Now you might think that this is old news and it is, in a way. In 2014, the President issued an executive order (E.O.) called “Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information“. That was followed in September 2015 with the Department of Labor’s implementing rule entitled “Government Contractors, Prohibitions Against Pay Secrecy Policies and Actions“. So, why is it necessary to add more rules; rules upon rules? The FAR Council’s rationalize it this way:
The FBI’s IT budget has contracted, but there are growing opportunities around information sharing, the cloud, biometrics, cyber and big data.
Source: FBI IT budget contracts, but still plenty of opportunities — Washington Technology
Expansion of data.gov website is aimed at easing cross-agency comparisons.
Source: GSA Launches ‘Federation’ to Standardize Governmentwide Data – Tech – GovExec.com
Professional Services Council Executive Vice President Alan Chvotkin joins host Mark Amtower to discuss issues affecting professional services contractors.
Source: Category management, the latest CR, & more – FederalNewsRadio.com
State CIOs are not immune to the enterprise transformation issues that are hitting IT organizations everywhere. Here’s a look inside the trends at the state government level, from the annual NASCIO State CIO Survey for 2016.
Source: 10 Priorities, Concerns Facing State CIOs – InformationWeek
Last December, the FAR Councils published an interim rule that prohibits the Federal Government from entering into a contract with any corporation having a delinquent Federal tax liability or a felony conviction under any Federal law, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and has made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government. This prohibition was required to implement sections of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015.
As the federal fiscal year draws to a close and the new year opens this month, an astute contractor will have examined the funding status of all government contracts for risk.
Limitation of funds and funding exposure must be a vital topic for every government contractor.
In an interview with FCW, the government’s departing top acquisition official about leaving behind a solid foundation on which the government can build more effective and efficient federal IT.
Source: Exit interview with Anne Rung — Washington Technology