The Office of Special Counsel urged GSA to follow recommendations and put stronger financial controls on the use of Acquisition Services Fund dollars.
Source: Special Counsel vindicates GSA whistleblower on use of Acquisition Services Fund
As then-SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said, 5 percent should be the floor, not the ceiling.
Source: Senate Bill 1038 an important step for women contractors – Washington Business Journal
The independent Office of Special Counsel backs whistleblower claims that innovation shops at GSA were poorly managed.
Source: GSA ‘grossly mismanaged’ TTS, special counsel says — FCW
Over the last few months, I’ve blogged on the basics of government contracting and selling to government customers – focusing on things like contract vehicles, the Federal Acquisition Regulations, the General Services Administration and federal cybersecurity requirements.
Back in 2013, the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations) Councils added provisions for enhanced whistleblower protections for contractor employees. The coverage, codified at FAR 3.9 set forth the policy that Government contractors cannot discharge, demote or otherwise discriminate against an employee as a reprisal for disclosing information to a Member of Congress, or an authorized official of an agency or the Department of Justice, relating to a substantial violation of law related to a contract.
Veterans affairs congressional committees have been busy this year, passing new accountability legislation and finalizing details to change the outdated veterans appeals process.
Now, lawmakers are beginning to turn their attention to some of the more nitty-gritty challenges facing the Veterans Affairs Department.
Source: Congress turning its attention to acquisition, training challenges at VA – FederalNewsRadio.com
David Berteau, president and CEO, Professional Services Council
For federal contractors, summer vacations can be problematic. That’s because the start of summer also brings the last fiscal quarter and the scramble to use funds before they run out. It’s a more concentrated issue this year because of how late Congress approved the 2017 budget. David Berteau, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, provides an overview of the next 11 weeks on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
Source: David Berteau: 11-week scramble ahead for contractors – FederalNewsRadio.com
Rep. Mark Meadows (NC) introduced a bill last month that would extend certain prohibitions that now apply to DoD contracts, to all executive agencies. In short, the bill establishes a new policy to avoid using lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection criteria in circumstances that would deny the Government the benefits of cost and technical trade-offs in the source selection process.
Marie Mack, director of acquisition and sourcing management issues, GAO
The Army spends in the neighborhood of $20 billion a year to develop and buy weapons. But it has trouble developing sound requirements, and now it has an issue with its requirements workforce. Marie Mack, director of acquisition and sourcing management issues at the Government Accountability Office, offers insight on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
Source: Marie Mack: Army struggles with acquisition requirements – FederalNewsRadio.com
The House and Senate have completed their draft 2018 defense bills that could result in significant changes for acquisition and IT management in the Pentagon.
Source: IT, acquisition face changes in 2018 defense bills — FCW
