Procurement is a critical, but often overlooked, element of government operations. Indeed, it is the fuel for the government engine—delivering the products, services, and solutions that agencies and their personnel need to better serve the public.
A subsidiary cannot file an SBA size protest on behalf of its parent company.
Source: SBA Size Protests: Subsidiary Couldn’t File for Parent – SmallGovCon
There is a substantial amount of confusion and concern about Section 1045 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), entitled “Prohibition on lobbying activities with respect to the Department of Defense by certain officers of the Armed Forces and civilian employees of the Department following separation from military service or employment with the Department.” As with other acquisition-oriented, late breaking additions to the NDAA in years past (like acquisition prohibitions following felony convictions of companies or principals that were so broad that an executive speeding 15 miles an hour over the limit in Virginia, which is a felony, could eliminate the company from eligibility for contracts), guidance in Section 1045 is not as complete as industry would like. But the rule is not terribly burdensome, either.
Source: NDAA Lobbying Restrictions – No As Onerous As Many Seem to Fear – Government Contracts Legal Forum
The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program has selected the next group of vendors for the FedRAMP Connect program, which prioritizes cloud service providers to work with the Joint Authorization Board based on governmentwide demand, applicability for cross-agency use and system security.
FedRAMP received about 40 applications for the ATO prioritization and eventually selected five vendors and services:
Federal agencies may have had mixed reactions to the President’s budget request. But among contractors, the feeling is tilted towards the positive. They see stability, and they see hits of opportunity in the forthcoming president’s management agenda. Trey Hodgkins, senior vice president for the public sector at the Information Technology Alliance for Public Sector, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin on Federal News Radio to provide more details.
Source: Trey Hodgkins: Contractors see stability, opportunity in 2019 budget request
Senator McCaskill (Missouri) recently introduced the Bridge Contract Transparency and Accountability Act of 2018. If passed and signed into law, the Bill will require Agencies to limit the use of Bridge contracts and the FAR Councils to report on how prevalent such contracts are used.
Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Bridge Contract Transparency and Accountability Act
There are anywhere from four to 16 different personality types depending on your Google search results. In the context of proposal color team reviews, proposal managers and review team leads have probably encountered quite a medley of non-constructive participants who seem to do everything in their power to impede progress. Adding to this problem is the increase in virtual review meetings. When reviewers are not physically present, they often exhibit different (ruder) personality types than they would in person.
Source: Are personalities ruling your color team reviews? | Lohfeld
I read an article by Matthew Berry, ESPN senior writer on ESPN.com on Love, Hate and seven dirty words. I did not know he worked in Hollywood, where his first job was working as George Carlin’s [the famous comedian] assistant. I remember hearing the, “Seven words you can never say on television,” skit. Most of those words I had heard on the playground, but couldn’t admit to my parents.
Source: George Carlin and the effects on solicitations, contracts – FederalNewsRadio.com
The Defense Department, last month, issued a Class Deviation that should effectively reduce some of the paperwork associated with Government Contracting for small businesses and non-traditional contractors. It exempts from certified cost or pricing data requirements (see FAR 15.403-1(b)) contracts and subcontracts awarded pursuant to (i) the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), (ii) the Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) and (iii) a technical, merit-based selection procedure, such as a broad agency announcement.
Nearly lost in all of the discussion over the administration’s 2019 budget proposal and the two-year deal supposedly hammered out in Congress is the fact that the government is still operating under a continuing resolution. For services contractors, that’s a field of daisies they’ve got to move through on tip-toes, said Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
Source: Larry Allen: Service contractors struggle under the continuing resolution