This week on Off the Shelf, Jon Etherton, president of Etherton and Associates, Inc., and Tom Sisti, senior director & chief legislative counsel for SAP, provide a legislative update on the acquisition policy highlights in the House NDAA (HR 5515) including the proposed revision of the commercial item definition, the proposed increase in the Micro-Purchase Threshold, the proposed definition of subcontract.
It’s a basic tenet of government contracting that a contractor must comply with the requirements of an agency solicitation. Those are the rules of the game. But in practice, there can be some tricky calls. For instance, what if a solicitation includes a requirement that appears to conflict with the FAR? Does an offeror still have to comply? A recent GAO decision explored this situation in the context of a solicitation’s requirement for subcontracting plans.
Source: GAO: Subcontracting Plan Required by Solicitation Must be in Proposal – SmallGovCon
Are some of the behemoth defense companies like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics losing some of their stature?
The Navy on Friday unveiled the final solicitation for the next iteration of its massive SeaPort contracting vehicle for professional services.
Source: Navy kicks off bidding for next SeaPort version — Washington Technology
Two acronyms have bedeviled defense department buyers and contractor: Lowest Price Technically Acceptable, or LPTA, and procurement administrative lead time, or PALT. Both are the subject of amendments by local members of Congress to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. David Berteau, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to clarify the new proposals.
Source: Congress eyeing procurement pricing, lead time in 2019 NDAA
Officials say the Defense Department’s multibillion Defense Enterprise Office Solutions contract is expected to be bid out in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.
Source: Pentagon’s Second Multibillion Cloud Contract to Be Bid in Coming Months
For the second year in a row, a new company holds the No. 1 spot on the annual Washington Technology Top 100.
Source: 2018 Top 100 highlights a growing market — Washington Technology
An 8(a) joint venture agreement was ambiguous about whether the joint venturers intended to create a populated joint venture (which is no longer allowed) or an unpopulated joint venture–and the ambiguity cost the joint venture an 8(a) set-aside contract.
Source: Populated or Unpopulated? Ambiguous JV Agreement Sinks 8(a) Award – SmallGovCon
The Davis-Bacon Act (in conjunction with the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act) requires that contractors on Federal programs submit weekly payroll reports certifying that they correctly classified their workers according to work actually performed and that workers be paid not less than prevailing wages and benefits for each classification. Prevailing wages are determined by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Davis-Bacon Act Violations Cost Company $625 Thousand
Jason Miller outlines 10 ways to improve the odds of agencies winning a part of the $100 million Technology Moderization Fund.
Source: Here’s how your agency can win some of the $100M IT modernization fund