The Weekly Update for July 13, 2018
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT To Streamline Acquisitions, 809 Panel Presses Department of Defense to Adopt Portfolio Management According to an article on federalnewsradio.com , the congressionally-mandated panel in charge of finding ways to streamline the Defense acquisition system called on June 28, 2018 for dramatic changes in how DoD organizes itself to define requirements for weapons systems and manage its procurement budgets, saying DoD must move to a “portfolio-centric” approach to procuring military equipment. In the second volume of its report to Congress, . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for June 29, 2018
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT Federal Acquisition Regulation: Special Emergency Procurement Authority The Department of Defense, General Service Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement sections of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 to expand special emergency procurement authorities for acquisitions of supplies or services that facilitate defense against or recovery from cyber attack, provide international disaster assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, or support response to an . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for June 22, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING White House Proposes a Massive Reorganization of Federal Agencies According to an article in govexec.com , the Trump administration on Thursday released a blueprint for a massive overhaul of the federal bureaucracy, one that if implemented would touch virtually every agency and the way all Americans receive government services. “This effort, along with the recent executive orders on federal unions, are the biggest pieces so far of our plan to drain the swamp,” said Office of Management and . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for June 15, 2018
CAPITOL HILL Vets First? An Examination of VA’s Resources for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses On June 7, 2018, the House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations (“Subcommittee”) held a hearing to examine the resources of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) for veteran-owned small businesses (“VOSB”), specifically the Veterans First Contracting Program (“Vets First”). The Subcommittee invited testimony from the National Veteran Small Business Coalition, the American Legion, and two service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (“SDVOSB”). At . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for June 8, 2018
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Small Business HUBZone Program and Government Contracting Programs and Consolidation of Mentor-Protégé Programs The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announces that it is holding tribal consultation meetings in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, concerning the regulations governing the 8(a) Business Development and all Small Mentor-Protégé programs and the HUBZone program. SBA seeks to reduce unnecessary or excessive regulatory burdens in those programs and to make them more attractive to procuring agencies and small businesses. Testimony . . . Read More
Section 809 Panel’s Recommendations on Bid Protests May Cause Major Headaches for Contractors
The Weekly Update for May 25, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING Contractors Oppose Proposed Limit on Federal Bid Protests According to an article in govexec.com , the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 22, 2018 began its markup of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, and a contractors group was pushing committee leaders to reject a Pentagon proposal to curb time-consuming bid protests. Seeking to eliminate what some senators call “frivolous” protests and what acquisition officials call “forum shopping,” the Defense Department this spring pressed for limiting the ability . . . Read More
OFCCP Announces Commitment to Training and Transparency: Can They Deliver?
Published by Set-Aside Alert Newsletter: The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) is a federal agency charged with ensuring that approximately 200,000 federal contractors refrain from discrimination and take affirmative action to provide equal employment opportunities for certain protected classes of workers. In recent years OFCCP has developed a reputation as being difficult to work with to resolve concerns and differences arising out of compliance audits. Additionally, compliance requirements under the jurisdiction of the OFCCP are generally not well . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for May 11, 2018
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Masstech, Richard Lee, and Arnold Lee to Pay U.S. $1.9 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Small Business Innovation Research Awards Columbia-based MassTech, Inc., its former Chief Executive Officer, Arnold Lee, and its former Chief Financial Officer, Richard Lee, have agreed to pay the United States $1.9 million to resolve allegations that MassTech falsely certified that it was a small business concern in order to obtain Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards. The settlement . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for May 4, 2018
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Amendments Related to Sources of Electronic Parts The Department of Defense (DoD) is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 that makes contractors and subcontractors subject to approval (as well as review and audit) by appropriate DoD officials when identifying a contractor-approved supplier of electronic parts. 83 Fed. Reg. 87, 19641-2 . Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Statement of . . . Read More