Federal News Radio’s Executive Editor Jason Miller joined Tom Temin to discuss the special report: the Private Side of Sequestration. Federal vendors are experiencing what many believe is the new normal when it comes to contracting. Budget cuts and furloughs are gumming up the federal acquisition process. Jason explores the downward trends in the contracting market this year and rising concerns in the later years.

The first three quarters of fiscal 2013 were rough for government contractors. Agencies have delayed contract solicitations, delayed awards and asked for vendors to cut costs. But many vendors say the last two months of the fiscal year may just make up for the sluggish rate of acquisition. Jason also explores why vendors may be rethinking August vacations.

With a one-two punch, the government is tackling patent trolls. Those are the often-mysterious firms that acquire broad patents with no plans to use them. The White House says the firms are costing the economy billions of dollars. It has told agencies to do what they can to make the process more transparent and fair. And Congress is considering legislation to expand the Patent and Trademark Office’s mission. One of the co-sponsors is Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). Before coming to Washington, he made a fortune in the car alarm business.

House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers says the recently passed 2014 Defense Appropriations bill strikes a balance between fiscal responsibility and sufficient support for our military. But what does that mean for DoD contractors? Robert Levinson is a senior analyst for Bloomberg Government, and he explains what he sees as the spending and contracting take-aways and the winner and loser programs.

In last year’s Congressional battle over sequestrations, few industries were more vocal in their warnings than the aerospace industry. Its spokesman promised millions of job losses and acute danger to the military. For analysis of the aerospace sector, Tom turned to Richard Aboulafia. He is vice president for analysis at the Teal Group and a long-time, expert observer of the aerospace industry.