Congress

  • Senators Claire McCaskill and Jim Webb gain bipartisan support on legislation designed to decrease wasteful spending. Some provisions in the bill regarding accountability have been strengthened.

    June 18, 2012
  • The White House, Congress, DoD and many others are trying to stem the tide of counterfeit products and software with malicious code from entering federal systems. The administration soon will release recommendations for how all agencies and vendors can improve the security of their products. DoD issued a memo in March requiring changes to how services protect their supply chains.

    June 15, 2012
  • Private contractors received $102 million to review Medicaid fraud data, yet had only found about $20 million in overpayments since 2008, according to a new report by the federal government.

    June 15, 2012
  • The Homeland Security Department showed lawmakers and staff how easy it is to create a spear phishing attack against a federal employee using free, open-source tools. The agency also said the Einstein 3 program is under development and will rely on vendors to provide intrusion prevention services. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he expects the cyber bill to go to the Senate floor for debate no later than July.

    June 14, 2012
  • Rules and regulations are supposed to help the government make the smartest, fairest purchases are often complex. For Bill Woods, director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management Issues at the Government Accountability Office, federal procurement rules are a full-time pursuit.

    June 13, 2012
  • Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said the acquisition workforce is most important to improving how the government buys goods and services. He said with 55 percent of the current workforce eligible to retire by 2018, agencies and Congress have to work together to figure out how best to train and equip these employees to be successful.

    June 13, 2012
  • The two influential senators say the mistakes the Defense Department and others made in the 1990s during the last serious budget reductions can't be repeated this time around. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) said budget cuts shouldn't be balanced on the backs of the acquisition workforce. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) added reductions in acquisition staff mean the government will pay more for goods and services.

    June 13, 2012
  • The new bill from Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) change the Department of Homeland Security's control over cybersecurity standards in the private sector.

    June 12, 2012
  • The Government Accountability Office is one of the government's most robust watchdogs, especially when it comes to acquisition. Bill Anderson, GAO's controller and administrative services officer, discussed the ways GAO helps agencies get the most out of the acquisition process.

    June 11, 2012
  • Two competing bills disagree over how much Homeland Security should dictate cyber standards to the private sector.

    June 11, 2012
  • The National Weather Service says it must furlough as many as 5,000 employees for 13 days by Sept. 30, unless Congress allows the agency to move around funds within its budget.

    June 08, 2012
  • Agency introduces the new Demand Based Model that will focus resources on the products and services agencies need and want the most. GSA plans on closing two schedules and parts of 14 others to new offerors. GSA also will cut vendors who do little or no business on the schedule to help reduce administrative costs.

    June 08, 2012
  • The Homeland Security Department has created a task force to develop future workers. It will consider expanding DHS' involvement in cyber competitions and university programs, enhancing public-private partnerships and working with other agencies.

    June 07, 2012
  • A congressional report released today outlines $70 billion of unspent federal dollars that could have helped disaster victims, spurred highway construction and fund education programs.

    June 07, 2012