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On Air: Federal News Network
Acquisition
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Less than half of the paperwork the Small Business Administration finishes when an employee or contractor leaves the agency is complete and filled out correctly. SBA\'s inspector general said the agency isn\'t following its own separation procedures when an employee leaves. Seventy-three network accounts are still active for employees who are already gone. SBA is supposed to deactivate those accounts within 24 hours after an employee leaves. Troy Meyer, assistant inspector general for audit at the Small Business Administration\'s Office of Inspector General, tells In Depth with Francis Rose where his office started with this report.
June 08, 2015 -
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A new bill would let companies challenge the agency through an administrative process that promises to be simpler and cheaper than litigation. Witnesses at a congressional hearing said they feared new size standards would alter competition for $200 billion in small-business set asides.
June 08, 2015 -
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In Senate hearings regarding the recent breach of the Get Transcript system last week, IRS officials said they were \"reviewing options\" to make their online services more secure. They did not mention the agency already has asked vendors for bids on a wide array of new authentication services.
June 08, 2015 -
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National Academy of Public Administration President and CEO Dan Blair, NAPA Director of Project Development Joe Mitchell, and NAPA Fellow David Chu will discuss academy\'s current projects and initiatives. June 5, 2015
June 05, 2015 -
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Health and Human Services\' Buyer\'s Club celebrated its one-year anniversary earlier this week by releasing a major solicitation. The request for proposal marks a growing recognition that improving the federal acquisition process is possible. Mark Naggar is the program manager for the HHS Buyer\'s Club. He tells Executive Editor Jason Miller about how his organization is helping the Office of Population Affairs reform how it buys technology. Naggar says few agencies are particularly good at carrying out IT projects involving services.
June 05, 2015 -
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USA.gov is about to undergo another overhaul. The web portal, which the General Services Administration maintains, lets visitors search for government information based on topics or agency. But it hasn\'t always been easy to use. Sarah Crane, the acting director of the Federal Citizen Information Center at GSA, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the changes.
June 05, 2015 -
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The Department of Health and Human Services\' Buyers Club released a major solicitation for website development services using an agile development process. Mark Naggar, the program manager for the Buyers Club, said the two-stage methodology focuses on user needs first and foremost.
June 05, 2015 -
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The Department of Veterans Affairs says it has made significant gains over the past several months in paying its health care vendors on time. Providers tell a different story, and say the department routinely fails to comply with the Prompt Payment Act.
June 05, 2015 -
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Collaboration between the Homeland Security Department\'s Science and Technology Directorate and its industrial base is still a work in progress. S&T Undersecretary Reginald Brothers outlines six main priorities for his directorate in September. But some industry groups say S&T needs to create more incentives so vendors get involved. Marc Pearl is the president and CEO of the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council. He testified recently before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose about some of the goals within S&T, and the challenges that remain.
June 03, 2015 -
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Etherton and Associates President Jon Etherton and Tom Sisti, senior director and chief legislative counsel for SAP, join host Roger Waldron to talk about a growing movement on Capitol Hill for acquisition reform, and lessons learned from previous reform efforts. June 2, 2015
June 02, 2015 -
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A bill in the House aims to reform the way the General Services Administration (GSA) handles real estate. The Public Buildings Reform and Savings Act would realize billions in savings by enabling GSA to better facilitate consolidations, reduce space and negotiate the best possible office space lease deals. It would also bolster security at federal buildings. Re. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) is chairman of the House Subcommittee for Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, and a co-sponsor of the bill. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain why such a pilot program was important.
June 02, 2015 -
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Commentary: Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, writes that some of the pricing data initiatives are sending a disheartening message to GSA\'s contracting workforce. The Multiple Award Schedules are not in business to be the Dollar Store, he writes.
June 02, 2015 -
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The General Services Administration has a new tool to help contracting officers figure out how much they should pay for work. CALC.gov lists pay rates across eight professional services categories, with 48,000 labor categories and at least 5,000 GSA contracts. But the rates listed on the site are the highest prices contracting officers could pay, not the lowest. The 18F Innovation Lab built the tool and says acquisition officers should make better purchases with more access to more information. Stan Soloway, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, tells In Depth with Francis Rose why he\'s not so sure.
June 01, 2015 -
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The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of defense contractor KBR Inc. in a whistleblower suit brought by a former employee. Benjamin Carter accused KBR of defrauding the government over water purification work in Iraq. The justices ruled unanimously that a law extending the time frame for fraud claims committed against the U.S. during wartime doesn\'t apply to civil claims. Brian McLaughlin, a counsel in the Government Contracts Group at the law firm Crowell and Moring, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with more on the lessons learned.
June 01, 2015
