Contracting

  • The effort to revamp the General Services Administration's Schedule 70 isn't only happening in the Federal Acquisition Service. The agency's customer service team is working with FAS to make Schedule 70 easier to use and easier for vendors to access. It's one of a number of customer service initiatives at GSA. Phaedra Chrousos, chief customer officer at GSA, is the first person to hold that job at the agency. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose the history of the job and what she's doing with it.

    October 05, 2015
  • The Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards honor many of the individuals and businesses among the region's government contractors. The awards, sponsored by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and the Professional Services Council, celebrate high achievers.

    October 05, 2015
  • The rate of mergers and acquisitions in industry isn't just impacting the Defense Department, but civilian agencies as well.

    October 05, 2015
  • A section of the Defense Authorization act requiring the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation to consider cost and schedule delays survives a congressional conference despite DoD’s opposition.

    October 02, 2015
  • A new study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found the Air Force's competition rate for service contracts dropped by 15 percent over the last six years, while other military services saw competition go up.

    October 01, 2015
  • Contractors need to be ready for yet another new rule, this one from the Small Business Administration. Depending on what industry a contract is concerned with, contracting officers as of two weeks from now have new authority to give sole-source awards to women-owned and other disadvantaged businesses. Joe Petrillo is a partner at the law firm Petrillo & Powell. He joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on the rule.

    October 01, 2015
  • It may be the largest single order made against an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) vehicle. Booz Allen Hamilton landed an award for the Global Threat Mitigation Program this week against the OASIS contract from the General Services Administration. Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, tells In Depth with Francis Rose the task order shows just how important it is to have the right vehicle.

    October 01, 2015
  • The Department of Veterans Affairs has specific set-aside requirements for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. The requirements, though, may not always be clear even to contracting officers at the agency. Bill Welch, partner at McMahon, Welch and Learned, discussed one case as part of Industry Chatter on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    October 01, 2015
  • The government contracting industry is starting off the new fiscal year a little less healthy than a month ago. The same problems that are hitting stock prices of companies in broader indexes are affecting the government contracting space. And then there's the uncertainty around the shutdown on top of it all. Ross Wilkers is newsroom editor at Executive Mosaic, publishers of the GovCon Index. He discussed the impact of all this uncertainty as part of Industry Chatter on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    October 01, 2015
  • The Defense Information Systems Agency awarded a $1.8 million contract to Advanced Onion to build websites that help potential hack victims see if they've been affected by the breach.

    October 01, 2015
  • Agencies spend more on contracts in September than any other month of the year, as part of a governmentwide push to spend every last dollar before the fiscal year ends.

    September 30, 2015
  • The Defense Authorization Act will expand milestone decision authority for military service chiefs, it just has to get past President Obama first.

    September 30, 2015
  • The Defense Department wants to make sure the electronic parts it uses aren’t tainted. In a new proposed rule expansion, DoD would require contractors to have a risk-based system to trace electronic parts from their original equipment manufacturer and subcontractors. The goal is to crack down on counterfeit electronic parts. Chris Myers is a partner and assistant chair of the Government Contracts Group at Dentons. He joins the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on the proposal.

    September 30, 2015
  • House and Senate negotiators finally shook hands Tuesday on a defense authorization bill both parties generally support and would enact some of the most sweeping and aggressive changes to the military’s personnel and acquisition systems in several decades.

    September 30, 2015