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In his Inside the Reporter's Notebook feature, Executive Editor Jason Miller shares news and buzz in the acquisition and IT communities that you may have missed this week.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee members support Dan Tangherlini to be the permanent administrator of the General Services Administration. Lawmakers, however, wanted more answers about the troubled SAM program and the recent IG report on management interference of contract negotiations.
The review comes in the wake of the agency's recent inspector general report that revealed management interference on schedule contract negotiations. Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini said the review will ensure the agency's contracting work is "performed with transparency and honesty."
Anne Rung will take over for Kathleen Turco and continue to be the agency's chief acquisition officer.
Today's guests on the Federal News Countdown include Jason Miller, Federal News Radio's executive editor, and Francis Rose, host of In Depth on Federal News Radio.
President Barack Obama will nominate Dan Tangherlini, the acting administrator of the General Services Administration, to officially fill that position. Tangherlini stepped into that post amid the April 2012 conference spending scandal at the agency.
Mid-career employees are a scarcity in government. While agencies are awash with employees at the early career stage and those with 20-plus years of federal service, there aren't enough in the middle stages, and that has federal managers worried. Agencies like EPA and HUD are taking matters into their own hands. Both are launching new efforts aimed at keeping mid-career feds from leaving government for the private sector.
Tom Sharpe, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration, is focusing on 10 areas to make the organization more responsive and efficient. Sharpe also plans to meet with vendors and employees to improve their satisfaction with FAS.
For the third year in a row, Congress is unlikely to give GSA enough money to repair and maintain federal buildings. Acting GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini told House lawmakers Tuesday that the government isn't spending the 2-to-4 percent industry average to keep buildings operating well.
In a memo to employees, the acting administrator signals he's in for the long term by outlining six areas to focus on in 2013 and beyond.
The General Services Administration issued two requests for information earlier this month to redevelop the FBI headquarters building and the area of Washington known as Federal Triangle South. Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini said he's willing to entertain any and all ideas for saving the government money, making the buildings more efficient and helping to transform the neighborhoods.
The White House typically gives agencies both funding and policy updates for the upcoming budget request by Thanksgiving. This year OMB decided to hold off on passback guidance because of the current fiscal negotiations with Congress. Several senior agency officials said this lag will compress the timeline to respond to the information and require them to prepare for something that may never happen.
The agency issued an RFQ on the MOBIS schedule for assistance in reducing the duplication and increasing efficiency across the CFO, CIO, CPO and Administrative Services offices. The solicitation follows acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini's top-to-bottom review of GSA's administrative functions.
After superstorm Sandy, the government is putting all hands on deck response to the storm, providing on-the-ground assistance, federal funding and coordinating rescue and clean-up efforts.