Polaris

FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2021 file photo, Fulton County Georgia elections workers process absentee ballots for the Senate runoff election in Atlanta. When voters in Florida and Georgia request mailed ballots next year, they will have to make sure they do one more thing before sending it in: provide proof of identification. (AP Photo/Ben Gray, File)

Postal Service agrees to provide more transparency during election season

In today’s Federal Newscast, the Postal Service settles another lawsuit stemming from the 2020 presidential election.

Federal Newscast

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The General Services Administration (GSA) building is seen, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Washington. General Service Administrator Emily Murphy, the head of the obscure federal government agency that is holding up Joe Biden's presidential transition, appeared to know she might be facing a messy situation after the votes came in. Prior to Nov. 3, Emily Murphy, the head of the General Services Administration, held a Zoom call with Dave Barram, 77, a man who was in her shoes 20 years earlier during the contested 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Barram said he advised her to

GSA is out with suggested corrections to $50B Polaris RFP

Contracts/Awards

In the relatively small world of government contracting, it pays not to be a jerk

Contracting

FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, file photo, Isabella Casillas Guzman attends a Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship confirmation hearing on her nomination to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The new head of the Small Business Administration expects to make changes at the agency that she says will enable it to further help small companies devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Tasos Katopodis/Pool Photo via AP, File)

SBA dropping thousands of temporary employees hired as part of COVID response

Federal Newscast

Why GSA just made Polaris a no-win situation for many small firms

Reporter's Notebook

Amelia Brust/Federal News Network

All things contracting

Amtower Off-Center

Patricia Lake

Procurement: A look back and a look ahead

Off the Shelf

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2020, file photo the General Services Administration building is seen, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020, in Washington. An agency little known outside Washington, the General Services Administration, has held off on recognizing President-elect Joe Biden as the president-elect, denying him access to the money, offices and machinery routinely afforded to the incoming team. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Advice for contractors who want to gain a little more control over their fates

Contracting

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, speaks as FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP)

Senator looking into potential pay abuse at ATF

Federal Newscast

The state of the GovCon market

Amtower Off-Center

‘Procurement potpourri’

Off the Shelf

President Joe Biden delivers a speech on infrastructure spending at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center, Wednesday, March 31, 2021, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

What does the White House’s infrastructure plan mean for federal agencies?

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Federal Newscast

The top GovCon issues in 2021

Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, joined host Mark Amtower on this week’s Amtower Off Center to discuss the emergence of the GSA…

Amtower Off-Center

GSA kick starts 2021 with an acquisition potpourri

Reporter's Notebook

The General Services Administration is keeping contractors on their toes with the release of three acquisition initiatives — Polaris, the new small business governmentwide contract, and two requests for information around emerging technology and professional services.