Federal Drive interviews — July 3

Federal Drive

Federal Drive interviews — July 3

Brian Friel talks about a Bloomberg Government report on contractors whose revenues exceed $100 million. Don Dees, chief of information strategies at Fort Be...

Federal News Network Staff

July 3, 2012 10:09 am

2 min read

This is the Federal Drive show blog. Here you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

Today’s guests:

Brian Friel — analyst, Bloomberg Government

The federal budget isn’t growing very fast. Perhaps you’ve heard. But that doesn’t mean individual contractors can’t grow. Bloomberg Government has compiled a long list of contractors whose revenues exceeded $100 million for the first time in 2011.

Read Friel’s report: Contractors in Growth Niches Top $100 Million: BGOV Insight

Read the Bloomberg Government Report: BGOV200: Federal Industry Leaders 2012

(BGov.com is a paid site and requires a subscription for access.)

Don Dees — chief of information strategies, Fort Belvoir

Last Friday’s storm caused damage all over the Washington area and one of the hardest hit places was Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The garrison was on emergency staff only yesterday, after it suffered power outages and a phone system failure.

Joseph Petrillo — procurement attorney, Petrillo and Powell

Sometimes a contractor and the government part ways before the contract ends. When buying anything, including commercial items, the government has the right to terminate a contract at the government’s own convenience. But it can’t be done arbitrarily, and the contractor is entitled to some payments after the termination. The laws and regulations leave room for interpretation. A recent case shows how commercial item contractors might be at risk.

Ian Swanson — reporter, The Hill

If you take out all of the Mondays, Fridays and summer vacation days that Congress has scheduled, it has about 23 days left in the fiscal year. Those days between now and Oct. 1 should be busy.

Elliott Branch — deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and procurement, Department of Navy

The Navy Department awards $90 billion a year in contracts, buying everything from submarines to helicopters, uniforms and body armor. Every single one of those contracts comes to the desk of Elliott Branch, the deputy the assistant secretary for acquisition and procurement at the Navy. He’s being credited with a number of stellar negotiations, and his efforts have earned him a nomination for a Service to America Medal.