Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

New administration’s infrastructure list could mean billions of dollars in government contract opportunities

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The Trump Administration has compiled a list of about 50 infrastructure projects nationwide — totaling more than $137 billion, which could represent the core of major of domestic spending in coming years.

The White House’s proposed investment priorities are outlined in documents obtained by McClatchy’s Kansas City Star and The News Tribune, published on jan. 24, 2017.

The list is entitled “Emergency & National Security Projects,” and was reportedly shared with the National Governors Association in December requesting further suggestions.  The letter from the Presidential Transition Team states that it is “looking for 3 to 5 project suggestions from each state that they would vet for inclusion in a new program.”

One project in Georgia currently appears on the list of proposed projects — acceleration of the Savannah Harbor Expansion project.

To see the full list of proposed projects, click on this link: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3409546-Emergency-NatSec50Projects-121416-1-Reduced.html

Savannah Harbor Expansion Project Acceleration
The acceleration of the expansion of Savannah Harbor appears as #19 on a list of 50 national infrastructure projects proposed by the Trump transition team to the National Governors Association.

More than $1 trillion possible in federal savings, says report handed to Trump team

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An organization of IT leaders says the federal government could make changes to save more than $1 trillion during the next decade.

Technology CEO CouncilAnd the Technology CEO Council says its report on how to do it is in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team — including Vice President-elect Mike Pence and incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.

The potential savings include $500 billion through supply chain and acquisition reform; $205 billion in potential reductions through using big data and analytics as well as cognitive computing to make decisions; and $110 billion through IT modernization.

strong federal cioThe report was released publicly Thursday, but a TCC spokesperson told FedScoop that IBM CEO Ginni Rometty shared it last month with the Trump team during the much-documented meeting of tech executives with the president-elect. TCC is the self-described “leading public policy advocacy organization” for the information technology industry, made up of exclusively IT company CEOs.

The federal IT community has not yet seen many direct indicators of how its work might be affected by Trump’s presidency. The report outlines paths the administration could take toward reducing government spending. Bruce Mehlman, executive director of TCC, said those ideas would not mean fewer government services.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/trump-federal-it-report-1-trillion-technology-ceo-council/

Tech trade group to Congress: Let’s collaborate

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A trade group representing some of the largest IT companies is calling for a collaborative approach among the new Congress, the Trump administration and the tech industry.

ITICIn a blog post explaining the tech industry’s legislation priorities for the 115th Congress, the Information Technology Industry Council outlined four priority areas that share commonalities with President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda. Chief among them is reforming acquisition and procurement, the blog states.

“Federal agencies spend approximately 80 percent of their total technology budget on maintaining outdated legacy computer systems,” the blog states. “Congress should reform the way the federal government procures and utilizes technology to ensure all government users keep pace with innovation and modern solutions.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2017/01/tech-trade-group-new-congress-lets-collaborate/134507

Pentagon wins court round on disclosing Sikorsky subcontracting plans

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pentagon-sealDefense Department attorneys won an appeals court decision on Jan. 6 that denies a demand from a small business advocacy group that Sikorsky Aviation Corp. be required to disclose its subcontracting plan submitted under a long-standing Pentagon program.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled against the Petaluma, Calif.-based American Small Business League, saying that forcing the helicopter maker to disclose its subcontracting plan would put it at a competitive disadvantage.

Small business booster Lloyd Chapman has long challenged the Pentagon’s 27-year-old Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program as nonproductive and oriented mostly toward obfuscating the degree to which large contractors win defense business intended for smaller ones.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2017/01/pentagon-wins-court-round-disclosing-sikorsky-subcontracting-plans/134472

DoD reassures major contractors it’s not returning to old IR&D practices, but significant questions still remain

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AT&LOn January 4, 2017, the Department of Defense’s top acquisition official issued a memorandum further clarifying the implementation of a November 2016 final rule concerning the reimbursement of major contractors’ Independent Research & Development (“IR&D”) costs.  In a move likely intended to reassure major defense contractors, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, Frank Kendall, stressed that the recent final rule “merely codifies a long standing practice” used by contractors.  Mr. Kendall also emphasized that DoD does not require major contractors to obtain formal or “de facto” approval of IR&D projects before incurring such costs.

But while DoD’s efforts to comfort industry are commendable, some key questions remain, including most prominently: whether and how DoD auditors will utilize the results of pre-IR&D “technical interchange” meetings to question the allowability of IR&D costs.

The memorandum is just the latest in a series of communications from DoD on the allowability of IR&D costs. As previously discussed here, DoD issued a white paper in August 2015 signaling that a significant overhaul of the IR&D regulations may be on the horizon.  The white paper established a goal of requiring that contractors engage with “appropriate technical operational staff” prior to incurring IR&D costs.  Moreover, and perhaps most alarming for contractors, the white paper indicated that the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and the Defense Contract Auditing Agency (DCAA) would use information shared during the required “technical interchange” meetings to make allowability determinations for IR&D costs.  The views expressed in the white paper harkened back to the Technical Evaluation Group and Tri-Service Negotiation Group approval process of the 1980s – when these groups assessed the quality, reasonableness, and potential military relationship of each IR&D project before the project costs could be considered allowable.  This process was abandoned in the late 1990s in favor of increased autonomy for contractors in choosing IR&D projects.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2017/01/dod-reassures-major-contractors-not-returning-old-ird-practices-significant-questions-still-remain/

U.S. pushes cybersecurity acquisition tools as contracts flow

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DHS logoVendors of cybersecurity offerings are finding that the U.S. government is serious about improving the protection of federal IT assets.  A steady stream of data protection contracts has been flowing to providers, including some notable high-value transactions during the last half of 2016.

One example is a Department of Homeland Security contract, with a potential value of $395 million, for various cybersecurity protection services designed to prevent, detect, contain and eradicate cyberthreats.  While DHS went through the process of selecting a vendor last year, a final award is pending due to a legal challenge. Still, the magnitude of the DHS project indicates the significant level of potential federal investments in cybersecurity.

Federal contracting is never easy, of course, and the providers who have received cybersecurity contracts have had to meet all the requirements of doing business with the government. While those requirements remain in force, federal agencies, especially the General Services Administration (GSA), are trying to improve the processing of cyberprotection acquisitions through expansions or enhancements to various federal procurement vehicles.

GSA logoGSA’s recently selected Adobe as a provider of data protection capabilities for federal agencies. The administration last month revealed it had engaged Adobe for a “new, government-wide enterprise software acquisition agreement for best-in-class, data-centric security and electronic signature solutions.”

The agreement will help agencies “comply with current information security and electronic government policy recommendations and requirements,” including the Cybersecurity National Action Plan, the Cybersecurity Strategy and Implementation Plan, the Cybersecurity Act of 2015, the Government Paperwork Elimination Act, and the E-Sign Act of 2000, according to GSA.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/84231.html

Construction company owner, Kansas City veteran indicted in ‘rent-a-vet’ scheme

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VA-LogoThe former owner of a local construction company and a Kansas City veteran were indicted by a federal grand jury Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 for their roles in a “rent-a-vet” scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $13.8 million in federal contracts.

Jeffrey K. Wilson, 51, of the Village of Loch Lloyd in Belton, MO Paul R. Salavitch, 56, of Kansas City and Patriot Company, Inc., a business located in Kansas City were charged in an eight-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City.

The indictment alleges that Wilson, Salavitch and the Patriot Company participated in a conspiracy to defraud the government by falsely representing Patriot Company as a veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small business in order to fraudulently obtain approximately $13.8 million in federal government construction contracts for work in nine states.

According to the indictment, Patriot Company was a pass-through or front company for a Greenwood, MO construction company owned by Wilson during the scheme. Conspirators allegedly used Salavitch’s veteran and service-disabled veteran status in a “rent-a-vet” scheme to bid on at least 20 government contracts and receive approximately $13.8 million to which Patriot Company would not have otherwise been entitled to receive because those contracts were set-aside exclusively for legitimate veteran-owned or service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. As a result of the fraud scheme, legitimate veteran owned and run businesses were not awarded these contracts.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/66085/

FAR now requires reporting reduced or untimely payments to small business subcontractors

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The FARThe Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.  The new rule, which goes into effect on January 19, 2017, will require certain prime contractors to “self-report” to their contracting officers all reduced or untimely payments to their small business subcontractors within 14 days of when the payment was due and the reason for the reduced or untimely payment.

Specifically, the contract will contain a new FAR clause, 52.242-5, which will state:

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause-

Reduced payment means a payment that is for less than the amount agreed upon in a subcontract in accordance with its terms and conditions, for supplies and services for which the Government has paid the prime contractor.

Untimely payment means a payment that is more than 90 days past due under the terms and conditions of a subcontract, for supplies and services for which the Government has paid the prime contractor.

(b) Notice. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer, in writing, not later than 14 days after-

(1) A small business subcontractor was entitled to payment under the terms and conditions of the subcontract; and

(2) The Contractor-

(i) Made a reduced or untimely payment to the small business subcontractor; or

(ii) Failed to make a payment, which is now untimely.

(c) Content of Notice. The Contractor shall include the reason(s) for making the reduced or untimely payment in any Notice required under paragraph (b) of this clause.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/new-federal-acquisition-regulation-rule-20809/

What ‘chief innovation officers’ mean to tech contractors

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nextgov-innovation-seriesUnder President Barack Obama, chief innovation officers were starting to proliferate in the federal government.

Though it’s unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will continue to dedicate top positions to creative problem-solving, innovation-related job titles could signal to tech companies that the federal government is interested in cutting-edge technology, according to one trade group.

Nextgov chatted with David Logsdon, a senior director of public advocacy within the CompTIA trade association. This conversation, part of a Nextgov series on chief innovation officers in the federal government, has been edited for length and clarity.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2017/01/what-chief-innovation-officers-mean-contractors/134338

Here’s a summary of the changes in government contracting provisions of the NDAA

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Steve Koprince is the author of the book entitled "The Small-Business Guide to Government Contracts."
Steve Koprince is the author of the book entitled “The Small-Business Guide to Government Contracts.”

The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed into law on Dec. 23, 2016, contains at least 16 changes to federal procurement policy, many directly affecting the interests of small businesses.

Ever since the NDAA was finalized, attorney Steve Koprince and his team at Koprince Law LLC have been analyzing and summarizing each of the changes.  Here’s s list of their blog posts, each one hyperlinked to the article:

 

For more information, visit: http://smallgovcon.com 

 

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