Contractors should immediately begin communicating with their contracting officers about the impacts of a potential government shutdown this fall, former executive branch officials and industry experts warned on Monday.
Already, said David Berteau, who served for 14 years at the Defense Department before becoming president of the Professional Services Council, the contracting community is “way ahead” of where the government is in terms of shutdown preparation. Still, he and other experts cautioned, companies should develop and maintain good relationships with civil servants now so they can solicit information from them as a potential appropriations lapse draws closer.
Agencies will be forced to shutter their doors on Oct. 1 — or, more realistically, Oct. 2, which is a Monday — if Congress fails to pass a spending bill to set agency funding for fiscal 2018. Representatives from business contracting with government gathered at PSC’s headquarters in Arlington, Va., on Aug. 14th to hear tips and advice for how they should prepare for such an outcome.
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