Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Pentagon auditors advised to better monitor contractor business systems

By

The Defense Department’s management and auditing sub-agencies need to clarify their roles and improve the timeliness of their examinations of contractor accounting, estimating and purchasing systems, a watchdog found.

“DoD currently lacks a mechanism based on relevant and reliable information, such as the number of [contractor business system] reviews that are outstanding, the risk level assigned to those systems, and the resources available to conduct such reviews,” the Government Accountability Office wrote in a report released on February 8th.

Citing directives from Congress over the past decade, GAO reviewed data from the Defense Contract Management Agency and the Defense Contract Audit Agency and found that the DCAA, for example, conducted few business system audits in the past six years, due, in part, to the need for it to reduce its backlog on completing incurred cost audits.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/defense/2019/02/pentagon-auditors-advised-better-monitor-contractor-business-systems/154758/

How some contractors successfully weathered the shutdown

By

The 35-day government shutdown cost thousands of small- and mid-size businesses nationwide that supply services or technology to the federal government $2.3 billion in revenue and forced tens of thousands of layoffs.

As once-furloughed federal employees and contractors begin the slow business of reopening government, the cold reality is that another shutdown looms if a spending deal is not reached before Feb. 15.

It’s a time of “uncertainty” for contractors, according to David Berteau, who represents hundreds of companies as head of the Professional Services Council, and some contractors “may be in a holding pattern” while they wait and see whether the government shuts down again. In the interim, Berteau is advising contractors to proactively seek backed government invoices for money owed, sniff out new solicitations and bid on as many opportunities as they can.

Yet amid all the doom, gloom, and wall-to-wall news coverage, the longest government shutdown in history brought about pockets of optimism, innovation and strategy and teachable moments the contracting community that could serve thousands of businesses and 1 million-plus individual government contractors moving forward through future shutdowns or trying times.

Nextgov spoke with two small government contractors about their strategies for handling the shutdown and lessons learned.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2019/01/how-some-contractors-successfully-weathered-shutdown/154568/

White House wants to reduce the shutdown pain for contractors

By

During this week’s continuing shutdown drama, White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has reportedly instructed agencies to identify the hardest hit programs, presumably to add to the growing lists of tasks the Trump administration believes it can legally perform to mitigate the pain.

One move in the works would benefit contractors, according to a draft revision of shutdown guidance from the Office of Management and Budget obtained by Government Executive. It would alter past guidance of both the Trump and Obama administrations to allow non-furloughed agency employees to pay contractor invoices for work on contracts awarded before the Dec. 22 appropriations lapse.

The prospective move (OMB did not respond to inquiries on Thursday) also comes as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce organized a letter to President Trump and members of Congress signed by 645 businesses, including small business contractors in 50 states demanding an end to shutdown.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/01/white-house-wants-reduce-shutdown-pain-contractors/154412/

See text of the full OMB Jan. 19, 2019 memorandum here: Planning for Agency Operations during a Potential Lapse in Appropriations OMB – Planning for Agency Operations during a Potential Lapse in Appropriations -M-18-05-01.19.2019

‘Tens of thousands’ of government contractors laid off due to shutdown

By

As unemployment filings among furloughed federal employees doubled last week across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., the effects on government contractors are beginning to take shape.

The shutdown is costing contractors an estimated $1.5 billion per week and companies that primarily serve the government have already hemorrhaged “tens of thousands of people,” according to David Berteau, who represents hundreds of companies as head of the Professional Services Council.

Those unemployed government contractors are likely to join the 9,000 furloughed federal employees added to unemployment rolls in the capital region during the week of Jan. 5, Berteau said.

“We have tens of thousands of people laid off or not working in the nine cabinet agencies and other agencies shut down,” Berteau said on a call with reporters last Thursday. “Contractors are feeling more and more impact. Each day, we’re getting notices of stop-work orders from our member companies.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/contracting/2019/01/tens-thousands-government-contractors-laid-due-shutdown/154265

Pentagon races to empty its coffers by month’s end

By

The federal government is primed to spend as much as $300 billion in the final quarter of fiscal 2018 as agencies rush to obligate money appropriated by Congress before Sept. 30 or return it to the Treasury Department.

The spending spree is the product of the omnibus budget agreement signed six months late in March coupled with funding increases of $80 billion for defense and $63 billion for civilian agencies. The shortened time frame left procurement officials scrambling to find ways to spend the money.

Through August, defense and civilian agencies obligated some $300 billion in contracts. But to spend all the money appropriated to them by Congress, they may have to obligate well over $200 billion more in the final quarter of fiscal 2018, which ends in two weeks.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defenseone.com/politics/2018/09/unprecedented-government-spending-spree-picks-speed/151348

Discussions vs. clarifications vs. communications — and agency discretion

By

Words have special meanings in federal contracting.

Here’s a description of how “discussions” differ from “clarifications” and pre-competitive range communications, as well as the Government’s discretion to conduct (or not conduct) such “exchanges.”

Discussions are exchanges between the Government and offerors after a competitive range has been established and invite or permit offerors to revise their proposals.  The underlying purpose of discussions is to allow offerors to strengthen their proposals and the procuring agency to get a better deal.  The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has long held that the “acid test” for determining if a particular exchange constitutes discussions is “whether the agency has provided an opportunity for proposals to be revised or modified.”  Raytheon Co., B‑404998, July 25, 2011, 2011 CPD ¶ 232 at 5.  This may be an actual pen-and-paper change to the proposal, or any other exchange that is necessary for the agency to determine the acceptability of a proposal.  See Int’l Waste Indus., B-411338, July 7, 2015, 2015 CPD ¶ 196 at 5.

Clarifications, on the other hand, are “limited exchanges.”  FAR 15.306(a)(1).  These exchanges do not allow offerors to revise their proposals, but may allow them to clarify certain aspects of their proposals or resolve minor clerical errors.  FAR 15.306(a)(2).  Clarifications may occur after a competitive range has been established, or even when discussions and proposal revisions are not contemplated at all.  Clarifications “cannot be used to cure proposal deficiencies or material omissions, materially alter the technical or cost elements of the proposal, and/or otherwise revise the proposal.”  STG, Inc., B-411415; B-411415.2, July 22, 2015, 2015 CPD ¶ 240 at 9.

Communications are a third category of exchanges and occur before the competitive range has been established.  See FAR 15.306(b).  Like clarifications, they do not allow offerors “to cure proposal deficiencies or material omissions, materially alter the technical or cost elements of the proposal, and/or otherwise revise the proposal.”  FAR 15.503(b)(2).  They are intended only to permit the Government to improve its understanding of proposals or past performance information, and address minor issues before a competitive range is established.  When adverse past performance information to which the offeror has not yet had an opportunity to respond would be the “determining factor” in excluding the offeror from the competitive range, the agencymust open communications with the offeror to address that information.  FAR 15.306(b)(1)(i).  For all other issues, the agency may hold communications if an offeror’s “exclusion from, or inclusion in, the competitive range is uncertain.”  FAR 15.306(b)(1)(ii).

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=653680

August 2017 protests underscore impact of government’s discretion

By

There is no question that procurement regulations give agencies significant discretion at every step of the procurement process, and protesters often have a hard row to hoe to overcome the agency’s exercise of that discretion.

However, agencies often make that task easier by failing to provide full and logical explanations of their decisions that show they have considered all the relevant facts in light of the competing goals of the procurement system, not just the agency’s objective.

The following cases from August illustrate this point.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=629184

Despite procurement concerns, vendors made out well in 2016

By

Federal procurement spending is up.

The number of mergers and acquisitions are skyrocketing. And overall, despite worries about the transition to a new administration, the continued inability of Congress to pass appropriations bills on time and what, many said, was an unfriendly environment for federal contractors, fiscal 2016 was a pretty darn good year for vendors.

Bloomberg Government found agencies spent $477.8 billion on acquisitions in 2016, up from $441.6 billion in 2015—a $36.2 billion increase (8 percent).

“Overall we saw a lot of positive areas for contractors in terms of growth in these markets,” said Daniel Snyder, deputy director of BGov’s Government Contracts Research, during a webinar on Aug. 29. “About one-third of overall categories were in the plus this year, and then in terms of companies, about 121 companies improved their rankings, they are followed by 64 who did a little worse than the year before and 14 remained just about the same and maintained their position.”Bloomberg Government released its sixth annual Top 200 contractors Aug. 23 along with data on trends across the federal sector.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2017/09/despite-procurement-concerns-vendors-made-out-well-in-2016/

Companies scramble for $98 billion in federal contract spending

By

As the clock ticks down on fiscal 2017, an estimated $98 billion in federal agency contract obligations remains unspent.

Federal agencies have until the end of September to spend an estimated $488 billion approved by Congress for their operations in fiscal 2017, or about $2.5 billion a day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Government.

An estimated $390 billion had been spent as of Aug. 22. Any available funds not under contract by the end of next month will be returned to the Treasury.

The Department of Defense leads all federal agencies with $60 billion available to spend through the end of September, which represents about one out of five of its estimated, year- end spending total. The Department of State leads all agency shares of estimated, unspent obligations, at 41 percent.

Keep reading this article at: https://about.bgov.com/blog/companies-scramble-98-billion-federal-contract-spending/

Tips for disaster recovery contracting

By

If you are seeking to do business with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in support of a disaster recovery effort, please be aware that in accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Act, FEMA seeks out local companies to perform contract work within the disaster area for goods and services related to a specific disaster.

The Army Corps of Engineers, and its contractors, actually do a lot of disaster response and recovery work such as debris removal. Use this link to access more information on contracting with the Corps in emergency situations: http://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Operations/Contracting-in-Disasters.

You can use this link — www.moveit.gsa.gov — for access to the General Services Administration (GSA) Transportation Management Services Solution (TMSS).   FEMA procures many of its transportation needs through GSA including: truckload services, air charter, barges, air freight, air ambulance, heavy hauler, rail, vehicle rental, truck rental, travel trailers, and mobile homes.

Please Note: There are companies that mimic services of Federal agencies, and these companies typically charge fees for services that your business can typically accomplish yourself.  Be aware that most, if not all, Federal Government services are free of charge.  If you are approached by letter, email or phone to buy access to federal contracting opportunities, always make it a practice to reach out to the appropriate Federal agency first to inquire about the validity of the service, specifically if a fee is associated with it.  An excellent source of no-cost assistance associated with navigating the government contracting process is the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC).  You may contact GTPAC via email at: gtpacatl@innovate.gatech.edu.  If your business is located outside the state of Georgia, you can find similar no- or low-cost help at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.

Helpful Tips For Contractors:
  • Get to know the Federal Business Opportunities website www.fbo.gov (known as FedBizOpps or FBO). FedBizOpps is the single point-of-entry to search, monitor, and retrieve Federal procurement opportunities. You will also find subcontractor, supplier and teaming opportunities here.
  • Monitor the Department of Homeland Security’s planned contract opportunities on the DHS Acquisition Planning Forecast System (APFS) located at: http://apfs.dhs.gov/.
  • Accept the government purchase card or credit card. The government buys more than $5 billion in goods and services annually using purchase cards.  In emergency contracting situations, a great many government purchases are micro-purchases less than $3,500.  (Note: Effective Aug. 29, 2017, the micro-purchase threshold for disaster recovery contracting was raised to $20,000.  See details at: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/2017/09/05/micro-purchase-and-simplified-acquisition-thresholds-raised-for-hurricane-harvey-response.)
  • Promote your business in electronic catalogs. If you are a GSA Schedule contractor, GSA Advantage and other electronic commerce initiatives will allow you to list your products or services for government browsing.
  • Publish your catalog listings on your company website. Having a website allows interested buyers to access additional information regarding your company (experience, past performance record, financial stability) after reviewing product descriptions.
  • See other helpful information at: http://gtpac.org/2017/08/31/register-free-if-you-want-to-provide-debris-removal-supplies-reconstruction-and-other-disaster-or-emergency-relief.

Contracting News

Read More

Contracting Tips

Read More

GTPAC News

Read More

Georgia Tech News

Read More