Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

FAR definition of “recruitment fees”: No means no

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On December 20, 2018, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended to clarify the FAR’s prohibition on assessing employees with recruitment fees in connection with federal contracts.  The rule provides a final definition of “recruitment fees” and clarifies the FAR’s broad prohibition on federal contractors or subcontractors assessing employees or potential employees with any such fees.

The final rule brings long-awaited clarity to the scope of the prohibition on recruitment fees, as the term has not previously been defined in anti-trafficking regulations.  Upon publication of a proposed rule change in January 2015, the FAR Council invited the public to comment on a draft definition of the term “recruitment fees” in a notice-and-comment process.  The final rule, which took effect on January 22, 2019, incorporates a definition that has been revised pursuant to comments received during that rulemaking process. Government contractors will need to take these new rules into account in their compliance efforts in connection with their supply chains.

Background

On January 29, 2015, DoD, GSA, and NASA issued a final rule amending the FAR to strengthen and enhance the human trafficking-related prohibitions applicable to all federal contracts. The final rule implemented Executive Order (E.O.) 13627, “Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts,” and Title XVII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, entitled “Ending Trafficking in Government Contracting.”  The amended FAR, which applied to all future contracts and orders under existing indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contracts, imposed significant responsibilities on federal contractors and subcontractors to prevent human trafficking and forced labor.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=768098

GSA releases new IT modernization RFI in post-shutdown procurement deluge

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The General Services Administration released two pre-cursors to major acquisitions last week with the release of the draft solicitation for the $8 billion back-office cloud procurement and a request for information to expand the Centers of Excellence initiative.

The Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and GSA launched a major cloud and IT modernization effort by announcing an industry day on Feb. 26 in Washington, D.C.

And the Office of Personnel Management is exploring how to create a central portal for the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

These are just a few of the more than 4,700 requests for proposals, RFIs and awards released on FedBizOpps.gov in the week after the partial government shutdown ended, opening up the acquisition floodgates.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook/2019/02/gsa-releases-new-it-modernization-rfi-in-post-shutdown-procurement-deluge/

Draft solicitation for Pentagon’s multibillion enterprise solutions contract released

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The Pentagon took the next step in bidding out its Defense Enterprise Office Solutions contract Friday, Feb. 1st, releasing a draft request for quotations for an enterprise cloud service offering likely worth several billion dollars.

The draft solicitation indicates DEOS will be a single-award firm-fixed-price blanket purchase agreement, with a 5-year base period with two 2-year options and a 1-year option—a potential 10-year total period of performance.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2019/02/draft-solicitation-multibillion-deos-contract-released/154595/

The devil’s in the details as GSA seeks to consolidate the Multiple Award Schedules

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The General Services Administration (GSA) will use the coming year to determine what its recently announced consolidated schedule will look like, according to the official leading the effort.

GSA announced in November the consolidation of 24 multiple award schedules into a single contract vehicle that federal agencies can use to purchase a range of more than 10 million products and services. Each year, agencies purchase about $30 billion worth of products — ranging from office supplies to various IT services — through GSA’s 24 schedules.

“Over this year, we’ll start the consolidation of the MAS program,” said Stephanie Shutt, director of the MAS Program Management Office, speaking at a recent GSA industry day.

Shutt said an integrated project team consisting of MAS members and officials from various acquisition centers and portfolios is doing much of the early work. This team will help make crucial decisions that could shape the single schedule.

For example, Shutt said they are reviewing all existing terms and conditions and determining where overlap exists among special item numbers, which generally categorize the kinds of good and services available. One goal, she said, would be to get rid of redundant or duplicitous conditions.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/12/devils-details-gsa-seeks-consolidate-multiple-award-schedules/153638/

Users report issues with FedBizOpps website

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Some users are reporting issues accessing the Federal Business Opportunities website — www.fbo.gov — but it is not clear whether the problems are technical in nature or related to the government shutdown.

Nextgov learned of the issue from readers through email and Twitter.

The FBO site is the portal through which the federal government engages with industry regarding procurements, acquisitions and requests for information, quotes or proposals. Any issue with the FBO site could further complicate the situation for contractors, who are dealing with their own batch of shutdown-related problems.   Contracting experts suggest that vendor should submit questions and bids according to previously posted deadlines, even if the contracting agency is shut down.

FBO.gov is operated by the General Services Administration (GSA), which did not respond to questions from Nextgov by press time.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2019/01/users-report-issues-federal-business-opportunities-website/153925/

 

DoD and other agencies seek to enhance contractors’ cyber and supply chain security

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The Department of Defense (DoD) and its component services and agencies are taking several independent steps to assess and enhance their cyber and supply chain security that will directly or indirectly affect DoD contractors and subcontractors.

Other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Commerce, and General Services Administration (GSA), are also considering or implementing measures to enhance cyber and supply chain security that will directly or indirectly affect government contractors and their supply chains.

These initiatives will intensify scrutiny of government contractors and subcontractors, increase their cyber and supply chain security compliance requirements, and affect their ability to compete for, and win, government contracts. This article summarizes these initiatives and states our view that, despite the proposal and likely adoption of a comprehensive new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) cybersecurity clause next year, federal government contractors and subcontractors are likely to face multiple, overlapping, and possibly conflicting cybersecurity and supply chain requirements for some time to come.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=767144

See GTPAC’s video, template and other resources designed to help contractors comply with the DoD/NIST cybersecurity rules at: http://gtpac.org/cybersecurity-training-video/

Industry applauds acquisition consolidation, warns of work to be done

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Members of the private sector and industry-representing groups applauded the General Services Administration’s decision to consolidate the 24 multiple award schedules into a single acquisition vehicle, but cautioned that the agency would have to do much more than just consolidation to affect real change.

“Assuming all else stays the same, combining all of the [special item numbers] under one umbrella doesn’t necessarily alleviate the burden to negotiations and buyers,” said Julia Conti, contracts director at CGI Federal, at a Dec. 12 GSA industry day. “Making it easier is not necessarily keeping it on autopilot.”

According to Conti and other members of a panel at the event, the GSA is going to have to rework contracting language, examine a broader array of contracting vehicles and make efforts to reach out to both agencies and the workforce for the MAS consolidation to be truly effective.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/acquisition/2018/12/12/industry-applauds-acquisition-consolidation-warns-of-work-to-be-done/

GSA to consolidate 24 multiple award schedules into one

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The General Services Administration will be simplifying its multiple award schedule offerings by taking the currently 24 schedules available for federal agencies to purchase products and services and consolidating them into one, the agency announced Nov. 27.

“Reforming our schedules will improve customer service, make it easier for small businesses to access the schedules program, reduce duplication for all our vendors, and allows GSA’s workforce to focus on delivering solutions,” said GSA Administrator Emily Murphy in a news release.

“This is an important step in addressing feedback we’ve received from our government and business partners.”

The transition into a consolidated schedule will take place over the course of two years and be comprised of two phases, according to GSA officials.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/acquisition/2018/11/27/gsa-to-consolidate-24-multiple-award-schedules-into-one/

GSA proposes new cybersecurity reporting rules for contractors

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The General Services Administration (GSA) is proposing new rules shaping how contractors protect government information on the IT systems they manage.

Tucked in a Friday Federal Register post detailing the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, two proposed rules — GSAR Case 2016-G511 and 2016-G515 — call for amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation to include requirements for contractors to safeguard GSA information in a solicitation’s statement of work, as well as the procedures for they inform the agency of a potential breach.

GSAR Case 2016-G511 allows contracting officers to implement agency cyber requirements and standards into each solicitation, providing a centralized cybersecurity guidance across the enterprise for contractors to adhere to.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/gsa-proposes-2-new-cybersecurity-reporting-rules-contractors/

Resources for complying with DoD’s current contractor cybersecurity rules may be found here: https://gtpac.org/cybersecurity-training-video/

Fort Gordon to hold ‘forecast forum’ Dec. 13th

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If you are interested in learning about upcoming contract opportunities at Fort Gordon, you should consider attending the base’s year-end Forecast Forum on December 13, 2018.

Fort Gordon’s Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) is inviting all businesses to hear their presentation on their anticipated forecasted opportunities for FY 2019 and FY 2020.

Additional presentations will be made by representatives of the Georgia District Office of the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC), and the General Services Administration (GSA).

On-site registration for the event begins at 8:00 am.  The event is scheduled to begin at 8:30 am and end at noon.

Location: Signal Theater – Building 21610 (next to the indoor swimming pool), Fort Gordon, GA 30905.

Important access information: If you have Military/DoD Civilian ID or CAC Card, you can gain access to Fort Gordon through any gate.  If you do not, you can gain access only through the Main Gate (Gate 1) by way of Dyess Parkway and Gordon Highway.  You will need to show auto registration, auto insurance, driver’s license and a second form of ID.  Please allow extra time for background check and vehicle inspection.  Do not speed or use cellular phones without a hands-free device while driving on Fort Gordon.  All vehicles must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.

Registration: There is not a formal registration process, but those who wish to attend are asked to contact Ophelia Brown in advance via email to:  ophelia.m.brown.civ@mail.mil

See promotional flyer here: MICC Fort Gordon Forecast Forum FY19 – 12.13.2018

 

 

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