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Justice Department grantee faulted for sole-source youth mentoring contracts

October 4, 2016 By Andrew Smith

Justice Dept. seal - CopyIn allocating more than $200 million in grant money aimed at mentoring Indian tribal youth, Justice Department grantees over five years relied too much on sole-source contracts and provided lax enforcement of rules against contractor lobbying and conflicts of interest, a watchdog found.

The department’s Office of Justice Programs, as part of its Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, awarded the Boys and Girls Clubs of America $201.6 million from 2008-2013 to administer national and tribal mentoring programs. The after-school clubs provide a “safe place, caring adult mentors, friendship and high-impact youth development programs,” mostly to American Indians at risk of joining gangs, as noted in a report released on Thursday of last week by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General.

The Boys and Girls Clubs—the largest recipients of those grants—in turn sub-awarded 45 contracts to 14 vendors, totaling about $3.1 million.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2016/09/justice-department-grantee-faulted-sole-source-youth-mentoring-contracts/131796

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: conflict of interest, DOJ, IG, Justice Dept., lobbying, OIG, sole-source

Congress backs off calling contractors lobbyists

April 5, 2012 By ei2admin

Senators voted March 22, 2012 to side with the House and request a report on the ins and outs of political intelligence activities before defining them in its congressional insider trading bill.

The Senate passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act (S. 2038) by unanimous consent last Thursday. The bill’s aim is to stop insider trading by senior government officials. However, unlike the Senate’s original, this bill didn’t include a provision that would have required analysts to register as lobbyists even if they communicate with the executive or legislative branch officials to inform business investment decisions for government suppliers. For example, companies talking with contracting officers or program managers about upcoming contracts.

The House’s version of the STOCK Act would have the Government Accountability Office assess the use of “political intelligence” first and then make recommendations on narrowing the definitions.

The change pleased industry groups that were concerned private-sector business analysts might be deemed lobbyists. The Acquisition Reform Working Group, a conglomeration of eight industry groups, sent letters Feb. 16 to members of Congress, urging them to rework a broad definition of “political intelligence consultants.”

“Congress clearly heard our warnings of the potential negative implications,” said Trey Hodgkins, senior vice president of national security and federal procurement policy at the TechAmerica, a member of the Acquisition Reform Working Group.

Based on the earlier version of the Senate’s bill, a political intelligence contact would be any communication to or from certain officials that is intended for use in informing investment decisions.

Hodgkins said in a previous interview that congressional staff members had analysts at hedge funds in mind, not business analysts.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Finance Committee, said during a floor speech March 22 he  disagreed with removing the provision.

“They took a common sense provision supported by a majority of both houses of Congress, and they simply erased it,” he said.

He spoke about claims that “an unnamed House Republican” forced the Senate into passing the STOCK Act without the definition by threatening to object to a conference regarding the bill.

When both chambers pass similar legislation, they use a conference committee to iron out the differences in order to send the president one bill.

The bill has passed through Congress. Now, it will go to the White House for President Barack Obama’ signature. In January, the Obama administration showed support for the bill.

About the Author: Matthew Weigelt is a senior writer covering acquisition and procurement for Federal Computer Week.  This article was published Mar. 26, 2012 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/03/26/stock-act-business-analyst-lobbyst.aspx.

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: GAO, lobbying

Contractors seek voice in how to collect back taxes

March 6, 2012 By ei2admin

The days of the federal government awarding large contracts to tax-delinquent contractors may be numbered and industry believes they should have a say about the new policy aimed at singling them out.

As required by the 2011 Three Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act, the Treasury Dept. is evaluating how well contractors are meeting current requirements to certify whether they have delinquent tax debts, reports the Federal Times.

But in a recent letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the Professional Services Council asked the Treasury Dept. to begin a dialogue with the contracting community on “how best to capture and use information about contractors that owe taxes,” the publication said.

Recently, five Washington Technology Top 100 contractors were singled out for paying more for lobbying Congress than on their federal income taxes, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s “Dirty Thirty” list that call outs Fortune 500 companies that “spend big on lobbying and avoid taxes.”

— by Washington Technology staff, Feb. 28, 2012 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/02/28/agg-tax-delinquent-contractors-treasury-dept.aspx?s=wtdaily_290212.

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: lobbying, tax liabilities

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