Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Amazon vies for federal business, denies crowding competitors

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Amazon, the online sales giant with a growing Washington presence, has struck fear in its competitors that it aims to dominate the federal government’s purchasing process.

Now, a top official with Amazon.com Inc.’s business division is fighting back against claims that the company is intent on monopolizing federal online purchases, selling the government everything from pens and paper to computers, televisions, and office furniture.

Amazon Business is content to be viewed as “another option the buyers had in the government space,” Anne Rung, director of government for Amazon Business told Bloomberg Government in a phone interview interview from the company’s Seattle headquarters.

Keep reading this article at: https://about.bgov.com/blog/amazon-vies-federal-business-denies-crowding-competitors/

OFPP drafts memo to replace category management circular

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It’s been a year since the Office of Federal Procurement Policy released and accepted comments on its draft circular around category management.

With little-to-no activity on the draft circular over the past year, it seems OFPP is taking a less permanent route to further institutionalize this approach to buying.

Federal News Radio has learned OFPP sent a draft memo out for comment across the agencies earlier this summer, focusing on demand management and “best-in-class contracts.”

Several sources confirmed agencies submitted comments and OFPP is reviewing them.

keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2017/11/ofpp-drafts-memo-to-replace-category-management-circular/

‘Big challenge’ ahead for procurement, grants reporting under DATA Act

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It took federal agencies’ four years to go from introduction to implementation of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, so what will it take to get 2,300 grant-making programs and 3,200 procurement offices to do the same?

The Office of Management and Budget recommends three steps to help expedite the process: continue to standardize data, use auto-populating technology, and use IT open standards for developing any new tools needed along the way.

The recommendations are part of OMB’s recent report on the DATA Act’s two-part Section 5 pilot, which covers federal grants and federal contracts. The grants pilot ended, but the procurement side will continue through February.

“The procurement pilot demonstrates that burden is reduced and efficiencies are achieved when data already provided to the federal government is re-used,” OMB said. “The procurement pilot results also demonstrate that reporting can be streamlined when technology standards are open. The grants test pilots demonstrate that the following conditions can reduce recipients’ burden: (I) required reporting data elements are defined in a central open repository, (2) reported data is collected centrally, (3) data can be re-used and auto populated across government, and (4) available resources explain requirements and business processes where needed.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/open-datatransparency/2017/08/a-big-challenge-ahead-for-procurement-grants-reporting-under-data-act/

Limitations on subcontracting: FAR change in the works

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It’s been more than a year since the SBA issued a final rule overhauling the limitations on subcontracting for small business contracts.  The SBA’s rule, now codified at 13 C.F.R. 125.6, changes the formulas for calculating compliance with the limitations on subcontracting, and allows small businesses to take credit for work performed by similarly situated subcontractors.

But the FAR’s corresponding clauses have yet to be changed, and this has led to a lot of confusion about which rule applies – especially since many contracting officers abide by the legally-dubious proposition that “if it ain’t in the FAR, it doesn’t count.”  Now, finally, there is some good news: the FAR Council is moving forward with a proposed rule to align the FAR with the SBA’s regulations.

By way of quick background, way back in January 2013, former President Obama signed the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law.  The 2013 NDAA made major changes to the limitations on subcontracting.  The law changed the way that compliance with the limitations on subcontracting is calculated for service and supply contracts – from formulas based on “cost of personnel” and “cost of manufacturing,” to formulas based on the amount paid by the government.  And, importantly, the 2013 NDAA allowed small primes to claim performance credit for “similarly situated entities.”

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/uncategorized/limitations-on-subcontracting-far-change-in-the-works/

Let’s bust some myths!

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In February 2011, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) released a memo called “Myth-Busting: Addressing Misconceptions to Improve Communication with Industry During the Acquisition Process.”

They recognized that agencies were hesitating to meet with vendors out of fear of protests or because they just didn’t have effective strategies to manage these communications. Vendors, on the other hand, had fears of their own, such as inadvertently creating a conflict of interest that would keep them from competing on future requirements.

They held a series of sessions with representatives from all aspects of the acquisition process to get a better sense of everything that was getting in the way of clear communication between the federal agencies and their prospective vendors. Out of those talks, they pulled together the 10 misconceptions they heard most frequently, and gathered them in this myth-busting memo, along with the corresponding fact and a detailed explanation for each point.

You can read the full report in the White House Archives, but here is a summary of the 10 myths and facts, along with my comments. This document may be a few years old, but the myths are still around!

Keep reading this article at: http://blog.federalsmallbizsavvy.com/capture-management/federal-contracting-officers-lets-bust-some-myths/

What contractors should expect from the Trump administration

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Government contractors are in the dark about what President Donald Trump’s administration has in store, just like everyone else. But government contract lawyers from the law firm Crowell and Moring are making some speculations.

Robert Burton, partner at Crowell and Moring and former deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, said the overarching goal of the administration seems to be a more efficient procurement system at much lower prices.

“I think that’s going to translate into increased opportunities for federal contractors, as well as some challenges,” Burton said in a Jan. 26 webinar.

The administration’s top priority, Burton said, seems to be reducing the number of regulatory and compliance burdens contractors function under, especially those imposed by the Obama administration. Burton said he expects the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, among others, to be rescinded soon.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/acquisition-policy/2017/01/contractors-expect-trump-administration/ 

SBA and GSA, OFPP not seeing eye-to-eye on ‘rule of two’ application

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SBA logoA major dispute is brewing in the small business community. Just four months after the Supreme Court’s June 16, 2016 unanimous decision on the Kingdomware case, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is taking a stand on the “rule of two” that is stressing out industry and agencies alike.

As a quick reminder, the nation’s highest court ruled in the Kingdomware case that the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) must continue to apply the “rule of two” for veteran-owned small businesses even if the agency surpassed its annual prime contracting goal. The “rule of two” states if an agency can find two or more qualified small businesses during market research of a contract under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) — between $3,500 and $150,000 — it must set aside the solicitation.

Now the SBA is expanding that Supreme Court ruling to apply to all task and delivery orders under SAT if the request for proposals comes under the General Services Administration’s Schedules.

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2016/12/sba-gsa-ofpp-not-seeing-eye-eye-rule-two-application/

Here is a copy of the SBA’s memo telling its PCRs that the should apply small business preferences to all task orders and all delivery orders because they are considered contracts pursuant to the Kingdomware decision: http://www.wifcon.com/dgc_memo.pdf

New FAR rule encourages ‘constructive exchanges’ between federal agencies and contractors

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The November 29, 2016 edition of the Federal Register contains a proposed amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) aimed at encouraging pre-acquisition communications between industry professionals and federal agencies.  This amendment is part of a five-year long effort by the Obama Administration to clarify that communications between potential government contractors and federal agencies are not only allowed, but encouraged.

The proposed rule would amend FAR 1.102-2(a)(4), which currently states that “[t]he Government must not hesitate to communicate with the commercial sector as early as possible in the acquisition cycle to help the Government determine the capabilities available in the commercial marketplace. The Government will maximize its use of commercial products and services in meeting Government requirements.”  In the revised version, the following language would be added:

“Government acquisition personnel are permitted and encouraged to engage in responsible and constructive exchanges with industry as part of market research … so long as those exchanges are consistent with existing laws, regulations, and promote a fair competitive environment.” 

There are a number of laws and regulations that may be come into play during pre-acquisition exchanges with government officials, including the Procurement Integrity Act, 41 U.S.C. § 423, Anti-Kickback Act, 41 U.S.C. § 51 et seq., restrictions on lobbying activity, regulations on collusive bidding, prohibition on contingent fee arrangements, and various laws prohibiting gifts and gratuities to and bribery of federal officials.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2016/12/new-far-rule-encourages-constructive-exchanges-between-federal-agencies-and-contractors/

Small businesses fear rule changes will crater federal contract chances

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The joint proposal from the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration (GSA) and NASA requires agencies to write a report when they choose not to buy supplies or services through existing government contracts.

Multi ethnic people's hands raised with speech bubble by concrete wall.

In the report, the contracting officer must compare the price of the goods or services selected with the prices offered through the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI), a program the government created to streamline government purchases.

But small businesses say that what appears to be a simple administrative change could dismantle the Small Business Act.

“I’ve worked in government contracting for years, and to say to do something you will have to write a separate justification that someone has to sign off on ­­— no one is going to take that avenue,” said Belinda Guadarrama, president and CEO of GC Micro, a California-based software management company with 40 employees. “Everyone is going to buy off FSSI contracts. These are not small businesses.”

Keep reading this article at: http://thehill.com/regulation/business/291722-small-businesses-fear-rule-changes-will-crater-federal-contract-chances

Senators press White House to clamp down on ‘bridge contracts’

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Two Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee wrote to the White House procurement policy chief seeking clarity on Obama administration plans to strengthen oversight of so-called “bridge contracts’’ — temporary extensions to sole-source contractors that auditors warn may stifle competition.

Seal_of_the_United_States_SenateRanking member Tom Carper, D-Del., and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., sent a letter dated Oct. 20 to Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Anne Rung, requesting a briefing following the release this week of a Government Accountability Office report. That report found that such departments as Defense, Health and Human Services and Justice use bridge contracts with “limited or no insight” into the frequency of their use for extended periods, in part because of a lack of definition of such contracts.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2015/10/senators-press-white-house-clamp-down-bridge-contracts/123081

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