Much of the government shuts down at midnight December 11th if Congress fails to pass a spending bill or another Continuing Resolution. While this date may seem like a ways off, remember that Congress leaves town for over a week at Thanksgiving and that the House rarely Read more
This holiday season we are reminded of the contractor that got themselves – and their government customer – in trouble by giving free turduckens. For those not familiar with the John Madden-inspired treat, that’s a chicken stuffed inside a duck inside a turkey. People want to treat their customers well at holiday time, but that can actually be a disaster for federal contractors. Make sure your team is trained on the “Do’s and Don’ts of federal business. Allen Federal has 26 years of experience in the federal arena and can train your team up before Santa ever leaves the North Pole! Don’t put a good year’s of work at risk. Get your people trained up today. Contact Allen Federal at info@allenfederal.com
Congress passed a new budget deal last week that, while it does not actually appropriate more money yet, does solve many other problems. Here are three reasons you should care:
1. More Money: The budget deal provides $32 billion more in discretionary spending than was available in FY’15. Specific opportunities include over $400M for Social Security IT and consulting opportunities at the Department of Energy.
2. No Sequestration – For Now: The budget deal removes sequestration spending caps for FY’16 and ’17. This means agencies and their contractors will be able to do some planning and have a reasonable business cycle, just as soon as Congress passes appropriations measures in December.
3. No Debt Ceiling Hassle: Congress also increased the federal debt ceiling as part of the budget deal. This means that your customer won’t be in a state of uncertainty coming into November, meaning more business can get done. Companies that need to borrow money will also see better rates than if the debt ceiling hadn’t been raised. All of this is positive, but keep in mind that the government is still operating under a CR until December 11th. Congress must appropriate money before that time to avoid a shut-down. It wouldn’t be Halloween without something scary!
Let’s stipulate right up front that Allen Federal supports innovation in the federal market. Whether it’s improving IT solutions or how the government actually buys services and products, innovative solutions that improve over the status quo are a good thing. Recently, a group of federal leaders spoke out in favor of innovation as well. So, no problem, right? Unfortunately, innovation “talk” doesn’t always match innovation “walk” and government contractors must understand the difference if they’re going to be successful. Read more
As GSA winds down the consolidation of its professional service schedules and launches the new consolidated PSS, it’s important to keep in mind another critical service issue: making sure you use the right labor categories, inside the scope of your contract, for each task order. The Read more