While Congress shifts its focus to international aid, the business of government continues. Here are three trends contractors should be watching right now that are shaping the market.
1. Federal Appointee Departures Will Slow the Pace of Business: The announcement this week that Kiran Ahuja, head of the Office of Personnel Management, will leave government is just the latest indication that this is the season in which political appointees start to depart. No surprise since this is the last year of President Biden’s term. Contractors need to remember, though, that the departures drop the pace of innovative projects down at least one notch. Basic Read more
Industry should never pass up an opportunity to let the government know what’s on its mind, especially when the government asks for it. Such is the case now that GSA is seeking input from Schedule contractors on how it determines fair and reasonable pricing on Schedule contracts. Many contractors know that documenting fair and reasonable pricing to Schedule contracting officers has become a difficult challenge in a time of inflation. Some CO’s appear to try and wait out changes in commercial pricing indexes, hoping that they will decline, so that they don’t have to improve price increases. Others ask for extensive commercial pricing information to ensure that there is more than enough documentation for even the most routine pricing matters. On Read more
In addition to cash incentives for blowing the whistle on contractor non-compliance, the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division is now also piloting a program that will give whistleblowers immunity from prosecution. The new program, “Voluntary Self-Disclosures for Individuals,” calls to mind the old Oprah Winfrey meme “You get a new car…!” The idea behind the pilot is to encourage those implicit in wrongdoing to come forward so that the government can pursue civil, or even criminal, prosecution of those found to be in non-compliance with their contracts. DOJ believes that some potential whistleblowers may have not previously come forward over concern that they could find themselves suspended, debarred, or worse, despite Read more
GSA’s IT Category Management office will issue new guidance to federal agencies on how to acquire generative AI on or about April 27th according to the agency’s Chief AI Officer. The guidance is designed “to help guide” safe acquisition of AI, said Zach Whitman, as quoted in a recent article originally published by Bloomberg Government, and will help describe “the things you need to watch out for” in procuring it. Although the guidance is intended for government Read more
With scrutiny of government contractor compliance continuing to be a high-focus area for government watchdogs, contractors can’t afford to not invest in current compliance processes or training. Incentives for whistleblowers have never been stronger. Allen Federal has helped numerous contractors stay on the right side of the procurement compliance ledger. We can assist in creating or revising compliance policies, provide critical training, and help decipher murky FAR clauses. Contact us today at info@allenfederal.com to see what we can do for you!