Few government professionals or contractors embrace Continuing Resolutions (CR’s) because they stifle new project starts, almost all would agree, though, that they’re better than nothing.  Nothing, however, is what may be on the horizon if members of the House Freedom Caucus withhold support from passing even a “clean” stopgap spending measure.  The Caucus stated last week that they will do just that, potentially leading to a partial government shutdown in early October.    While House Democrats may not want a shutdown, they may also, at least Read more

Civilian agency spending grew 53% from FY’18 to FY’22 according to a recent Bloomberg Government presentation.  Bloomberg expects increases to continue, despite Congressional budgetary pressure to reduce outlays.  While the top line number shows that there are good opportunities for contractors in the non-DOD federal market, not every agency is the best fit for each company.  A little market research is necessary to find the best matches based on what specific companies offer.  Of the five civilian agencies highlighted by Bloomberg, for example, Read more

The circumstances under which a small business can still be considered “small” despite growth are incredibly complex.  Contractors should not expect that government contracting officers will always know the answer in a specific situation.  It is critical, therefore, that the companies themselves be prepared to help clarify size determinations and know when they can still be called small and when they cannot.  New SBA rules state that a company that originally qualified as a small business at the time of the original award of a Multiple Award Read more

While government contractors employee hundreds of thousands of people and operate in every state, the importance of maintaining those jobs and the economic impact they make is not a priority for many in Congress. That’s true whether the business is large or small, despite Congressional small business rhetoric to the contrary.  Neither is the efficient running of government, even though it has long been shown that a government that can plan ahead and operate with a degree of certainty works better and costs less.  This reality came to the forefront last week when Fitch Ratings downgraded US debt over concerns that constant Read more

Let’s stipulate up front that smart use of technology is generally a good thing.  That doesn’t mean, though, that contracting professionals should cede all judgement to tech tools meant to help, but not supplant, their ability to make common sense business decisions.  Talk to just about any GSA Schedule contractor today, though, and you’ll definitely walk away with the sense that the “HAL 9000” has taken over Schedule negotiations.  This results in outcomes that frustrate contractors, limit customer choices and are not, ultimately, in the best interests of Read more