A recent report from the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) shows that contractors should continue to pay attention to legislation and other efforts to suspend or debar contractors for repeated labor law violations.  The authors of the report note multiple difficulties in actually implementing such a policy, such as the exclusion of mission critical companies from the federal supply chain and the ability of contracting officials to assess whether violations are “willful” or are relevant to determinations of a company’s current Read more

With little more than three weeks left before the end of the fiscal year and a deal on future spending still not done, federal leaders are starting their Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) so that essential functions continue to be carried out, while other functions – and people – stop work.  The process is taking on more urgency this year as some believe that there is a real chance for a partial shutdown.  Most recently, former Congressional Budget Office Deputy Director Raymond Scheppach stated that he believes that there could be a shutdown and that it could last some time.  Regardless of whether there is a shutdown or, if so, how long Read more

Verizon recently blew the whistle on itself in connection with its failure to ensure certain security requirements on one of its GSA contracts.  Why would a company call attention to its own failures?  First, each contractor needs to remember that they are covered by the Mandatory Disclosure rule.  That rule requires contractors to alert CO’s, and even IG officials, if they have “credible evidence” of a potential contract violation.  Continuing to bill once an issue is known constitutes a violation of the False Claims Act.  If the government finds a problem your company knew, or should have known, about the fines and penalties can be much more severe.  Second, by getting out in front of the issue, Verizon likely saved itself money not only Read more

The title here may be familiar to readers who’ve been around in this industry for awhile.  It’s a quote from former OFPP Administrator Dee Lee who offered it several times as a reminder to GSA that they need to play an active role in ensuring that their contracts are being properly used.  It’s a valid point and, to its credit, GSA has greatly stepped up its training for agency customers since Lee’s comment was first made.  Similarly, GSA doesn’t have the resources to police every award action.  That does not absolve the agency, however, from reaching out to agencies that may not use GSA contracts for their intended purposes.  The potential for that is always there and can be particularly significant at fiscal year-end.  While agency officials may be reluctant to take action, they need to remember that the agency itself can come in for oversight action in such cases, and not just the customer or contractor.  In short, a black eye for a GSA program does no one any good.  GSA did, at one time, have regularly scheduled discussions with DOD acquisition policy officials.  That’s a good model to follow and resurrect if needed.  There’s no need to limit it to DOD, either.  GSA should consider setting up regular discussions with the top 3-5 agencies that use its contract vehicles.  Will this ensure that all acquisitions are made properly?  Not likely, but that’s not really the point.  The more consistent the discussion between contracting agencies and ordering agencies, the more each side is likely to identify the difference between what it believes its role in the process to be and what it should be ideally.  This will lead to better acquisition outcomes, which is the real goal.  Responsible use of GSA acquisition vehicles is everybody’s business.

Summer is now officially over and with it a change of pace in business and a host of opportunities and potential challenges.  Here are three things federal contractors should focus on now.

1.  Frenzied Pace of Business:  There’s substantial business left to be done in the last month of the federal fiscal year.  September is the largest single month for many acquisition categories and, with government spending expected to equal or exceed last year’s record-breaking threshold, this year could be especially busy.

2.  Slow Congressional Action on Appropriations Or a CR:  While the Senate returns to work right after Labor Day, the House will not.  It’s currently scheduled to return on September 11^th, a day that will largely be set-aside for 911 recognition.  Both chambers will then leave town almost immediately thereafter for the Jewish high holidays.  This means that the bulk of spending action will have to take place in the last 10 days of the month.  There’s a lot of uncertainty on whether Congress can actually pass even a “clean” CR to keep the government open.  We probably won’t know until the last possible moment.

3.  Expect the Unexpected.  Hurricane Idalia just swept up the east coast and disrupted business from Florida to Virginia.  Federal customers changed priorities and will do so again if another storm develops.  That can delay other business while the clock ticks down to year-end.  In addition, regional military conflicts and terrorism always have a way of flaring up when they’ve been quiet for a while.  These, too, can disrupt business, but could potentially provide opportunities.  On the business front, double-checking that the deal your business is counting on is still going through can avoid a nasty surprise.  Lastly, the end of the fiscal year is a time when key government contacts may retire, causing the personnel deck to reshuffle and mandating that contractors develop new relationships.  We hope that readers took some time to relax in August.  Things won’t slow down again in the government market until Thanksgiving.