With the ascendancy of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) to the role of Speaker of the House, work can resume on legislation critical to government contractors and their customers.  In addition to action on final FY’24 appropriations, Congress may now move forward with the Defense Authorization Act and likely address another Continuing Resolution (CR).  No one, however, should expect smooth sailing on any of these.  While many observers believe that well over 90% of the substantive work has been done on final FY’24 appropriations matters, disagreements still exist on whether Congress should vote separately on each of the 12 spending bills or lump Read more

The United States is already involved in regional conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe by supplying equipment, money, logistics, and now support personnel.  It wouldn’t take much for these conflicts to spin out of control and create a worldwide conflict in which the US is called upon to play a major role.  While it’s important to tend to the business at hand, contractors also need to increasingly consider how they can support federal missions if the US does, in fact, find itself in another broad-based military action.  The priorities of agencies will Read more

Prime meeting time is upon the government contracting world right now with many organizations holding conferences, training sessions, and award shows.  Attending events in your market segment is vital to keeping up to date on information and contacts.  Here are three tips to help attendees get the most out of their event time.

1.  Plan Before You Go:  Making a list of government and industry contacts that you want to see and speak with before you go is vital.  Know why you want to meet these people, plan on what to say, and be ready to listen to what’s on their minds.  Reaching out to potential attendees before the event also makes sense.  Sometimes people you thought would be at the event will not. This could give you extra time to target new people.  Knowing what you want to achieve before you go increases the chances that you will return with new contacts and action items.

2.  Do Spend Time in Presentations and Training Sessions:  Networking is important, but making sure you stay up to date on critical government programs, shifting rules, and budgets are key to remaining competitive and assessing risk when pursuing certain projects.  Even if you think you already know a lot about the topic, it’s a good practice to sit in and listen as you never know what you might have missed or what you can learn from the questions others ask.

3.  After Hours Networking is Critical:  The event doesn’t end when the last session is over.  Make sure you know where attendees will gather afterwards to unwind from the day and hear about the experiences of others.  After-hours networking can be the most useful part of the day where you can meet people in a more informal atmosphere and have time to discuss issues of mutual interest.  Resist the urge to return to your room and catch up on emails unless there is truly something that just won’t wait.  Events can present attendees with long days, but every bit of the day is a time when something new can be learned and relationships created.

With each passing vote failing to result in the election of a Speaker of the House, time runs out to do meaningful work on FY’24 appropriations bills or to even begin to focus on another CR, something that will almost certainly be required to keep the government open.  While several ideas have been offered, including giving the acting speaker more authority, no definitive action has been taken.  Notably, Bloomberg Government states that at least six House Republicans may be lining up to run for speaker if it becomes apparent that Rep. Jim  Read more

The Biden Administration announced last week that they want procurement regulators to consider the impact of new rules on competition.  Instructions given to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) direct the agency to consider whether proposed actions might change the number of competitors and impact the ability of contractors to compete.  In the same breath, however, the administration is directing federal agencies to consider the cost of greenhouse gas emissions in making procurement decisions and loading up new cybersecurity requirements on contractors.  As they used to say on “To Tell the Truth”, “Will the real Biden Administration please stand up?”  Perhaps this is a case of one part of the Read more