Current Deputy GSA Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Deputy Commissioner Tom Howder will step up to the acting Commissioner role as of January 1st with the departure of Sonny Hashmi. Howder will already have a full plate of challenges, even if new issues don’t develop during the year. First up will be ensuring that the planned reorganization of FAS continues to be implemented so that the perceived benefits of the new management structure can be achieved. It’s much more difficult to manage the actual implementation of a program than it is to announce the plan up front. Howder will also have to keep a close eye on the Technology Transformation Service (TTS). The GSA IG recently issued yet another report expressing concern with the lack of financial and organizational controls at TTS, an agency that continues to operate in the red. Getting that service in order is critical if it is to survive. Next year should Read more
The acquisition section of the FY’2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is much shorter than usual this year, but there are still several items of interest to contractors. First up is the broadening of the prohibition on doing business with companies that operate in China. DOD will be prohibited from engaging in consulting contracts with firms that have in the last 5 years provided consulting services to the Chinese Government, the Chinese Communist Party, the People’s Liberation Army, or other covered entities. This could impact certain multi-national consulting firms first, but DOD prime contractors may also want to review their lists of subcontractors or other business partners to ensure that such companies have no access to Read more
Cybersecurity capabilities are now an expected part of every government contractor’s operation. While standards may vary from agency to agency and may increase depending on the sensitivity of a given project, no company doing business with the government today should ignore the requirement to have at least basic cybersecurity practices in place. Most cyber requirements flow from standards issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), specifically NIST SP 800-171. While the government has extensive tools to audit contractor compliance with cyber requirements, the largest risk for most companies still comes from whistleblower cases brought under the federal False Claims Act. As a recent article from Akin Gump states, “cybersecurity-centric False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement is becoming an increasing risk for government contractors and grantees, particularly since the DoJ Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative was initiated in the fall of 2021.” The Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General, however, recently issued a “special” audit report highlighting six specific NIST compliance requirements where contractors may want to give special emphasis. Common sense issues such as using multi-factor identification or strong passwords, disabling inactive accounts, and scanning for malicious viruses are three areas. The others are correcting network system vulnerabilities, ensuring physical security of technology assets, and generating regular systems and user activity reports. While these may seem obvious to some companies, there is a reason why the DOD IG highlighted them: Some companies don’t pay attention. The six focus areas are intended to be a place for companies to start their cybersecurity compliance practices. There are 14 total NIST SP 800-171 requirements, meaning that companies should check their contracts to ensure compliance in specific cases. Make sure that your company makes cybersecurity compliance a top resolution for 2024.
While Congress still has significant work to do to pass final FY’24 appropriations, the body is shifting its attention this week to supplemental spending bills that will largely be focused on providing aid to Israel and Ukraine. While those two countries could benefit from such help, there is concern that this new focus will further delay action on mainline spending bills. This may not be the best news for contractors or their customers, except for those that may benefit from the projects funded by the supplemental bills, but it is the reality. One question that frequently comes up is whether Congress may just punt all FY’24 spending and re-set for FY’25. Read more
As the first quarter of FY’24 heads to a close, companies may feel that there isn’t much happening in government procurement. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here are three things that contractors should know now about the current federal market:
1. Federal Business Is Not Stuck in Neutral: Federal agencies continue to work on planned projects and meet current missions. They’re often looking for input from industry on properly scoping planned acquisitions, the latest technology, and sometimes even recommended acquisition approaches. While some projects can’t be put out for bid until appropriations are passed, there is a lot of work that can be done up to that point and, in addition, work continues on Read more