A six-month Continuing Resolution, the fact that the US spends more to pay interest on the national debt than on national security, and a reduction in the number of commercial item companies doing federal business were just some of the key take-aways from last week’s Coalition for Government Procurement Fall Conference.  The conference, held in Falls Church VA, was perhaps the largest on record with over 600 total registrants.  This is a good indication that many in industry believe that their federal market is about to change (See below).  Rather than reciting the main points by speakers such as former Congressman Tom Davis and current acting OFFP head Christine Harada, below are some important bullets that may have slipped through the cracks on attendees’ own note taking:

• Government today is regulation driven more than mission driven, according to Rep. Davis. That’s a problem that the new administration may address.
• Reform, however, may not be easy. GSA’s Jeff Koses pointed out that 25 of the current open FAR cases are based on laws, not just presidential executive orders.  Those rules must be followed through on.
• Christine Harada stated, “We don’t want to just buy from the best and the brightest”, leaving some attendees scratching their heads.
• Overall, however, there are fewer commercial companies, including fewer small businesses, in the federal market today. That’s one reason why, according to speaker Moshe Schwartz, the government is losing access to technology and innovation.
• In addition to special government-only rules, one reason for this may be that 40% of all small business dollars are spent in the last quarter of the fiscal year, according to Deltek’s Kevin Plexico.
• Contractors interested in how AI will be used in government acquisition should note that GSA has established a Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) panel to review how AI and emerging technologies can be applied. Companies have the opportunity to attend these meetings and even speak if they register ahead of time.

The conference drove home the fact that the government market continues to change, and not always for the better.  As always, it’s important to stay on top of these changes so that they don’t come down on top of you.