Allen Federal has been out and about lately meeting more and more with people in person. These experiences have shown that we are not “virtual people”, but ones that require in person interaction. Virtual meetings may have been borne of necessity and we can also fit more of these into daily calendars than going off-site, but virtual meetings simply do not provide the same opportunity to get to know people, share more information, or provide the Read more
While both government contractors and their federal customers had hoped that a final appropriations measure would be passed by Congress in the 2022 calendar year, that prospect now seems increasingly unlikely. If polls predicting Republican control of one or both houses of Congress are correct, it is likely that substantial pressure will be brought in the post-election lame-duck session to postpone action on FY’23 spending bills until the new Congress convenes Read more
GSA Acquisition management personnel may conduct or facilitate “internal reviews to understand and highlight potential roadblocks and weaknesses of a certain contract action, as well as successes,” according to new policy guidance issued last week from GSA’s Senior Procurement Executive. The updated guidance was issued in order to clear up confusion from early Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) guidance that limited the role acquisition managers could Read more
Government contractors should be aware that federal agencies are more frequently pursuing suspension or debarment as a first step in compliance efforts, and not just a potential final action after the conclusion of any legal proceedings or internal investigation. Suspension and debarment actions are up, overall, as well. Violations of the Services Contract Act, mentor-protégé program misrepresentations, and a failure to update reps and certs in SAM.gov are just three focus areas. It’s not just large businesses that are subject to these actions. Small Read more
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) took the only responsible action it could late last week when it issued a directive to all acquisition officials advising them to not enforce any contract clauses related to the Executive Order requiring contractors to be vaccinated for COVID 19. Despite movement on one legal effort that narrowed the scope of a nationwide injunction, multiple other court cases are still pending at various appellate courts across the Read more