Among the many famous lines from the Godfather movies is “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” While contractors may not consider anyone to be their outright enemy, they do need to be aware of what can be used against them in the event an employee, competitor, or other interested party files a whistleblower suit. Recent research conducted by Allen Federal shows that plaintiff attorneys provide easy to follow information and suggestions of potential problem areas right on their website home pages. One firm even has an article with the phrase “GSA Pricing Fraud Basics” to assist anyone who’s not sure whether their targeted company has incurred potential violations. The temptation starts by offering a free consultation. Would-be whistleblowers don’t have to put any skin in the game to get started. Read more
“I’m very optimistic that we can get them done by March 1,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) February 13th of the 12 bills needed to fund all federal agencies through the end of the 2024 fiscal year. That’s potentially good news for contractors and their government customers, but stumbling blocks, including election year politics, remain. The largest stumbling block right now appears to be a series of policy riders that House Republicans want to add to specific spending measures. While appropriations bills aren’t supposed to have policy riders, they almost always do and, inevitably, they are meant to execute the policy priorities of the majority party. It is very possible that some members would vote “no” on bills that don’t Read more
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) launched its new “Federal Program Inventory” dashboard this week, with information on almost 2,400 federal domestic spending programs. OMB intends the dashboard to bring greater transparency to how the government spends its money and plans to expand the dashboard to encompass all federal spending. Data collection is a hot topic in both industry and government. Everyone wants unique, one-of-a-kind Read more
GSA Schedule contractors cannot quote prices higher than those on their Schedule contracts. One company recently found this out the easy way when they tried to do just that, only to encounter a successful bid protest from a competitor. The GAO’s decision in Kauffman & Associates, Inc (https://www.gao.gov/products/b-421917.2,b-421917.3) provides an important reminder to Schedule contractors: Quoting prices higher than your Schedule contract on a Schedule acquisition is a no-no. GAO summed this up succinctly, stating “a vendor may not propose prices higher than their FSS prices, as the higher prices have not been determined to be fair and reasonable by the General Services Administration (GSA) and are therefore not FSS Read more
The government acquisition system is just one part of government that is distracted by side-shows that have little to do with efficient government, except for making it more burdensome and costly for both government and industry to do business. International tensions build in the meantime, with China, Russia, and Iran all presenting real or potential challenges to the world order we enjoy today. It is time for a cold dose of reality on what under-prepared DOD and DHS acquisition systems means for ensuring a proper national security capability. Industry leaders with substantial experience and relationships are particularly well-suited for this work. They can speak with the authority and knowledge that comes from working closely Read more