A cap on how much contractors can charge the government for their top execs would be extended to all defense contract employees as part of the agreement reached by House and Senate leaders for the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Currently, contractors can seek reimbursement for the compensation — wages, salary, bonuses and deferred compensation — of each of the company’s top five executives. Legislation now proposed for the 2012 NDAA would extend that cap, which is now at $693,951, to all employees that work on a contract or are included in the overhead costs of a contract. The Defense Department could…
Monthly Archives: December, 2011
Federal Times is meeting with federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel on Wednesday to discuss information technology trends and initiatives. As a reader, what would you ask the federal CIO? You can reply directly or send responses to njohnson@federaltimes.com.
If nothing else, the U.S. Postal Service is successfully drawing Congress’ attention to its financial plight–just not in the way that USPS leaders might prefer. The latest evidence: 20 senators today called for a six-month freeze on any closings of rural post offices or mail processing facilities. “While some of these changes may be needed, we believe that it is very important to give Congress the opportunity to reform the Postal Service in a way that protects universal service while ensuring its financial viability for decades to come,” the group wrote in a joint letter to Senate leaders. They are…
Happy Friday! FedLine couldn’t let the week end without noting that the Congressional Research Service has a new permanent director. After serving as CRS’ acting chief since April, Mary Mazanec got the nod Monday from James Billington, the Librarian of Congress. Mazanec replaces Daniel Mulhollan, who retired. “Dr. Mazanec has advanced degrees in law and medicine and brings a breadth of experience that will be valuable in leading CRS and ensuring that CRS continues to provide comprehensive and objective research and analysis that meets the needs of [members of Congress] and staff,” Billington said in a news release. Mazanec previously worked at the…
The Navy will not release a final request for proposal to industry for its Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) program as planned, according to a post Friday on the Federal Business Opportunities website. The RFP likely will not be released before the end of January 2012, the Navy said in a follow-up news release. Initially, the Navy had planned to release an RFP to industry on Dec. 21. Instead, the Navy will release an update to its draft RFP around Dec. 19 for industry review and comment. The revisions include sections L and M of the draft RFP, which detail…
The U.S. Postal Service and two of its major unions will stay at the bargaining table for at least another week-and-a-half, all sides said today in separate news releases. An earlier extension of contract negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union was on track to expire today; that deadline is now midnight, Dec. 16. “We have been working in good faith to hammer out a new contract and we hope that this extension will lead to an agreement that our members can enthusiastically ratify,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. Previous contracts for both…
Government contractors who blow the whistle on improper use of federal dollars or unethical behavior would be protected against retaliation under a bill introduced by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Recent laws that extend protections to some contractors have created a patchwork of inadequate protections, McCaskill, chairwoman of the Senate Contracting Oversight Subcommittee, said during a hearing Tuesday. For example, whistleblower provisions added for defense contractor employees in 2008 do not protect contractors from retaliation by a government official nor does it cover subcontractors. Senate Bill 241 would extend whistleblower protections to all government contractors and subcontractors, and consolidate some of…
Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel is expected to make an announcement on Thursday detailing the administration’s long-awaited Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (Fedramp). VanRoekel will be joined by Dave McClure of the General Services Administration, Department of Homeland Security CIO Richard Spires and Charles Romine of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Office of Management and Budget said in a news release. They will provide an update about efforts to reform federal information technology and details about how Fedramp will allow the government to more easily purchase and use cloud technologies. The goal of Fedramp is to…
Farewell, first-class mail. The U.S. Postal Service doesn’t say it quite that bluntly, of course, but that’s the theme of a regulatory filing released this afternoon. By itself, the filing isn’t all that significant–simply a request for the Postal Regulatory Commission to render a legally required advisory opinion. It stands out, though, as a distillation of what USPS leaders have been saying for much of this year: Its most profitable line of business is melting away with no visible hope of return. “Unfortunately, the Postal Service does not expect first-class mail volume to reverse its decline in the foreseeable future,” USPS lawyers wrote. “While an economic…
John Farenish, former Defense Contract Audit Agency general counsel, has joined the Venable law firm’s government contracts group in Washington, D.C., the firm announced Friday. Farenish spent the last 13 years at DCAA, which audits the financial records of government contractors, litigates cases involving contractors and is also responsible for suspension and debarment proceedings against contractors. Prior to DCAA, Farenish served as counsel in the Navy’s Procurement Integrity Office, held criminal investigations posts for the Defense Department Inspector General and Army Criminal Investigation Command, and prosecuted cases during active duty with the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps. “Our contractor clients will benefit…