The Coalition for Government Procurement is taking nominations for this year’s Excellence in Partnership Awards, which honors acquisition officials who have made significant strides in promoting and using multiple-award contracts. Nominations are accepted for the following categories through Oct. 1: For contractors and government agenncies that have developed significant innovative solutions resulting in savings through sound acquisition planning and development, and well defined contracting requirements: Contractor Savings Award Government Savings Award (Civilian) Government Savings Award (DoD) For individuals or offices that facilitated open communication between government and industry during the acquisition process and effectively breaking down communication barriers to create a…
Monthly Archives: September, 2012
A coalition of businesses pushing for the privatization of government work ranked Congress this week on votes that would have invited more competition between the public and private sector. “We are seeing an unprecedented level of government expansion into numerous activities that should be left to the private sector,” John Palatiello, president of the Business Coalition for Fair Competition, said at a news conference at the National Press Club on Thursday. “In our free enterprise system, government should be the umpire, not the opposing team.” The coalition’s report lists how each member of the U.S. House and Senate voted on legislation, amendments and…
Key members of the U.S. Postal Service’s executive lineup will be back in their normal jobs as Ellis Burgoyne, the agency’s chief information officer, returns to work next Monday, according to a notice on an official USPS web site. Burgoyne has been out since June because of illness. With his return, Joe Corbett—who has been filling in as CIO—will return to his regular job as the Postal Service’s chief financial officer; Steve Masse, who has been acting CFO, will revert to his normal position as vice president for finance and planning; and Cynthia Sanchez-Hernandez, who has been handling Masse’s responsibilities,…
Feds, the time is quickly approaching when you’ll have to choose a health insurance plan for next year. Fed Times would like to talk to you about what is most important to you in choosing a plan. Do you look for a plan with a low premium or a low deductible? Does coverage for a particular medical condition or physician or prescription influence your choice? If you are willing to discuss your decision with us, please contact Markie Harwood. Thanks.
The Navy has awarded a $1.9 billion order for more aerial reconnaissance and sub-hunting aircraft to Boeing, the agency announced Friday. The low-rate initial production award for 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft is a modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm contract and follows two orders last year for 13 aircraft. The fleet will ” bolster the service’s anti-submarine, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities,” Boeing said in a news release today. Boeing has delivered three of the P-8As, which are based on the company’s 737-800 commercial airplane, the company said. The Navy plans to purchase 117 to replace its P-3 fleet. Most of…
Members of Congress are calling for a federal investigators to look into a defense contractor’s use of animals in training exercises. The group asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate Tier 1 Group for “live tissue training,” which uses animals to train service members on the treatment of combat-related injuries. The Agriculture Department issued a warning to Tier 1 last month after previously citing the company for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act during training exercises in May and last August. The company did not use the right type of anesthesia on live animals during a training exercise and did not properly…
Some seven months after inquiring about overseas travel by Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway, Sen. Tom Carper is pressing some recommended changes for the commission as a whole. So far, it’s not clear whether the five-member oversight panel will go along. In a Sept. 6 letter to Goldway, Carper questioned “the amount of time and resources devoted to international travel in recent years, particularly as the commission has struggled at times to fulfill its higher-priority statutory responsibilities in a timely manner.” He urged the PRC to limit such trips to what is “truly necessary” to fulfill its legal role…
The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association came out today with a simple plea to Congress: Keep working. “I am respectfully asking all members of Congress to holster their blame-pointing fingers, and get back to the table to come up with a comprehensive deficit reduction plan that won’t debilitate federal law enforcement,” FLEOA President Jon Adler said in a news release. That appeal comes as lawmakers are preparing to trade Capitol Hill for the campaign trail as early as this weekend, with no plans to be back before mid-November. That will be almost two months in which they won’t be working to avert…
Have you ever read one of our many stories on the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service and thought to yourself “I could do that!” Well, now’s your chance. GSA is officially looking for a new FAS chief after Steve Kempf took a 60-day leave of absence in July for medical reasons. GSA said Kempf will be moving to a new position within the agency. The job pays about $119,000 to $179,000 a year, according to a GSA posting on USAjobs. Some of the duties listed include: Holding to the highest level of ethical behavior and decision making as a…
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney yesterday said the path to saving a half-trillion each year lies with slashing federal jobs and pay, merging agencies, and cracking down on improper payments. Romney’s proposals largely reiterated planks in the platform the GOP adopted last month, and other proposals Romney and other Republicans have made in recent years. Romney, speaking to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles, said he wants to save $500 billion a year by: Cutting the federal workforce by 10 percent through attrition; Combining agencies and departments to reduce overhead; Stopping roughly $115 billion in improper payments made…