If you, like me, were off last week perfecting Grandma’s octopus recipe for one of the many holiday celebrations, here is a roundup of a few fascinating government reports that were released. Incase you missed it: The Government Accountability Office published an assessment of how the Homeland Security Department distributes grant dollars. It found that DHS’s three-step evaluation process that weighs the risk of terrorism and the effectiveness of the applicant’s proposals is a reasonable way to determine how to distribute funds. The Homeland Security Inspector General released a report about the acquisition work force at FEMA. While the agency has…
Browsing: Procurement
The Energy Department just announced it’s awarded new contracts to 16 energy service companies to finance up to $80 billion in energy-savings projects at federal facilities over the next decade. Energy awarded the contracts under its Super Energy Savings Peformance Contracts (Super ESPC) program. Agencies will be able to issue task orders under the contracts for projects that cut energy and water consumption or costs, increase renewable energy use, and reduce operations and maintenance costs. As I reported back in September, the new contracts are larger in size and scope than existing ESPCs and are expected to spur significant growth in…
Wondering how the next Congress is going to approach acquisition issues? Answer: More oversight. That’s what Cathy Garman, a professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee, said today at a panel discussion hosted by Venable, a Washington, D.C. law firm. The discussion centered on the acquisition management priorities of the next Congress and the next administration. Garman noted that Congress approved several changes to procurement regulations and procedures through the Defense authorization bills in recent years. The 111th Congress is going to make sure those changes have been enacted. Among the congressionally mandated changes topping the oversight list:…
Elise mentioned last week that procurement reform is a top priority for Defense secretary Robert Gates. Gates expands on that idea in a lengthy article on defense strategy in the January/February issue of Foreign Affairs. He notes that “resources are not unlimited,” and argues that current procurement focuses on buying smaller amounts of more and more expensive military equipment. The Defense Department has to consider whether in situations in which the United States has total air dominance, it makes sense to employ lower-cost, lower-tech aircraft that can be employed in large quantities and used by U.S. partners. This is already…
Defense Secretary Robert Gates pledged to give more personal attention to procurement and acquisition challenges as he continues his work under the Obama administration. Here is what he had to say during a media briefing yesterday: I suppose it should go without saying, but I have no intention of being a caretaker secretary. Our challenges, from the budget to acquisition and procurement reform, war strategy, care of wounded warriors, meeting the needs of warfighters, decisions on important modernization and capitalization projects and more, all demand the personal attention of the secretary of Defense and they will get it. When asked…
With the kickoff of the holiday shopping season this weekend, I’ve been hearing a lot about how we all need to spend, spend, spend to keep the economy afloat. It appears the government has taken that message to heart. Some early procurement figures reported by the Project on Government Oversight today show the government spent more than $510 billion on procurements in fiscal 2008. That number is likely to grow as agencies are still reporting their 2008 spending. The final 2007 spending number was between $440 billion to $465 billion, depending on which government procurement information website you choose: the…
Attention government travelers, buyers and drivers: You may be immersed in the presidential transition (and have plans to flee work for the holiday weekend), but don’t forget this weekend is another transition…to the new government purchase, travel and fleet charge cards. At 11:59 p.m. Nov. 29 your old SmartPay cards will be useless, so be sure to have the new cards at the ready. That’s what David Shea, director of the General Services Administration’s SmartPay 2 program, tells us here at FedLine. Shea has these tips for feds who may be working this holiday weekend and need to use their…
Karen Pica, head of the Federal Acquisition Institute, is moving to the Office of Management and Budget, FedLine has learned. While at FAI, the government’s school for training civilian procurement personnel, Pica has been a leader in acquisition work force recruitment and retention efforts. During her tenure, she worked with OMB to launch a Federal Acquisition Intern Coalition to recruit and train new hires to be contracting officers. FedLine is told that Pica will continue to focus on solving the shortfalls in the acquisition work force as a policy analyst for OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy. No word yet…
There has been a lot of attention on who is coming into government these days, but let us not forget who is leaving and where they are going. Retiring Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va, one of the few members of Congress deeply involved and interested in government information technology and procurement issues, is joining the consulting firm Deloitte, a government contractor offering financial and consulting services. While serving on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Davis has been panned by watchdogs for his close ties to industry and praised by industry for his understanding of their needs. According to Deloitte’s…
It’s quite a busy morning here — details later — but some important news for the federal contracting community: FedLine has learned that the final “E-Verify rule” will be published in tomorrow’s Federal Register. The rule requires all federal contractors, and subcontractors, to verify the immigration status of their employees using the Homeland Security Department’s E-Verify system. The controversial rule was first proposed this summer. We’ve posted a copy of the final rule; you can read it here.