It’s difficult to keep track of all of the news published that impacts the public sector market every day. That’s why the Public Spend Forum Newswire captures and synthesizes the new policies, regulations, thought leadership and legislation that is changing and influencing your job. Here are a few highlights from today’s Newswire. Subscribe today to receive all of the stories from this edition.
ASBL Files Appeal in Ongoing Legal Battle with SBA
The American Small Business League (ASBL) has appealed a federal judge’s decision to dismiss its request for an injunction against the Small Business Administration (SBA). The injunction had called for the SBA to stop using the “grandfathering rule,” which allows small businesses that have grown or been acquired to still count toward the small business contracting goals, and to stop limiting the pool of dollars considered when calculating whether the government achieved its goals. A judge last month dismissed the request, claiming that Congress has the ability to change how the SBA calculates its small business figures.
MGT Act Still Has a Chance to Be Passed This Year
With the 114th Congress in a short session, Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) believes the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act still has time to make it through the Senate before the end of the year. The bill would allow agencies to hold onto unspent IT dollars and reprogram them to upgrade legacy technology, as well as establish a governmentwide fund to help with IT modernization efforts. The bill passed the House in September, but the Senate has not yet taken it up. “I think there is space,” Hurd told FCW. “I’m having a number of conversations today to try to get this done.”
Trump Hotel May Cause Headache for President-Elect and GSA
The General Services Administration (GSA) and President-Elect Donald Trump face an ethical quandary when it comes to Trump’s 60-year lease of the Old Post Office Building and construction of the Trump International Hotel. “The 60-year deal presents unprecedented and intolerable conflicts of interest,” says procurement law professor Steve Schooner, who formerly served as an associate administrator in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Schooner wrote that Trump’s election requires “swift action by GSA is necessary to protect the integrity of the federal government contracting process.” A GSA spokesperson told GovExec, “GSA plans to coordinate with the president-elect’s team to address any issues that may be related to the Old Post Office building.”
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