Concerns Over Category Management Policy
Roger Waldron, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, writes that there are “significant questions and concerns surrounding,” the draft circular put forward by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on implementing category management. Waldron raises concerns around the centralization mandated by the circular, the designation of certain contracts as “best in class,” and metrics that may be too “overly broad.” Waldron asked that the comment period be extended, as requested by Congress and industry.
Navy Wants Hewlett Packard to Pay for Data Breach
The U.S. Navy is asking contractor Hewlett Packard Enterprise to pay for credit monitoring services for sailors whose social security numbers were exposed during a data breach that put 130,000 service members at risk. According to the Navy Times, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has joined the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to solve the case. HPE contracts with the Navy to manage personal information for sailors.
Maryland Commission Makes 57 Recommendations to Improve State Procurement
Maryland’s Commission to Modernize State Procurement, a commission formed earlier this year by Gov. Larry Hogan, submitted its final report yesterday. The commission made 57 recommendations to update the state procurement system, including common ones around using new technologies, simplifying processes and providing better training. The state also unveiled a new procurement portal, procurement.maryland.gov
Court of Federal Claims Denies Protest over NAICS Quandary
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied a protest brought by Veterans Electric, LLC, which argued that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should not have awarded a contract to Architectural Consulting Group, Inc. (ACG), because ACG lacked the proper NAICS code. However, the court pointed out that agencies have the right to award contracts to companies even if their System for Award Management listing does not contain the NAICS code listed in the solicitation, as outlined by the Small Business Administration and the Government Accountability Office.
Webinar: Measuring Public Procurement Performance
Working closely and effectively with suppliers is critical to public procurement success. But measuring public procurement performance, and supplier performance, has traditionally been a difficult task. In this one-hour webinar, Joseph Sandor, the Hoagland-Metzler Endowed Professor of Practice in Supply Management at the Eli Broad College of Business of Michigan State University, and Public Spend Forum’s Ash Bedi will walk through some critical practices for realizing public procurement desired outcomes, and methods for leveraging supplier capabilities.
Sentences Upheld in Largest Disadvantaged Business Fraud Case
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the sentences of the former owners of Schuylkill Products, Inc. (SPI). Joseph W. Nagle was sentenced to 84 months in prison, and Ernest G. Fink to 41 months for their roles “in a massive conspiracy to defraud the Disadvantage Enterprise (DBE) program,” according to the Department of Justice. The case, which lasted for over 15 years and involved over $136 million, is the largest reported DBE fraud in U.S. history, according to the DOJ.
No Comments