Rep. Connolly Promises to Bring Back IT Modernization Bill
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said he plans to reintroduce a bill to create working capital funds for federal agencies to modernize their legacy information technology (IT) systems. The Modernizing Government Technology Act, with bipartisan sponsorship, passed the House late last year but did not get through the Senate. The bill would also create a government-wide fund agencies could borrow from to update their systems, managed by the GSA.
Why Suppliers Bid (or Don’t) for Public Sector Contracts
In the first in a series, Peter Smith walks through an exercise for buyers to put them in the shoes of suppliers deciding whether to bid on a contract. “What often emerges from doing this as a training exercise is that stakeholders just assume that suppliers are “sitting waiting for our tender,” writes Smith, “that there is automatically a market of multiple, capable firms who will want to bid for our work.” This article is available after free registration.
DCMA Office Cuts Delinquent Schedules by 17%
The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) looks at how its Garden City, New Jersey office managed to slash delinquent contract schedules. According to the article, the office’s director challenged employees in the engineering division to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce delinquent schedules: “By the end of 2016, the group had reduced delinquent schedules by 17% overall relative to its 2015 baseline total. In addition, from fiscal year 2015 to 2016, DCMA Garden City achieved a 52% reduction in schedules that had been delinquent more than one year. One of the major components to the strategy was establishing and maintaining relationships with contractors through regular site visits.
Maryland Legislators Introduce Bill Bringing Israel Conflict into State Procurement
Maryland lawmakers have introduced legislation that would prohibit companies participating in an international boycott of businesses in Israel or its occupied territories from winning state contracts. According to the Baltimore Sun, “Proponents say the legislation is aimed at thwarting the Palestinian-led Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which they portray as an effort to destroy Israel. Opponents contend the measure is an effort to squelch constitutionally protected free speech and nonviolent political organizing.”
Trump Administration to Continue Category Management Effort
Billy Mitchell of FedScoop writes that the Trump administration will likely continue to follow through on the Obama administration’s category management push to drive acquisition savings, particularly in IT. Bill Zielinski, deputy assistant commissioner of category management at the General Services Administration, told an audience yesterday that the new administration is interested in the cost-savings method. “They’ve showed a lot of interest in things like how we really stretch the federal IT dollar further. You’ll continue to see that push toward things like shared services,” he said. “You’ll hear more about the idea of where can we really as a government work together toward having group buys or consolidating our requirements, and how can we all work together toward really maximizing those dollars. And that all fits in together very well with category management.”
Contractor Charged with Stealing National Defense Information
A federal grand jury has indicted contractor Harold Thomas Martin III, charging him with willful retention of national defense information. “As a private contractor who worked on classified programs at various U.S. government agencies, the defendant was entrusted with access to sensitive government materials,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General McCord. “Martin allegedly violated the trust our nation put in him by stealing and retaining classified documents and other material relating to the national defense. Insider threats are a significant danger to our national security and we will continue to work relentlessly with our law enforcement and intelligence partners to identify, pursue and prosecute such individuals.”