GAO Find “Little Evidence” of Purchase Card Fraud
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has published a new report, finding there is “little evidence” of fraud in buyers’ use of purchase cards, but that documentation issues still exist, which could make potential fraud difficult to track. GAO found that 22 percent of transactions government-wide did not have complete documentation to substantiate the transactions’ approval process.
Deltek Estimates Large Loss in Federal Workforce Due to Hiring Freeze
Research firm, Deltek estimates that the 90-day federal hiring freeze ordered by President Trump could impact 19,000 jobs. The freeze is intended to shrink the federal workforce through attrition. Deltek estimated 673,000 employees are vulnerable to the freeze, and that the freeze should lead to a large increase in contracting.
Court of Federal Claims Sides with Company in USDA Protest
The U. S. Court of Federal Claims has sided with Active Network, LLC in a protest challenging a United States Department of Agriculture award. The court claimed the agency did not conduct a proper price realism analysis, as laid out in the solicitation. The court noted that the decision “itself does not contain a satisfactory price realism analysis. It merely mentions the price of each offeror in the competitive range.”
Taser Causes Controversy with Phoenix Contract
The Arizona Republic reports on an interesting case of competitors duking it out for a City of Phoenix contract. The city had awarded a contract for police body cameras to a company called VieVu, but is now re-opening the contract for bid after a new police chief took over. And documents show that Taser reached out to numerous city officials in allegedly improper ways both before and after VieVu won the contract.
LexisNexis Agrees to Pay $1.2 Million to Settle Pay Discrimination Allegations
Legal research firm LexisNexis recently agreed to pay more than $1.2 million in back pay and interest to 211 female employees after alleged pay discrimination. The U.S. Department of Labor, which held contracts with the company—among other agencies, conducted two separate investigations which found that as of December 2012, 185 female employees in leadership jobs were paid “substantially less” than their male counterparts.
Building Trust Between Industry and Government
Former Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Administrator Steve Kelman writes about a recent roundtable discussion, in which a number of experts discussed the importance of post-award contract management to driving value. Kelman offers a number of recommendations, specifically around opening up lines of communication, and getting executives involved in large projects with key contractors. Available after free registration.