Restaurateurs Sue Over Trump Hotel
In a new twist in the legal saga surrounding President Donald Trump’s lease of the Old Post Office building from the General Services Administration for his D.C. hotel, two restaurateurs have filed a tort complaint in the District of Columbia Superior Court. The restaurateurs claim that the president’s ownership of the restaurant inside the hotel presents unfair competition. “It’s a business claim, that they’re being competed against unfairly by another local business, which just happens to be owned beneficially by the president,” said Scott Rome of the Veritas Law Firm. “[The] damage from competition occurs daily because of the lease with GSA.”
GSA Releases “FAN in a Minute” Video Covering Recent Regulatory News
The General Services Administration (GSA) has released a new video as part of its Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Alert Notice. The FAN Minute video this month covers regulations regarding contractors who work with “personally identifiable information,” and new regulations that govern contractors who make late payments to subcontractors.
CBP Delays Release of Border Wall RFP
Yesterday afternoon, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency announced it will delay the request for proposal (RFP) to select a design for the wall to be built along the Mexican border. The RFP had been scheduled to be released on Wednesday, but no will not be released before March 15. Though the initial pre-solicitation release asked for prototypes, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to DHS Secretary John Kelly asking for information about those prototypes. The 16-point questionnaire asked for details about acquisition and funding process.
18F Director Talks Agile Procurement and Use Cases
Dave Zvenyach, the director of acquisition management for the federal tech group 18F, talked with CIO.com about how his organization is helping improve acquisition for both federal and state agencies. Zvenyach mentioned the group’s agile approach and emphasis on modular contracting techniques, and used an example from the State of California, when 18F helped the state with the procurement for its child welfare database.
What Role Can Small Business Play in Category Management?
Jason Miller of Federal News Radio looks at the role of small businesses within the federal government’s category management push. Miller writes that many in the small business community are unclear on what role they can play when the government pushes leveraging a limited number of contracts. Both procurement attorney Steve Koprince and John Shoraka, the former associate administrator for government contracting and business development at the Small Business Administration, policymakers need to clarify the role of small business.