Memorial Day is almost here, which means the unofficial start of summer. I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend while remembering all the men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.
In this week’s edition of the SmallGovCon Week in Review, two Topeka men were named in a scheme to fraudulently obtain government contracts set aside for minority and disabled military veteran contractors, contractors argue that a Pentagon proposal to curb bid protests would deny fair access of companies seeking relief from potentially unjustified awards, and much more (including some special pre-holiday snarky commentary by yours truly).
- Procurement fraud allegations from right here in Kansas: two Topeka businessmen are named in $352 million dollar fraud scheme. [KSNT]
- A contractors’ group is urging the Senate to reject a DoD proposal to curb bid protests. [Government Executive] (And see my article about how DoD bid protests are already exceedingly uncommon).
- The SBA has announced that the government met its 23% small business goal in FY 2017. [PR Newswire] (That’s good news, of course, but the SBA’s spin omits the fact that the government missed its WOSB and HUBZone goals once again).
- The Army is recompeting $600 million follow-on contract to provide information technology services worldwide. [Bloomberg Government]
- Simplified buying has increased over the years and this year agencies are on track for a record-breaking fiscal year. [GovConChannel]
- The DOE has issued a revised Small Business First policy to foster dynamic business environment for the small business community. [U.S. Department of Energy] (And given that DOE missed all four of its socioeconomic goals in FY 2017, a renewed focus on small business seems wise).
- As agencies approach the year-end surge, they’ll look for ways to spend their remaining IT funds quickly, and SEWP is set up to do just that. [Bloomberg Government]
- Two men who took part in a bid-rigging and bribery scheme involving $54 millions in contracts at Fort Gordon received the maximum prison terms of five years Wednesday despite the recommendation from the U.S. Attorney’s office for a reduction in their sentences. [The Augusta Chronicle]
This content originally published on SmallGovCon.