Feds’ move to e-forms delayed by third protest

The government’s plan to standardize and manage electronic forms governmentwide has been put on hold — again. The General Services Administration awarded an e-forms contract in January for a third time, with the latest round going to Formatta. However, the original contractor and another losing bidder protested the decision to the Government Accountability Office.

Intercon Associates, the incumbent vendor, said GSA erred in its evaluation of bids. Cerenade joined the company in the protest.

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GSA forecasts modest increase in sales amid soul-searching

The General Services Administration forecasts a modest improvement in its financial picture in fiscal 2007, citing a small increase in multiple-award schedule contract sales so far this year. But GSA officials who addressed a group of industry and government officials earlier this month said the agency must fix its customer care problems before it sees dramatic improvements in the financial bottom line.

“We have been studying our bellybutton,” said Paul McDermott, assistant regional administrator of GSA’s National Capital Region.

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Outsourcing: Is it the next big thing or not?

Some analysts forecast an increasing outflow of federal information technology work to private contractors, while others foresee agencies bucking the outsourcing trend because of dissatisfaction with the results. The future of federal outsourcing is unclear, but agencies have begun systematically assessing their employees’ IT skills as they wrestle with the outsourcing question.

In a new outsourcing study, the market research firm Input forecasts a steady flow of federal IT work going to private contractors. Its analysts predict that the annual value of the federal outsourcing market will grow to nearly $18 billion within five years.

Federal employee unions and some market analysts, however, say Input’s forecast is off the mark and inconsistent with earlier outsourcing studies.

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Want more votes? Improve your Web site, study shows

Having a good Web site could bring in votes, according to a study on congressional members’ Web sites.

The study uncovered a relationship between the quality of a member’s official dot-gov site and the number of votes he or she received in the 2006 midterm election. It could have been the margin of victory in close races.

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GSA considers establishing IPv6 program office

With the deadline for agencies to be IP Version 6-ready set for mid-2008, General Services Administration officials are considering establishing a program office to guide GSA’s compliance, and something could develop in the next several months, a senior GSA official said Thursday.

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OMB's budget theme continues: Do more with less

The Bush administration will push to improve existing information technology programs, but it has proposed few major new IT investments in its fiscal 2008 budget request.

Industry officials immediately criticized the budget, saying it will force federal contractors to adjust to a spending climate in which agencies must do more with the IT they have. The budget attributes the decrease in new investments to better capital planning and reduced duplication.

President Bush proposed greater spending increases for defense, energy, health IT and information security, which are administration priorities.

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Ethics emphasis could be a procurement plus

Government officials are being careful. After last year’s scandals in Congress helped shift power in the House and Senate, ethics has emerged as a top priority in the new Congress.

More attention to ethical conduct could result in profits flowing to businesses that do not have an inside track to lawmakers and other officials, according to some in the business community.

“When you have ethics, you level the playing field” for businesses, said Scott Orbach, president of EZGSA, based in Bethesda, Md. “When you have no ethics, all the deals go to the same guys.”

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Contracting continues to catch Congress' eye

A new bill from Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) attacks bad government contracting practices and proposes sweeping reforms.

The legislation (S. 606) aims to stop what Dorgan called “outrageous rip-offs of the American taxpayer,” including huge no-bid contracts and little accountability.

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House panel approves whistle-blower, transparency bills

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved two bills Feb. 14 that would give federal employees who expose wrongdoing new protections and impose new restrictions on awarding federal contracts.

The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (H.R. 985) would establish new procedures to prevent retaliation against federal employees who report wrongdoing to authorities. The other measure, the Executive Branch Reform Act (H.R. 984), seeks to increase transparency and limit the influence of special interests in the executive branch.

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Senate committee concerned about Doan's IG comments

The Senate Armed Services Committee is concerned about the attitude of the General Services Administration’s leaders toward the inspector general’s oversight, the committee’s general counsel said today.

Peter Levine, general counsel and chief adviser to committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan’s attacks on GSA IG Brian Miller raised flags with the committee.

“There may be a change in attitude at GSA, which would undermine progress that I think the agency has made over the last three or four years,” he said in a speech at the Coalition for Government Procurement conference.

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Flood floats telework to top priority at IRS

The more than 20 feet of water that flooded the basement of the Internal Revenue Service’s headquarters last year has helped float telecommuting to a top agency concern.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration wants the IRS’ chief human capital officer to build a business case to decide whether to expand telecommuting by giving more laptop computers to employees, according to a Feb. 7 report.

“Increasing the availability of laptop computers for telecommuting could further strengthen the IRS’ ability to continue working during emergencies,” the report states.

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Bush asks for 3 percent increase in IT spending

The Bush administration’s fiscal 2008 budget proposal asks for a 3 percent increase to $65.5 billion in information technology funding as departments set priorities and seek to offer better results from their services, according to the document released today.

The number of major IT investments has decreased 2 percent, from 857 in fiscal 2007 to 840 in fiscal 2008. In fiscal 2006, there were 1,084 major IT investments.

The budget chalks up the decrease to better capital planning and investments aligning with enterprise architectures.

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GSA sets conservative revenue increase for 2008

On the heels of a turbulent period for the agency, General Services Administration officials predict a conservative 4 percent increase in revenue, or $348 million, over fiscal 2007.

The Federal Acquisition Service forecasts stable revenues for fiscal 2007 and 2008. The budget justification “is based on a frank assessment of past business performance and realistic assumptions about the future,” according to a budget briefing document provided by GSA.

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Evans: IT budget numbers reflect priorities

The fiscal 2008 budget proposal increases total spending on information technology to $65.5 billion, or 2.6 percent over fiscal 2007’s $63.8 billion funding request, said Karen Evans, the Office of Management and Budget’s administrator for e-government and IT.

The budget proposal seeks an average overall IT funding increase for civilian agencies of 3 percent, according to budget documents from OMB. The administration has requested IT increases for slightly more than half of agencies.

Notably, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had a 45.5 percent increase, an increase of $43 million more than the fiscal 2007 request. All of the NRC’s 14 project business cases are on the Management Watch List for fiscal 2008, which OMB officials will supervise carefully, Evans said in a briefing with reporters.

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GSA, IG told to work together on contract oversight

The Bush administration’s fiscal 2008 budget tells Lurita Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration, and GSA Inspector General Brian Miller, to work together on reviewing contractors.

Calling the directive a "pilot effort," the budget document states that it will help determine the best combination of management practices for the IG and GSA's Federal Acquisition Service to use in ensuring agencies are getting good prices and the best value from contractors.

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2008 budget would boost IRS modernization by $85M

The Bush administration is seeking $282 million to modernize the Internal Revenue Service in his fiscal 2008 proposed budget, an $85 million increase over the fiscal 2007 request.

Modernization is one piece of a three-part strategy for closing the gap between taxes owed and taxes paid. Congressional leaders have discussed how to bring in the taxes owed. Through modernization, the Treasury Department intends to emphasize the other two parts: better taxpayer services and enforcement to eliminate the gap, according to the budget proposal, which was released today.

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OMB wants input from feds via Results.gov

The Office of Management and Budget intends to improve communications with federal employees by using a retooled President’s Management Agenda Web site, Results.gov.

As part of a relaunch announced Feb. 1, OMB is looking to the Web site as a way to exchange ideas with employees about good management practices, building on the management improvements achieved through PMA over the last five years.

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