Input: IT market is still growing but slowly

Federal spending on information technology will maintain its modest growth rate over the next two years, as the political climate keeps agencies wary of major new projects, according to a new market report.

IT spending will increase by 2.9 percent across the three branches of government, according to Input, a market research firm. President Bush's fiscal 2008 budget proposal increases total civilian agency IT spending to $65.5 billion, or 2.6 percent over fiscal 2007.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Input: IT market is still growing but slowly

Doan: Details of controversial lunch meeting unclear

The day the White House made a presentation listing 20 Democrats to target in 2008 at a brown-bag lunch at the General Services Administration was a busy one for GSA Administrator Lurita Doan, she said, explaining to a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee why she cannot recall the details of the meeting.

The Jan. 26 luncheon at which White House Deputy Director of Political Affairs Scott Jennings gave a PowerPoint presentation led to allegations that Doan and others violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits political activities using government equipment or on government time. The Office of Special Counsel is reviewing the issue.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said GSA’s top political appointees gathered at the meeting to find ways to help Republican candidates in next year’s election. And this was done in a federal building during working hours at taxpayers’ expense, he added.

“This appears to be a textbook example of what should never happen at a federal agency,” Waxman said. “You can’t engage in partisan political activity on government time.”

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Doan: Details of controversial lunch meeting unclear

Doan says money, proper oversight brought her to Capitol Hill

Lurita Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration, said in prepared testimony for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that her struggles with the agency's inspector general boils down to money and proper oversight, which are the two issues that brought her before the committee.

Doan said she has wrestled with GSA IG Brian Miller over making budget cuts and creating a hostile work environment.

She rejected many of the allegations against her. She denied calling Miller and his employees terrorists. She said she did not tell staff members to exclude Democrats from GSA events. And she said she made a mistake regarding the $20,000 contract to promote GSA's work with small and minority businesses, according to her testimony.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Doan says money, proper oversight brought her to Capitol Hill

Critics say contracting bill could do harm

More oversight will not correct the deep cause of the government’s contracting problems, which is a shortage of qualified federal contracting officials, some government and industry critics say.

Opponents of a contracting reform bill that the House passed March 15 urged lawmakers to pay more attention to the government’s understaffed contracting workforce. With the government struggling to retain acquisition employees and fill empty positions, the Democratic-sponsored Accountability in Contracting Act would add more restrictions that could hinder recruitment, said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s ranking member.

Committee Chairman Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) introduced the contracting legislation, which mainly targets no-bid contracts. “Members are starting to ask what went wrong and to insist on accountability,” he said.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Critics say contracting bill could do harm

Anonymous survey to help determine acquisition skills

Government contracting specialists will soon be able to anonymously check their skills on an online survey, according to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

OFPP, the Federal Acquisition Institute and the Office of Personnel Management want to know if the acquisition workforce is adequately trained. The survey will help them learn about specialists’ skills and determine gaps and needs. It will also aid in improving organizational and individual planning efforts, according to a March 7 OFPP memo.

The assessment is a component of a comprehensive initiative to study the acquisition workforce.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Anonymous survey to help determine acquisition skills

Senate committee takes a seat against partisanship

Only an Independent senator as chief could put Democrats and Republicans shoulder to shoulder.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) told panel members in a letter that they will no longer sit on opposite sides of the chamber. Instead, Republicans and Democrats will cozy up next to one another in a spirit of nonpartisanship.

“In the last election, the voters said they were sick of the partisanship that produces gridlock,” Lieberman and Ranking Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said in a joint statement March 9.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Senate committee takes a seat against partisanship

Doan urges balancing rules and results

Lawmakers have introduced several bills to curb contracting abuses, but the government’s top contracting official says the legislation requires careful consideration. “You can get so compliant that you have no accountability,” said Lurita Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration.

But Doan, whose own actions have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, said ignoring compliance with procurement rules in seeking the cheapest prices is equally wrongheaded. Good contracting strikes a balance between rules and results, she said.

Comparing the balancing act to a playground seesaw, she added, “ideally, this is a seesaw that doesn’t move.”

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Doan urges balancing rules and results

Councils propose ethics rule for contractors

Regulators looking to fill potholes in the Federal Acquisition Regulation have proposed a new ethics rule for government contractors. Although lawmakers have focused mainly on agencies’ procurement ethics, the Civilian Agency Acquisition and Defense Acquisition Regulations councils want to set ethics guidelines for companies working on federal contracts worth more than
$5 million.

The FAR tells agencies how to avoid improper business practices and personal conflicts of interest issues, but it is silent about how contractors should behave.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Councils propose ethics rule for contractors

Contracting associations object to new acquisition bill

Nearly a dozen government-contracting associations have objected to contracting oversight legislation that would require quarterly reports on contracting charges and restrictions on cost-reimbursement contracts. The organizations contend the bill puts all contractors in a bad light.

Moreover, the 11 associations forming the Acquisition Reform Working Group believe they had no chance to give input on the bill because it was introduced on a Tuesday and approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on a Thursday. The full House could vote on the measure next week, according to the Information Technology Association of America.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the committee’s chairman, introduced the Accountability in Contracting Act March 6.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Contracting associations object to new acquisition bill

Trust issues inhibit spectrum sharing, DISA official says

The stakes for radio frequency spectrum are high, and industry and government, particularly the Defense Department, don’t trust each other, a DOD official said today.

Speaking at the Wireless Technology and Security 2007 conference in Washington, D.C., Paige Atkins, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Defense Spectrum Organization, said the tensions between industry and DOD hinder them from working for the greater good of a well-organized and well-managed spectrum system.

Because spectrum is finite, someone has to give up space so another can gain it, Atkins said. “Somebody’s winning, somebody’s losing.”

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Trust issues inhibit spectrum sharing, DISA official says

Doan welcomes Waxman's call

Lurita Doan said she is delighted to have the chance to answer the personal attacks and “scurrilous” charges she has faced since she decided, as administrator of the General Services Administration, to drive the agency to fiscal recovery.

“Ever since I made the decision to restore fiscal discipline to all divisions within GSA, I have had to face a series of personal attacks and charges,” Doan wrote in an e-mail message late March 6. “I am eager to have the chance to show the progress we have made at GSA to eliminate wasteful spending and restore the agency to a sound financial footing.”

That afternoon, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called Doan to testify March 20 to answer allegations of wrongdoing and illegal contracting maneuvers.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Doan welcomes Waxman's call

Doan to testify before House oversight committee

Lurita Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration, has been called before a House committee to answer allegations of wrongdoing and misconduct.

Today Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called Doan to testify March 20 about her business relationship with long-time friend Edie Fraser, owner of the Public Affairs Group. Waxman also wants answers about allegations that Doan used GSA to benefit Republican candidates and about problems with a Sun Microsystems technology contract, according to Waxman’s letter to Doan.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Doan to testify before House oversight committee

Katrina subcontracting plans incomplete, GAO finds

Departments should keep better records of subcontracts going to small businesses during emergency situations, such as in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report. GAO also said inspectors general should review recordkeeping practices.

Required information on small business subcontracting is not consistently available in official procurement data systems of the Defense and Homeland Security departments, the General Services Administration, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, GAO found.

Specifically, the systems had no information on whether DHS or GSA required subcontracting plans for 70 percent or more of their contracting funds. But when agencies decided the plans were unnecessary, they often gave no explanation, GAO found.

Read rest of the story: FCW.com News - Katrina subcontracting plans incomplete, GAO finds