62 companies get spots on Alliant Small Business

The General Services Administration awarded places on its Alliant Small Business governmentwide acquisition contract to 62 small businesses today.

“It will provide small firms with terrific opportunities and help GSA’s client agencies hit their small-business target goals,” said GSA Administrator Lurita Doan during a press conference about the awards.

Alliant Small Business has an estimated value of $15 billion over 10 years. The contract offers management and technical support services. It lets agencies buy complex information technology products under a precompeted multiple-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract.

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House passes $516B omnibus spending bill

The House passed a $516 billion omnibus spending bill Dec. 17, days before a continuing resolution expires, but the legislation’s future is uncertain.

The Senate is closely divided on the fiscal 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act and will need to resolve senators’ differences before the bill is sent to the White House.

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Hot or not: Acquisition was a hot spot

Lawmakers and Bush administration officials spent more time on acquisition issues in 2007 than at any time in recent memory. With workforce certification, multiple-award contracts and greater contractor oversight in the limelight, the past 12 months offered agency officials plenty to think about.

Hot: Cooperative purchasing

Not hot: Schedule 70

Hot: Acquisition workforce

Not hot: Assisted acquisition services

Hot: Small-biz score cards

Not hot: Section 508 standards

Hot: Contractor oversight

Not hot: Competitive sourcing

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Bush signs continuing resolution

President Bush signed a continuing resolution today that Congress passed late Dec. 13. The resolution extends agencies funding until Dec. 21.

“I hope that Congress will use the additional time productively,” Bush said after a meeting with his Cabinet. He urged lawmakers to pass a clean spending package at his proposed spending levels. He has already issued veto threats on appropriations bills that are higher than his spending proposals. He also said the package should not include language that changes policies, and it should include funding for troops.

“It would be disappointing if members of Congress did not finish their work by the holidays,” Bush said. But if they can’t, he said they should pass a one-year continuing resolution and not carry 2007 business into 2008.

The Senate passed the resolution Dec. 13 by voice vote, and the House passed it 385 to 27. The amended resolution would have expired today.

With the amended resolution, government work will continue until Dec. 21 at fiscal 2007 spending levels.

This is the third continuing resolution already in 2008. Congress and the White House have pushed back and forth over spending bills. Congress has considered an omnibus appropriations bill, and President Bush has threatened to veto any such measure.

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OFPP: Half of contracts must be performance-based in '08

Officials expect agencies to make half their contracts performance-based acquisitions in fiscal 2008, an increase from the goal for 2007, according to a new memo.

Paul Denett, administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, raised the goal from 45 percent to 50 percent “to continue to motivate agencies to use the [acquisition] strategy,” the Dec. 5 memo states.

OFPP said it expects agencies to exceed 2007's 45 percent goal based on the data compiled in the Federal Procurement Data System.

Read the rest of the story: FCW.com News - OFPP: Half of contracts must be performance-based in '08

Sen. Byrd: 'It's time to govern, Mr. President.'

The White House should start working with Congress to pass a budget, a top Democratic senator said Dec. 10, after the Bush administration threatened last week to veto an omnibus spending bill that may come before Congress this week.

“The White House should cease its political posturing and work with the Congress to complete the appropriations process,” said Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a statement.

“It's time to govern, Mr. President,” he said.

Read the rest of the story: FCW.com News - Sen. Byrd: 'It's time to govern, Mr. President.'

OFPP: Half of contracts must be performance-based in '08

Officials expect agencies to make half their contracts performance-based acquisitions in fiscal 2008, an increase from the goal for 2007, according to a new memo.

Paul Denett, administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, raised the goal from 45 percent to 50 percent “to continue to motivate agencies to use the [acquisition] strategy,” the Dec. 5 memo states.

Read the rest of the story: FCW.com News - OFPP: Half of contracts must be performance-based in '08

Army: Bolstering acquisition workforce could take 10 years

Building up the Army’s acquisition workforce into an adequately staffed, experienced labor force will likely take as long as 10 years, a top Army officer told a Senate panel Dec. 6.

The Commission on Army Acquisition and Program Management in Expeditionary Operations stated in a report released Nov. 1 that the Army should add 1,400 employees to balance the dramatic increase in defense spending since the 2001 terrorist attacks against the 25 percent of the acquisition workforce cut in the 1990s.

Lt. Gen. Ross Thompson, military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said it would take about three years to fill 400 positions with military contracting officers and 1,000 jobs with civilian contracting officers.

But getting contracting officers training, certification and essential hands-on experience will require the most time, he told the Senate Armed Service Committee’s Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee.

Read the rest of the story: FCW.com News - Army: Bolstering acquisition workforce could take 10 years

GSA issues laptops to kick off teleworking plan

Telework opens a contentious issue about employees’ accessing official agency networks via their own computers, the General Services Administration’s chief information officer said today.

Casey Coleman said GSA is issuing employees government-owned laptop computers as an initial step in reaching Administrator Lurita Doan’s goal of having 50 percent of the agency’s employees teleworking by 2010.

“We have a lot of control over that environment,” Coleman said after a speech at a luncheon.

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2007 Rising Star: Mark Goodge

At 12, Mark Goodge was driving a three-wheeler through the countryside when he accidentally drove off a cliff. His arm was torn off, and he spent a week in the hospital while it was reattached.

The hospital staff showed amazing compassion, he said, and it changed his life. “I’ve always felt like paying somebody back,” he added.

Read the rest of the story: FCW.com News - 2007 Rising Star: Mark Goodge

OFPP: Better training gets results

Paul Denett, the Office of Management and Budget’s top procurement official, likes to get an audience’s attention by describing contracting officer’s technical representatives as “Mikeys,” inexperienced but energetic employees who are willing to take on the job, despite knowing little about what is expected.

However, in today’s marketplace, Mikeys don’t survive. As administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Denett said he wants to provide training for technical representatives as part of a broader effort to expand the skills of the federal acquisition workforce.

Read the rest of the story: FCW.com News - OFPP: Better training gets results

Agencies overlook disability rule

Agencies often forget about making information technology purchases that meet the needs of people with disabilities, as shown by the tiny number of solicitations that include references to accessibility standards.

Governmentwide, only 3 percent of solicitations for electronic and IT products properly include Section 508 accessibility standards, according to a recent General Services Administration assessment of solicitation notices on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site.

About 75 percent of IT solicitations failed to mention any of the standards that reduce barriers for disabled employees, said Terry Weaver, director of the Office of Technology Strategy’s Information Technology Accessibility and Workforce Division at GSA.

“I’d hoped for better,” she said.

Read the rest of the story: FCW.com News - Agencies overlook disability rule