Officials are at odds over requiring some government contractors to release their executives’ salaries. The Homeland Security Department has increased the number of contracting officers since 2004, but officials are trying to decide the department's optimal staffing level.Two main parts of the Small Business Administration’s proposed rule on setting aside contracts for woman-owned small businesses could snuff out any hope for the program, said one lawmaker. Under the fiscal 2008 omnibus appropriations law, agencies now must get more detailed information on contractors’ health and retirement benefits when hosting public/private competitions for government work. The Forest Service did a poor job of competing government jobs between federal employees and the private sector and of reporting savings, according to a new report.
The Army Corps of Engineers expects to save $500 million over five years by consolidating information technology services, a strategy that enabled the corps to lower its fiscal 2009 IT budget request by $221 million compared with this year’s enacted funding. The Bush administration wants to stop Congress’ efforts to end public/private job competitions and it used the president’s fiscal 2009 budget request as its latest weapon.Officials don’t have any clear evidence of why government acquisition employees leave the contracting community or where they go afterward. However, they will seek that information. The best way to convince budget officers and project managers to support IPv6 is for advocates to paint a vision of the future, experts said today.President Bush wants agencies to buy products and services through a federal program designed to support people with disabilities, according to a memo released Feb. 11.Six senators have criticized a rule recently proposed by the Small Business Administration’s that would limit set-aside contracts for woman-owned small businesses to four industries. The Bush administration’s fiscal 2009 budget proposal asks Congress to increase spending on information technology security by $646.8 million over 2008 levels.As part of its fiscal 2009 budget request, the Bush administration has proposed a more consolidated approach for getting information to the public.
Sales on the General Services Administration’s largest schedule contract, Schedule 70, were looking flat before this year, and fiscal 2008 figures aren’t showing any bounce. Less than a day after Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) decided not to run for reelection in 2008, the longtime procurement and technology advocate already had his successor in mind. Many federal agencies have appointed transition managers to be advocates for IPv6. Transition managers are given the authority to implement an Office of Management and Budget policy that requires agencies to install IPv6 software on their networks by June 30. Those managers will be busy with many tasks between now and the deadline, but they say their toughest challenge will be getting the attention of senior executives.