IT reform, DISA telecom and OASIS SB

Senate Appropriations package includes IT reform

The Senate Appropriations Committee on June 24 approved a $22.7 billion appropriations bill covering the Treasury and other financial services agencies, the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration, and other agencies -- and that also includes two IT reform provisions.

According to a summary of the legislation provided by the committee, one of the IT provisions would expand CIO authorities to include budget oversight. The other would establish a pilot program to bring new companies into federal contracting. Full details on the Senate bill are not yet public.

On the House side, appropriators passed a bill providing $9 million for IT oversight and reform, down from $20 million in President Barack Obama's budget request.

The administration's IT reform plans includes a new 25-person digital service team to work with agencies and with the GSA's 18F team on high-profile IT projects.

Lockheed Martin consolidates DISA telecom

Lockheed Martin is consolidating four operation centers of the Defense Information Systems Agency’s telecommunications network into two locations, the defense firm said June 24.

The Bethesda, Md.-based firm hopes the consolidation of the Defense Information Systems Network’s operation centers will “create standardized processes for the network help desk, call centers and network upgrades,” Lockheed said in a statement.

The convergence means that the service desk handling DISA users’ requests will no longer be compartmentalized, creating a one-stop shop for daily operations and incident response, the firm added.

Lockheed estimated the contract at $4.6 billion when announcing it in June 2012. It runs for three years and has options to extend to seven years.

GSA says OASIS SB is officially open

The General Services Administration announced that agencies can begin using the One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) Small Business contract to acquire professional services, now that protests have been dismissed by the Court of Federal Claims and the Government Accountability Office.

OASIS SB is a small-business set-aside contract vehicle that allows federal agencies to procure management consulting, logistics, engineering, scientific, financial, and program management services. Details on using the contract can be found at www.gsa.gov/oasis