Acquisition
Focus on error-prone contractors to find improper payments, HHS IG says
Medicare could do better at identifying improper payments by looking to providers who are most likely to make errors, according to the Health and Human Services inspector general.
Acquisition
New DOD contracting rules put small businesses in harm's way
A crackdown on DOD contracting could deal a blow to small businesses, and the potential impact goes far beyond the viability of a few organizations.
Acquisition
Small-biz contracting: The nightmares continue
Another case of alleged misdoings in small-business contracting could keep contracting officers awake at night.
Acquisition
SBA to launch small business program for women
SBA officials are setting up procedures to help woman-owned small businesses gain more access to the federal contracting marketplace.
Acquisition
Technical knowledge and government IT professionals: An oxymoron?
Do government IT pros have the expertise to know a good technical idea when the see it? And, even more importantly, can they distinguish between suggestions that are self-serving from those that are in an agency's interest?
Acquisition
More debate about pre-RFP talks between government, industry
Blogger Steve Kelman responds to comments he received on a recent blog post about the sensitive nature of government-industry communications.
Acquisition
More guidance coming on time-and-materials contracting
Contracting officers have been confused about how time-and-materials contracts work and how to justify them.
Acquisition
DOD dropped the ball on workforce reviews, GAO says
DOD officials might have lost an opportunity to build for the future, GAO officials wrote in a letter to congressional committees.
Acquisition
SSA's tracking of computer buys is a mess, IG says in report
It's not possible to know if the Social Security Administration overpaid or underpaid for some computers because the recordkeeping is so poor, according to a new report.
Acquisition
DOD aims for acquisition overhaul
Defense Secretary Robert Gates' plans call for increased vendor competition, better contracts and a reinforced acquisition workforce.
Acquisition
$1B in stimulus money at VA poorly tracked, IG says
The inspector general is taking the Veterans Health Administration to task for gaps in its oversight of contractors receiving economic stimulus law funding.
Acquisition
House passes bill to keep GSA skeds open to state, local agencies
The House backs programs that open schedules contracts to state and local governments in case of emergencies.
Acquisition
Army rebuilds acquisition workforce to meet Pentagon reforms
New tactics to save money demand better business arrangements and contracts, and a skilled workforce that can negotiate them, officials say.
Acquisition
Proposal writers should do the work too
Blogger Steve Kelman takes a dim view of the practice of having professional proposal writers who are not involved in carrying out the work they bid.
Acquisition
Agencies must toughen rules to protect sensitive information, GAO says
Federal officials need to address nondisclosure agreements and the process for notifying officials when information is improperly disclosed or misused.
Acquisition
Government receives a B in small-business contracting
The government awarded more money to small businesses in fiscal 2009 than the year before, with the help of Recovery Act money.
Acquisition
Despite more competition, single-bid contracts stay steady
Noncompetitive contracts declined from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2009, but contracts receiving only one bid remained steady, GAO says.
Acquisition
More are upbeat among the new generation of contracting professionals
Steve Kelman talks to a new crop of future contracting professionals.
Acquisition
Are you in OMB's high-risk project crosshairs?
When the White House released a list of 26 high-risk IT projects on Aug. 23, federal CIO Vivek Kundra said it wasn't a hit list. But now some of the biggest names in government are under the gun.
Acquisition
Education Department revamps obsolete acquisition regulations
Education Department officials are making the first large-scale revisions to their buying rules since President Ronald Reagan was in the White House.
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