Acquisition

DOD seeks clean acquisition data for better policy oversight

Shelby Oakley, the director for contracting and national security acquisition for the Government Accountability Office, said the ability to conduct data-driven oversight was the Pentagon's acquisition office's biggest challenge.

Acquisition

This year's Sammies includes a special COVID response category

Partnership for Public Service announced the 29 finalists for its annual Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals.

Acquisition

Biden orders $15 minimum wage for federal contractors

The new minimum wage is set to take effect in early 2022. Agencies will have to include the $15 wage floor in any new contract solicitations starting on January 30, 2022 and have this minimum wage in new contracts by March 30, 2022.

Acquisition

Consortium OTAs suffer from lack of guidance, data, IG finds

The Defense Department's internal watchdog found a lack of data on other transaction awards made through consortiums.

Acquisition

IVAS and the future of defense acquisition

The Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System has been in the works for years, but the potentially multibillion deal could mark a paradigm shift in how the Defense Department buys and leverages technology.

Acquisition

Could 2022 see the end of OCO?

As the Biden administration prepares to deliver its first budget, the question arises of whether there's enough political clout to end the controversial overseas contingency operations account.

Acquisition

Expected breach disclosure mandates will test government-industry cooperation

The White House and lawmakers are eyeing steps to make sure contractors have to alert the federal government to cybersecurity breaches on their systems, but expect companies to balk at rules that put them at risk for legal action or require the disclosure of trade secrets.

Acquisition

Will DOD keep collaborating after CVR?

Commercial Virtual Remote, spun up last year to support pandemic telework, goes away this summer. DISA is working to ensure the cloud collaboration continues.

Acquisition

New House task force focuses on supply chain vulnerabilities

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), co-chair of the Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force, said "sometimes the marketplace just doesn't get it right and we, without intending to, create real national security vulnerabilities for ourselves."

Acquisition

HASC chair flips spending debate to acquisition reform

House Armed Services Committee chair, Adam Smith's response to Republicans' call for at least a 3% topline defense budget increase is: "How you spend the money is what matters."

Acquisition

Senate votes to extend pandemic relief for contractors

A Senate amendment to the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act extends pandemic relief authorities to government contractors for paid leave through the end of the fiscal year.

Acquisition

House GOP urges increase in defense spending

House Republicans are urging the Biden administration to seek an increase in defense spending in the upcoming budget request to better compete with China and "fill ongoing readiness gaps."

Acquisition

Presidential Rank Awards are back

The Biden administration is bringing back the Presidential Rank Awards for 2021 after a one-year hiatus.

Acquisition

Lawmakers, contractors look to extend COVID aid to industry

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) are pushing for legislation to extend reimbursements for federal contractors unable to work due to COVID-19 through Sept. 30.

Acquisition

Announcing the 2021 Federal 100 Award winners

Meet the women and men being honored for their exceptional contributions to federal IT.

Acquisition

DOL looks to roll back Trump's exemption for religious orgs in contracting

The agency plans going to reverse the rule through notice and comment rulemaking, a process that could take months.

Acquisition

Supply chain hack took a thousand engineers to pull off, tech exec tells Congress

The scope and scale of the attack as described by Microsoft President Brad Smith is in keeping with the attribution being made by public sector and private sector officials that the hack was perpetrated by Russian-sponsored actors.

Acquisition

GAO: DOD has to get a handle on future services spending

As the Defense Department looks to buy more services, it's going to need to come up with action plans to better account for spending in future years, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.

Acquisition

GSA preps guidance for using CMMC in civilian contracts

The General Services Administration wants to get ahead on training and education materials contracting officers will need as Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements become standard.

Acquisition

New risks threaten defense industry's cybersecurity, report claims

Newly reported cybersecurity vulnerabilities inched past 17,000 in 2020, signaling worsening security in the defense industrial base, according to a National Defense Industry Association report.