Acquisition

Industry voices complaints over short response window for $60B VA recompete

Contractors had only four business days to weigh in on the draft solicitation for the next version of the Veterans Affairs Department's T4NG IT solutions vehicle.

Acquisition

R&D funding vehicle could supercharge small biz innovation programs

The General Services Administration's Office of Assisted Acquisition Service is working to bridge the gap between the research and commercialization phases of technology development, while bringing more governmentwide access to the new technologies.

Acquisition

NASA SEWP director echoes concerns over looming deadlines for software providers

Federal agencies have until September to collect self-attestation forms from software providers before deploying their products on government systems – and most people aren’t ready, according to a top acquisition official.

Acquisition

DOD instructs acquisition teams to prioritize small business engagement over best-in-class contracts

The Defense Department is instructing its components to support efforts to expand small business participation in the federal marketplace following the release of its “Small Business Strategy” earlier this month. 

Acquisition

Energy Dept. makes plans to take its HR system to the cloud

DOE says it is looking to become the first federal agency to launch a fully cloud-based human resources system, and possibly become a shared-services provider in the future.

Acquisition

GAO calls on Energy Department to bolster competition for management contracts

The congressional watchdog learned of industry worries about broadly scoped contracts that potentially shut out small- and medium-sized firms.

Acquisition

Lawmakers want GAO to assess risk of government contractors working for China

A bipartisan pair of lawmakers cited national security risks and warned of significant conflicts of interest over private firms working for both the U.S. and Chinese governments. 

Acquisition

GSA wants nominations for its new FedRAMP committee

The new Federal Security Cloud Advisory Committee, mandated by the FedRAMP authorization bill passed late last year, will offer recommendations on the cloud security assessment program.

Acquisition

NDAA’s cloud cyber-testing provision marks another hefty DOD compliance lift, analyst says 

Section 1553 of the fiscal 2023 defense authorization bill will require all DOD cloud contracts to include provisions that allow the department to access and test systems housing classified data.

Acquisition

FDA falls short on IT contract management, watchdog finds

An audit of the agency's IT contract spend found that FDA officials failed to file acquisition information such as contract performance evaluations and competition efforts.

Acquisition

Veterans Affairs unveils draft for $60B T4NG 2 vehicle

But time is short: comments regarding the VA's go-to technology contract are due Friday (Jan. 20).

Acquisition

5 states challenged the federal contractor wage increase and lost

But this may not be the end of the dispute, which stems from an April 2021 executive order.

Acquisition

Inflation costs present both barrier, opportunity for contractors in 2023

With a fiscal 2023 federal budget in-hand, contractors face both the prospect of a robust year and countervailing cost trends, Deltek says. 

Acquisition

Watchdog: Justice Dept. lags on implementing tech, supply chain recommendations

An inspector general's report issued Thursday noted that as of Nov. 30, the department has more than 700 recommendations that had not yet been fully implemented, some more than three years old.

Acquisition

CDC wants real-time data on COVID, flu vaccine effectiveness

The public health agency aims to increase its use of real-time data to track the effectiveness of respiratory vaccines and is looking for possible vendor solutions.

Acquisition

NASA is looking for a vehicle to help deorbit the space station

The space agency is seeking industry information on a potential vehicle that can autonomously guide the International Space Station's controlled reentry in the Earth's atmosphere in 2030.

Acquisition

Justice, DHS receive EIS transition extensions

There are risks associated with the extensions – including the question of whether vendors will be able to provide continued service to the agencies.

Acquisition

GSA's plan to scale up commercial platforms program hits the street

The program currently allows some 40,000 participants across 25 federal agencies to conduct small-scale acquisitions up to $10,000 on platforms like Amazon and Overstock.

Acquisition

VA cancels future deployments of new supply chain management system

The agency’s decision to transition away from using the Defense Department’s supply chain logistics solution comes after lawmakers and the VA’s Office of Inspector General questioned the system’s value.