Acquisition
VA halts reverse auctions, citing 'violations' of contract hierarchy
Order comes despite more than $7 million in savings.
Acquisition
What's the most valuable small-business category?
Survey charts various small-biz set-aside categories to find the most valuable.
Acquisition
Should contractors keep the right to respond to past-performance reviews?
Steve Kelman considers a proposal to disallow contractor responses to past-performance reviews.
Acquisition
IG: DOD errs in verifying small businesses' status
More than 30 contracts that should have gone to companies owned by service-disabled veterans might not have, IG finds.
Acquisition
Administration tunes up contracting rules
Rule revisions tackle small business, cost-reimbursement contracts, multiple-award contracts, and small companies owned by women.
Acquisition
Bill would stifle contractors' responses to past-performance reviews
Proposed legislation would forbid companies from challenging assessments or even correcting errors, critics say.
Acquisition
How OMB's guidance fails to prevent duplication at federal agencies
Efforts to prevent the proliferation of overlapping programs have fallen short.
Acquisition
GSA holds too much fee money, GAO says
GSA’s Schedules program averaged an excess of $62.2 million in revenue over program costs, before contributions to reserves, each fiscal year.
Acquisition
How to nip those protests in the bud
Better communication and transparency in the procurement process could head off a lot of protests.
Acquisition
Survey says, contracting officers bow to auditors
Contractors are frustrated by the unwillingness of contracting officers to assert their decision-making authority.
Acquisition
Renfro named director of GSA's GWACs
Renfro has a long history in federal procurement, making her a match for the open director position.
Acquisition
Bill could turn contractors into lobbyists
If the Senate's STOCK Act becomes law, the rules under which agencies talk to contractors could be in for some significant changes.
Acquisition
GSA to offer new way to buy complex services
The Integrations contract would address agencies' needs for professional services that span several types of areas that are often difficult to specify or quantify.
Acquisition
BusinessUSA.gov goes live
Small-business owners now have a website where they can find useful business-related information and resources.
Acquisition
DOD wants boost to acquisition workforce fund
Defense Department seeks funds to make its acquisition workforce bigger and smarter.
Acquisition
Budget bans disclosure of contractors' political contributions
The plan, aimed at preventing pay-to-play contracting, had drawn heavy opposition from Congress.
Acquisition
Agencies stuck with tab for federal contractor pensions, taxpayer group says
The Citizens Against Government Waste taxpayer group is investigating the extent to which federal agencies are on the hook for expensive contractor pension benefits.
Acquisition
OFPP and the dangers of politicizing procurement
Experts say the next OFPP administrator must not bring campaign rhetoric to the job.
Acquisition
Mixed metrics fog DOD's workforce fixes
DOD recorded information on insourcing and created its strategic workforce plans in different ways, hindering any real comparion.
Acquisition