Acquisition

GAO officials offer acquisition reform basics

The Government Accountability Office has some advice for federal agencies about selecting contract types to protect the government's interests.

Modernization

GAO raps FCC for communication breakdowns

The Federal Communications Commission needs to better manage the way it obtains policy input from the public and from its own staff experts, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Cybersecurity

DHS biosurveillance center not getting enough data, GAO says

The DHS National Biosurveillance Integration Center is relying on Internet data at the moment because it has not been able to establish partnerships with federal agencies to get federal data, the GAO said in a new report.

Cybersecurity

DHS lacks strategic plan for managing integration, GAO says

While the Homeland Security secretary talks about DHS unification, GAO finds gaps in plans to achieve departmental IT integration.

People

House panel told of abuses in VA set-aside program

Veterans Affairs Department officials failed to punish business owners who lied to them to get a contract set aside for service-disabled veterans.

Cybersecurity

TWIC card reader tests need best practices, GAO says

GAO gave TSA a mixed review in its latest evaluation of the transportation worker ID card program.

Cybersecurity

Delays beset DHS financial systems procurement

The Homeland Security Department's second attempt to integrate its financial systems is more than a year behind the original schedule, according to a new GAO report.

Acquisition

Agencies spending stimulus bucks through no-bid contracts, GAO finds

SBA, HUD and NASA awarded 35 percent or more of their stimulus law contracts noncompetitively, according to a new GAO report.

Acquisition

DOD to scrutinize contractors' support services

DOD will revise how its managers review contractors’ services that support work that is set aside for only government employees to perform.

People

GAO says it saved taxpayers $43B in fiscal 2009

The Government Accountability Office estimates that it has helped save taxpayers $43 billion in fiscal 2009 based on improvements that originated in its reports.

People

New rule targets award fees

A new rule could discourage contractors from competing for award-fee contracts by raising their level of risk, experts say.

Cybersecurity

FBI pushes back completion date for Sentinel file system

The FBI plans to complete the development of its new electronic case management system in September 2010, months later than previously planned, according to the Justice Department's inspector general.

People

Some IT projects may have $2 billion in overruns, GAO says

The GAO found $2 billion in cost overruns compared with original estimates for 16 major IT projects.

People

GSA starts training to end misuse of schedules contracts

Task orders have become the primary means that agencies use to buy things, but procurement officers don't always understand the regulations, officials say.

Acquisition

Federal cost-reimbursement contract overview is a mess, GAO says

It is hard to get a handle on federal cost-reimbursement contracts because of missing documentation and incomplete accounting, says a new GAO report

Cybersecurity

DHS' critical infrastructure plan not cyber-secure, GAO says

The Homeland Security Department should reassess its program for working with agencies and industry to secure critical infrastructure from cyber vulnerabilities, GAO says.

Digital Government

Flu pandemic could overwhelm Internet capacity, GAO warns

A severe flu outbreak could overwhelm the Internet as millions of workers telecommuted

Digital Government

Protests: Step by step

You've filed a protest. Now what?

Digital Government

IRS wins some, loses a few in fight against identity theft and data loss

The IRS recorded more than 51,000 cases of taxpayer identity theft in 2008 and paid out $15 million in fraudulent refunds, and a GAO report finds that internal information security weaknesses constitute some of the most significant challenges faced by the agency.

People

Many purchase agreements lack competition, GAO says

Agencies awarded 60 percent of 336 blanket purchase agreements to a single vendor, GAO says.