People

House approves measure to block OPM furloughs

An appropriations bill passed in the House includes multiple provisions to prevent OPM and GSA from merging and blocks any reduction in force arising from a budget gap at the human resources agency.

People

Connolly amendment would block OPM layoffs

The chairman of the Government Operations subcommittee is looking to check an administration warning of layoffs at the Office of Personnel Management in the event that a merger with the General Services Administration can't move forward.

Acquisition

COMET hits the street

The General Services Administration issued its solicitation for the contract that will support Federal Acquisition Service IT.

Acquisition

Agencies ramp up use of challenge competitions

White House and General Services Administration are tracking crowdsourcing along with technology challenges as paths to innovation.

Acquisition

As GSA consolidates buying schedules, special item numbers are due for cuts

The General Services Administration's plan to unify procurement schedules includes a plan to rein in sprawl in special item numbers.

People

No merger, but a long to-do list for OPM from the House

House Appropriators want the Office of Personnel Management to improve on its core duties including retirement processing without support from a planned merger with the General Services Administration.

Acquisition

GSA pushes ahead with schedule consolidation

The General Services Administration wants to hear industry's ideas on how it should consolidate its buying schedules into a single format.

Acquisition

RPA, identity on tap for Centers of Excellence

The head of Technology Transformation Services wants the White House-backed Centers of Excellence program to accommodate emerging technology.

Digital Government

OPM-GSA merger scuttled in House approps bill

The Financial Services and General Government appropriation, which includes a pay raise for civilian feds, passed its subcommittee and will be voted on by the full committee.

Modernization

Procurement chiefs are watching the spread of RPA

RPA use across government "is exploding," a top procurement official said.

Modernization

Railroad agency inks EIS services order

An independent agency that oversees railroad workers' retirement benefits signed a long-term contract for IT and telecom services under EIS.

Digital Government

HUD seeks vendor to help set up central data office

The housing agency plans to work with the Centers of Excellence program at the General Services Administration to manage its troves of data.

Modernization

GSA sets cloud hub, plans major acquisition conference

A new centralized cloud resource is part of larger push by the agency to make finding services and supplies easier for federal customers.

Cybersecurity

OPM-GSA merger plan detailed in legislative proposal

The White House is proposing legislation for a dramatic overhaul of human resources inside government and wants $50 million to execute the plan.

Acquisition

GSA digs into details for planned e-commerce portal

GSA is ironing out the details for its online marketplace as it moves ahead with a draft solicitation.

People

OMB working on gov-wide cloud effort

An emphasis on category management includes plans to develop civilian agency version of the Pentagon's productivity and communications cloud contract.

Modernization

Smaller EIS vendors don't want to get lost in the shuffle

Non-incumbent carriers on GSA's new telecommunications contract hope federal agencies are looking to diversify their solicitations.

Acquisition

Procurement gurus mostly pleased with GSA's e-commerce plans

Industry analysts see some hurdles, but say GSA is improving over earlier iterations on a legislatively required plan to launch an e-commerce marketplace for federal procurement.

Cybersecurity

GSA cautions on telecom contract deadline

Agencies that miss the first Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions transition milestone this autumn will set off warning signals.

Modernization

GSA plans civilian DEOS counterpart

GSA is developing a cloud email and enterprise services contract inspired by the single-source vehicle the Department of Defense devised for back-office software.