Acquisition

Obama wants small businesses paid in 15 days

The faster payments will give small businesses more confidence in cash flow, officials say.

Acquisition

Share-in-savings for energy-saving contracts -- how headquarters contracting shops can help

A specifc share-in-savings contract avoids termination liabilities.

Acquisition

Bill would set up library for contingency contracting

The measure would create an IG position with audit and oversight authorities and a "Center for Contingency Contracting."

People

Agencies don't account for all program costs, experts say

Auditors at GAO found that several agencies with interagency contracts and those that help with acquisitions don’t carefully account for all the costs of their programs.

Digital Government

Youel Page makes shift from Treasury to GSA

Long-time procurement official moves to the Integrated Technology Service at GSA.

Acquisition

Outsourcing: The 'critical function' controversy

The former deputy administrator of procurement policy office says the new term will swing open the gate for more insourcing in the federal government.

Modernization

4 steps to take before buying cloud services

When moving to the cloud, agencies need to know the right questions to ask their vendor, says CBP's Wolf Tombe.

People

OFPP keeps classic definition of fed-only work

OFPP keeps the inherently governmental function definition 'intimate,' but leaves much discretion about jobs closely associated.

Acquisition

Obama: Faster payments to small contractors

The president urged Congress to pass his debt reduction proposal.

Acquisition

Bill would void, stop contracts with U.S. enemies

Wartime Contracting Commission report considers problem of payoffs in enemy lands.

Acquisition

Buying commercial items is back -- or is it?

Some ideas for saving costs would be good ideas even when budgets aren't tight, writes Steve Kelman. Buying commercial items is one of them.

Acquisition

VA national contracting oversight system inadequate, IG says

The Veterans Affairs Department's inspector general recently audited national contracts and found problems.

Acquisition

Why is GAO's glass so often half empty?

GAO reports often take a pessimistic tone about what could be seen as good news. Steve Kelman wonders why.

Acquisition

DOD urged to speed up small-biz contracting

With just a few weeks left in fiscal 2011, Leon Panetta warned that DOD is falling short of its departmentwide small business contracting goal.

Acquisition

5 keys to improving federal procurement

Fixing the fundamentals is more important than introducing innovation, one reader argues.

Modernization

Kundra's 'IT cartel:' Fact or fiction?

Outgoing Federal CIO says a cartel of contractors holds back progress in federal IT. Is he right, or on shaky ground? Our readers speak up.

Modernization

DOD wants its contracting offices under one roof

Defense agencies have interpreted acquisition regulations with a lot of variation, a carryover from the days of when contracts were written primarily on paper.

Acquisition

DOD: Wartime contracting reforms underway

Defense officials say they have toughened prosecution of fraudulent contractors and boosted the department’s overall acquisition workforce, including contract managers.

Acquisition

Defense Department revisits its acquisition history

The department is seeking a fact-checker and editor to undertake major revisions of a book series titled "History of Acquisition in the Department of Defense."

Acquisition

Wartime contracting prone to waste, commission finds

Despite knowing it would need heavy contractor support for war operations, the military wasn't ready to manage the contract spending -- and still isn't.