Acquisition
Army plans review of what and how it buys
Army officials have tasked an independent panel with an in-depth review of how it buys goods and services and who makes the purchases.
Acquisition
Governmentwide contracting: In praise of duplication and overlap
Blogger Steve Kelman writes that the problem of having different prices for the same item across various contracts is better than having just one bad price everywhere.
Acquisition
Total number of interagency/enterprisewide contracts is anyone's guess
Federal agencies spend about $60 billion a year on interagency and enterprisewide contracts, but there is limited evidence that they are being effectively used and managed, according to the Government Accountability Office.
People
Meet OMB's new point person on the acquisition workforce
Joanie Newhart, a veteran in the government procurement arena, will lead the Office of Management and Budget’s efforts on building up the acquisition workforce.
Acquisition
Senate votes to expand access Federal Supply Schedules
The Senate has passed the Federal Supply Schedules Usage Act, which would make permanent programs that allow states and local governments buy goods and services from the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedules program’s contracts.
People
Acquisition 2.0: GSA uncovers the pitfalls and promise of crowdsourcing
Acquisition officials at the General Services Administration have found that it’s not just ethics officers who have concerns about taking the government/industry dialogue onto the Web.
People
Legislation would freeze agencies' hiring
As the Obama administration seeks to boost the federal workforce to balance the number of its employees with those in the private-sector, a group of House Republicans has proposed freezing agencies' ability to hire.
Acquisition
Closer management can rein in agency contractor ranks, OFPP chief says
Agencies can balance their relationships with contractors with additional resources going to management, according to Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Daniel Gordon.
Digital Government
Networx gets nasty on Capitol Hill
What are members of Congress threatening to do to agencies that fail to meet the Networx deadlines?
People
Senate aims to tighten reins on government IT spending
The Information Technology Investment Oversight Enhancement and Waste Prevention Act would create more scrutiny of IT projects during the planning and implementation phases.
Digital Government
DOD sets rule for overriding arbitration ban
DOD issues interim rule so it can override the ban on employee arbitration agreements in cases of national security.
Digital Government
Government urged to stop meddling in hiring practices
An industry group and others are complaining about a proposal to make contractors use employees from incumbent contractors who lose.
People
Knowledge management's generation gap
Reaction to a recent blog post by Steve Kelman highlighted one of the barriers to knowledge management: animosity between those who know and those who need to know.
Acquisition
Another suggestion for better contracts
Good ideas for improving government contracting need effective oversight to succeed, writes Richard D. Lieberman.
Acquisition
Boosting the role of the CAO
The chief acquisition offier's role is a strategic function and not secondary to the roles of his or her C-level counterparts, writes Ron Falcone.
Acquisition
Simplifying contract terms for commercial items means walking a fine line
Contract language that is intended to simplify business for contractors requires careful analysis, writes Joseph Petrillo, a lawyer at Washington law firm Petrillo and Powell.
Acquisition
Army applies boot camp approach to acquisition workforce
The program aims to train new contracting professionals to take on work with minimal oversight, writes Harry Hallock, executive director of the Army’s TACOM Contracting Center in Warren, Mich.
People
Want program staff more involved in contracting? Make their jobs more interesting
Blogger Steve Kelman proposes a way to strengthen the role of the contracting officer's technical representative in the procurement process.
People
House to consider bill to put stimulus money details online
The House may consider a bill to require agencies to post more details about stimulus law money.
Cybersecurity
IG says Coast Guard needs better acquisition reform oversight
The Coast Guard may be overstating its progress on its acquisition reform effort because it does not have an effective method to evaluate milestones, a new report says.
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