Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has announced proposed changes in committee chairmanships and memberships for the 109th Congress. The changes will be voted on by the Republican conference after the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Before signing to use the General Services Administration's procurement services, agencies will need to answer a simple question: Why can't this buy be performance-based?
In November, Congress finished two tasks many thought it wouldn't: work on all appropriations bills, thus avoiding a long-term continuing resolution, and the confirmation of David Savafian as the new administrator for Federal Procurement Policy. Both are welcome turns of events.
	If agencies under the Commerce, Justice and State appropriations bill do not, by mid-to-late January, offer all eligible workers the opportunity to telecommute, they will lose $5 million under a provision passed as part of the fiscal 2005 Omnibus spending bill.
	Robert Dix, staff director for the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, will leave Capitol Hill for a job in the private sector after Jan. 1, said David Marin, press secretary for the Government Reform Committee.
Roughly 30 agencies are working on 45 programs that may use share-in-savings contracts, but the former head of federal procurement is trying to put the brakes on the use of the buying method.
For the past 10 years, the Federal Acquisition Regulation has required formal evaluations of contractor performance, which have become an inherent part of source selection decisions.
	The U.S. Trade and Development Agency seeks proposals for technical assistance on a security project at the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, which is planning to expand its container-handling capacity.
	The Veterans Affairs Department wants dietetic management software for office and administrative nutrition functions for fully integrated health care systems at eight medical centers. The selected vendor must buy and install the software as well as provide training and maintenance support.
	The Air Force Air Warfare Battlelab is looking for commercial or government technologies for digital video recording systems to record and play back the displayed images crew members see when flying combat aircraft. The systems will be used on MC-130E, MC-130H and MC-130P aircraft and should provide subsequent playback of recordings on a desktop monitor. Up to four displays will be recorded, including a combination of mapping radar, terrain-following radar, and forward-looking radar displays.
For Ray Oleson, chairman and chief executive of SI International Inc., the company's stellar financial performance blended with other major achievements to create "the perfect storm" that has boosted the company's stock 70 percent since mid-August.
Rep. Tom Davis (R- Va.) has two suggestions for garnering greater participation from industry and government agencies in the Federal Supply Service's Networx telecommunications program.
Robert Dix, staff director for the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, will leave Capital Hill after Jan. 1.
The Government Accountability Office will investigate irregularities in the 2004 general election, including an examination of the security and accuracy of electronic voting machines.
The addition of a wide range of technologies and services to the General Services Administration's next-generation telecommunications contract has boosted the potential value of the vehicle to $20 billion.
Newcomers to the public sector inevitably ask: "What should my company do to be successful?" I usually respond by asking where the company has had success in the private sector. That's because government policy favors "commercial" products and services over those that are unique to the government.
