Lawmakers are moving to streamline the approval process for federal IT grants to allow states more flexibility to spend money on IT infrastructure that would support programs across multiple agencies.
The House Appropriations Committee approved July 9 legislation barring U.S. companies that re-incorporate offshore from being awarded federal contracts. The measure passed 41-17, with several Republicans joining 29 Democrats on the committee to vote in favor of the language, which was incorporated into an appropriations measure for the Treasury Department and other federal agencies.
Federal lawmakers are moving to streamline the approval process for grants to allow states more flexibility to spend money on information technology infrastructure that supports programs across multiple agencies. The July 9 hearing uncovered some glaring problems with the federal IT grants process that must be addressed, said Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on technology and procurement policy.
Two White House working groups are slated to make recommendations this fall for helping small businesses compete more effectively for federal contracts. Angela Styles, administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget, said the two interagency working groups are expected to offer recommendations this fall for making the procurement process more open to small businesses.
Veridian Corp. won a contract for scientific, technical, administrative, research, development, test and evaluation services, or STARS, from the Naval Air Systems Command.
The Army's job has evolved considerably over its 227 years, changing as the nation's needs and defenses change. The Army defends the nation and supports U.S. foreign policy through its role in missions throughout the world, most notably now Operation Enduring Freedom, the war against terrorism. It also answers to the country's domestic needs, taking roles in disaster relief, anti-terrorism and drug interdiction, among others.
The legislation creates an Office of Electronic Government in the Office of Management and Budget and establish a four-year, $345 million e-government fund.
Two White House working groups are slated to make recommendations this fall for helping small businesses compete more effectively for federal contracts. Among their tasks, the interagency groups will try to identify large, governmentwide contracts that can be "unbundled" or divided into smaller contracts that small businesses would have a better chance of winning, according to administration officials.
The House Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 4546, contains a provision for the creation of a technology transfer center that would pass military technology on to emergency first responders. The House passed the bill in May with a 359-58 vote. First responders include fire and rescue personnel. The technologies could include global positioning system transponders and sensors to monitor heart rates and bodily systems.
A surprising number of recent acquisitions involving government contractors have included earnout provisions. These are not for the faint of heart. In fact, some well-known companies and private equity firms view earnouts as the devil incarnate and will not use them.
Information technology industry executives are watching closely the process of creating a federal Department of Homeland Security, but say they're not actively trying to influence how the department is created or what government entities are included in it.
The Bureau of the Public Debt is seeking information about commercial enterprise customer relationship management software to establish a process by which contacts, accounts and sales opportunities of Treasury securities can be managed.
Lockheed Martin Corp. said it has been selected to provide up to 12 Air Force bases with technical services and data storage solutions to support the Air Force Materiel Command.
