GSA to give notice to companies facing debarment

The GSA proposed a rule to notify contractors that are being considered for suspension or debarment from federal contracting before such action is taken.

Doing business with: Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate

Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate<br>935 Pennsylvania Ave. NW<br>Washington, DC 20528<br>(202) 323-3205<br><a href= "http://www.nipc.gov">www.nipc.gov</a>

Procurement councils set rules for buying services

Policy clarifies the responsibilities of the ordering agency and the contracting agency.

Four companies are first to get Safety Act protection

Four companies received limited legal liability protection from the Homeland Security Department today for an anti-terrorism product or service.

Task force: procurement rules impede responder funds

Task force makes recommendations to improve the flow of funding to first responders.

Infotech and the Law: Public rules are good for private companies

In the regulatory fallout from Enron, WorldCom and other business scandals, owners and officers of privately held IT companies may find reason to be thankful they missed the booming initial public offering market.

Buy Lines: Professional exchange program helps govt. and industry

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, has introduced the Acquisition System Improvement Act, H.R. 4228, which would create an Acquisition Professional Exchange Program for the federal government and industry, among other things.

Satellite firms think long term

The Defense Department, which relies heavily on commercial satellite services to carry communications around the world, is drafting a plan to change the way it buys satellite services.

GAO: Patch management needs help

The government should consider providing centralized patch management services to help agencies protect their IT systems, according to a new General Accounting Office report.

GSA proposes buying services rule

&#009;The General Services Administration will publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking before year's end to get input on how to address the buying of services in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, according to David Drabkin, GSA's deputy associate administrator for acquisition policy. The rules in the FAR govern how federal agencies buy goods and services.

DHS consolidates screening

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge recently approved the creation of an office within the agency to coordinate all screening efforts, said Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for Border and Transportation Security at the Homeland Security Department.

DHS advances HR, finance systems

The Homeland Security Department is moving forward on major contracts to build a human resources system and a financial management system for the agency.

Better post-earthquake info sought

The Interior Department's U.S. Geological Survey is seeking a vendor to participate in the design, implementation, maintenance and operation of several systems for its Advanced National Seismic System, which oversees the creation and operation of rapid post-earthquake information and response tools.

Corps wants better planning

The Army Corps of Engineers in Baltimore needs architect-engineer services for two master planning contracts for Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. The contracts may be used by other government agencies within the Installation Management Agency's northeast region.

NATO needs consulting services

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry is looking for a contractor to provide software engineering consulting support and ongoing development for NATO's interoperability portal called NATO C3, for the international organization's Consultation, Command and Control Agency.

Titan shareholders OK takeover

Titan Corp.'s shareholders this month overwhelmingly approved a $2.2 billion takeover bid by Lockheed Martin Corp., but some analysts said Lockheed Martin might lower its offering price a second time to complete the deal.

Out-of-scope contracts run out of time

Federal agencies may soon get new restrictions on how they buy products and services as part of a crackdown against out-of-scope contracting.

Numerous Iraq task orders fall outside the scope of their contracts

Numerous orders for Iraqi reconstruction tasks fall outside the scope of the contracts under which the task orders were awarded.

Putnam, Davis introduce Clinger-Cohen amendments

Reps. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) and Tom Davis (R-Va.) today added proposed language to four sections of the 1996 Clinger-Cohen Act.

Senate passes provision for employees' A-76 protest rights

The Senate last night moved closer to giving federal employees the right to protest public-private competitions to the General Accounting Office.