<FONT SIZE=2>The U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington and the General Accounting Office are investigating whether large businesses are fraudulently pursuing -- and winning -- government contracts set aside for small businesses. </FONT>
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy is closing a loophole that lets agencies receive credit for awarding contracts to small businesses under governmentwide acquisition contracts without knowing if they truly are small. <br>
Soon, federal agency contracting officers will be able to call on the staff of the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service for help with contracting for professional services, GSA Administrator Stephen Perry said Wednesday.
The Transportation Security Administration is mismanaging its contracts and faces a $3 billion funding shortfall over the next two years, according the Department of Transportation's inspector general.
The General Accounting Office is questioning the reliability of the Federal Aviation Administration's life-cycle cost estimate for STARS, a system intended to replace outdated air traffic control equipment.
<FONT SIZE=2>When John Engler ended his run as Michigan governor last month, after 12 years in office, and began looking for a new job, he didn't want a cushy boardroom appointment or a figurehead executive post.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The White House is asking for significant funding increases in fiscal 2004 for Defense Department transformation efforts, such as satellite communications, space-based radar and cryptology, that are rich in information technology, a senior defense official said at a briefing last week. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The Office of Management and Budget is on a mission to search out and destroy duplicative spending on information technology products and services. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>In this era of best value and creative new approaches, who really bids in the traditional sense anymore? And who believes they can establish a long-term, win-win relationship by first clobbering their potential partner in a bitter round of litigation? </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The General Services Administration issued a proposed rule Jan. 23 that allows state and local governments to buy off the Federal Supply Service IT schedule. Congress extended the use of the IT schedule through the E-Government Act of 2002.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The civilian and defense Federal Acquisition Regulation councils published an interim rule in the Jan. 27 Federal Register that simplifies how agencies buy for defense or recovery from terrorist attacks.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Lawmakers are pushing appropriators to restore $40 million to the E-Government Fund, money the Senate axed from the omnibus fiscal 2003 appropriations bill.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The Transportation Security Administration's effort to put federal screeners at every U.S. airport exceeded its contract by nearly $600 million, according to a new report.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Further easing of competitive</FONT><FONT SIZE=2> procurement requirements were contained in the Homeland Security Act passed in November 2002. Those provisions were implemented by changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation issued as an immediately effective interim rule Jan. 27. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The Naval Supply Systems Command in Philadelphia needs a contractor to support the management information systems needed for requirements. The contractor will be responsible for performing expert-level research, evaluation, design, development, life-cycle maintenance, systems integration, tools evaluation, training, technical writing and desktop publishing services. The contract is for one year with four one-year options. Further details can be found under Solicitation No. N00140-03-R-0046 on FedBizOpps.gov. Responses are due by March 15. </FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>The surveillance and systems engineering department of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in Charleston, S.C., is seeking engineering and technical support services, including test and evaluation, systems engineering and integration, operational systems engineering support, systems acquisition support, logistics support, configuration management, research and development, and documentation. These services are for a wide range of tasks, program areas and systems in several different arenas. The solicitation will be available on the Spawar e-commerce Web site (https://<BR>
<FONT SIZE=2>The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, Ship Systems Engineering Station wants analytical, technical, logistical and program support services associated with research and development programs in auxiliary systems, propulsion systems, hull machinery, power and communication, to name a few. The contract will be for four months with options for another year. Work must be performed within 30 miles of the center's Philadelphia site. The full request for quotation can be found on FedBizOpps.gov, Solicitation No. N6554003Q0143. Responses are due by Feb. 19.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Government buyers and large federal contractors will look for small-business partners at events nationwide this year through a new Small Business Administration program, sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington and Hewlett-Packard Co. of Palo Alto, Calif.</FONT>
Deirdre Lee, director of defense procurement and acquisition policy, Wednesday put the department's contracting officers on notice that the General Accounting Office and Congress will be watching how they implement the requirements of Section 803 of the 2002 National Defense Authorization Act.
