The Office of Management and Budget did not collect complete business case information before selecting its 24 e-government initiatives, a new report concludes.<br>
Four 8(a) small businesses will compete with each other under a $100 million Air Force Standard Systems Group contract to provide software development and other support services.<br>
GTSI Corp. won a five-year blanket purchase agreement to provide the State Department with hardware, software and support for its domestic and worldwide operations.<br>
<FONT SIZE=2>Ellen Minderman, a vice president of operations for FGM Inc., said the software and systems engineering firm would prefer to be the prime contractor on its government work. But she knows that FGM, with only 200 employees, is too small to be the prime on many jobs. And so the company spends considerable time trying to nail down subcontracting roles with the bigger government players.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Information technology industry executives are hopeful that the Bush administration's move to a new process for competing federal work will give them a better chance to win competitions with public-sector bidders.</FONT>
Technology projects to be completed at the Department of Homeland Security in the short term include a consolidation of watch lists and departmentwide e-mail and information portals.<br>
ManTech International Corp. is acquiring a Northern Virginia neighbor, CTX Corp., a provider of information technology and software strategies and solutions to the U.S. national intelligence community.<br>
The General Accounting Office is set to release a report on the cross-agency collaboration of the Bush administration's 24 e-government initiatives, according to speakers at an industry sponsored event Nov. 20.
The United States, United Kingdom and Canada have combined political leadership with communications infrastructures to create the best environments for e-commerce in the world, according to a new study from consultant firm Booz Allen Hamilton.<br>
The Bush administration's latest scorecards rating agency performance on five key management initiatives contain mixed results, with eight agencies improving in one or more initiatives, and two faltering in one initiative.<br> The quarterly scorecards measure the status and progress of 26 departments and agencies in achieving the president's goals in five areas:
The Senate passed e-government legislation by unanimous consent Nov. 15, following the House, which passed the legislation earlier in the day. The Electronic Government Act, H.R. 2458, originated in the House and was sponsored by Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas, and co-sponsored by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., ranking member and chairman, respectively, of the House Government Reform subcommittee on technology and procurement policy.
The House has unanimously passed e-government legislation that would set up a new Office of E-Government within OMB to improve coordination and deployment of information technology.<br>
<FONT SIZE=2>The Bush administration's new plan to help small businesses by unbundling large federal contracts is generating cautious optimism among small players, but it is uncertain how the proposal will affect large contractors.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE=2>Responding to complaints from small business executives, two federal agencies are working to close a loophole in the General Services Administration's multiple-award contracts, including GSA schedules, that has allowed some large contractors to win contracts set aside for small businesses. </FONT>
A draft of the Bush administration's revamped Circular A-76 shortens the time frame for public-private competitions and allows for consideration of factors other than lowest cost when making a contract award.<br>
