Two hearings on the acquisition process held during the third week of July told two different stories. Through them the troubling dichotomy of the debate over federal acquisition was eminently clear.
Congress appears poised to revisit the question of whether the government has adequate standards to ensure it only does business with responsible parties.
Last month, the Small Business Administration released its anxiously anticipated rule on the recertification of small-business size status. On balance, SBA got it partly right.
Based on interviews with more than three dozen agency contracting officials, congressional staff and other professionals, the Professional Services Council's third biannual federal procurement policy survey offers a window into a community in the cross hairs. It portrays a workforce that lacks sufficient resources, training and support.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez is right in wanting agencies to get credit for small-business awards when it is due. Mistakes in the system should be corrected. But it seems clear that her lists of contracts are far from accurate.
Without the protection of the Safety Act, few vendors would be able ? or willing ? to enter the anti-terror technology services and products market so fraught with risk and uncertainty.
The Acquisition Advisory Panel, which Congress created to assess the government's procurement and management of services, will issue its final report in a matter of weeks. Hard at work for 18 months, the panel has heard from more than 100 witnesses and held numerous public meetings.
Bent on meeting deadlines to pass critical authorization and appropriations legislation, Congress has let several troubling provisions slip into some bills.
No one questions the value of earned value management as a project management tool for estimating how a project is faring on budget and schedule. But new mandates take EVM application to new levels, and raise questions about the mandates and the general direction of government procurement.
The sudden decision by the Defense Security Service to halt processing of new and periodic renewals of security clearances for contractor employees further exacerbated an already troubled process.
Predictably, the debacle over the Dubai ports deal is having some disquieting ripple effects. Proponents and detractors went nose to nose around the role that was ? or should have been ? played by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States or other government reviews, and now we're seeing the fallout from the conflict.
I wrote in this column recently of the concerns that many in the private sector have about proposals being considered by the congressionally mandated Acquisition Advisory Panel. Industry has made its concerns clear and has engaged in a robust, open dialogue with the panel about them.
Ever hear the nautical adage, "Red sky by morning, sailor take warning?" By that measure, it is morning in the procurement arena, and the red sky is deepening. It could portend a series of challenges to the procurement progress that's been made over the last decade.
I can't remember a time when government procurement leaders have been as silent as they are today. It's not that there isn't a lot worth talking about. So why the silence?
