Acquisition
Acquisition experts create new institute
The FAIR Institute intends to propose procurement proposals based on commercial and federal best practices.
Acquisition
McCaskill: IGs need greater authority
Inspectors general told a Senate panel that they must have more authority to access databases and investigate contractors.
Acquisition
Trends in DOD bid protests
The number of protests against Defense Department contract awards jumped in fiscal 2008 but has remained level relative to DOD’s spending increases in the past several years, according to a report release April 14.
Acquisition
Group: Keep the price reduction clause
GSA's price reduction clause should be kept because because it helped the government get a $128 million settlement, a government watchdog group urges.
Acquisition
Bid protests keep pace with DOD spending
The number of protests against the Defense Department's contract awards increase along with DOD's spending, GAO says.
Acquisition
Recommended reading: Cybersecurity outrage, BlackBerry tips and more
Here is a roundup of interesting articles from around the Web this week.
Acquisition
NetApp to pay $128M settlement
The company has agreed to pay the government $128 million to settle a dispute with the Justice Department and the General Services Administration.
Acquisition
Forest Service contracts for stimulus support
The Forest Service awarded a purchase agreement to Government Contract Solutions for support services related to the agency's stimulus spending and oversight.
Acquisition
SBA: Once a HUBZone, always a HUBZone
Regulators have proposed requiring HUBZone businesses to keep their status throughout the competition for a set-aside contract.
Acquisition
IG: GSA fixed STARS oversight
The General Services Administration's inspector general says the agency is keeping a closer watch on large task orders awarded under its set-aside contract for small IT companies.
Acquisition
IG: DOD, NIH need to clean up GWAC deals
Contracting officials waste money by awarding task orders without adequate competition, DOD auditors found.
Acquisition
GSA shifts its FAS leadership
The General Services Administration is rearranging key managers in its Federal Acquisition Service.
Acquisition
OMB: Cost-plus contracts increased, decreased
A new report says total dollars spent under cost-reimbursement contracts have gone up since 2000, but their share of overall spending fell.
Acquisition
Johnson to retire from GSA
The assistant commissioner for Integrated Technology Services at the Federal Acquisition Service will retire May 2.
Acquisition
Editor's desk
I suppose we should now add assisted acquisition services to Willie’s paradigm — in particular, those two centers in the federal government that offer a full line of contract management assistance to overworked and overextended procurement offices.
Acquisition
GAO: DOD knows little about its acquisition employees
Defense Department can't adequately assess what it has and needs without knowing more about its acquisition workforce, report says.
Acquisition
Stimulus funds bring acquisition showdown
Take a limited number of federal acquisition employees, add $787 billion in stimulus spending, then square the root with a requirement to spend the money as fast as you can. What have you got? Anyone familiar with the federal contracting process can tell you that's a no-brainer: It’s algebra for procurement meltdown.
Acquisition
GSA announces 59 Alliant contract winners
The General Services Administration more than doubles the number of winners compared to its initial attempt to get the contract off the ground.
Acquisition
GSA awards three BPAs to shore up support
The General Services Administration is preparing for much work from the $787 billion in stimulus spending by asking industry for backup.
Acquisition