Acquisition

Tracking the IT budget's upward curve

Apart from a couple of minor dips, the federal IT budget has been growing steadily for the past 25 years.

Acquisition

Contract audits may save millions for GSA, IG says

GSA's Inspector General has conducted pre-award audits on dozens of contracts and identified potential savings in the hundreds of millions.

Acquisition

VA failed to set aside work for vets, GAO finds

A bid protest charged that VA officials didn’t comply with the law and regulations when awarding an emergency notification services contract.

Acquisition

NIH picks 54 winners for major IT deal

The Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 3 contract will provide support for enterprise architectures across government.

Acquisition

Proposed small-biz contracting goals 'laudable but overly ambitious'

Congress aims for higher overall small-business contracting goals, even as administration officials consider them "unrealistic."

Acquisition

Government, industry see Networx spending differently, survey finds

The two sides have polar opposite views of Networx, and one side's hopes may be in vain.

Acquisition

House passes defense authorization bill

The bill still must get past Obama's veto pen.

Acquisition

Senators turn to GSA's regional offices for answers on spending abuses

After questioning headquarters officials in Washington, senators are taking their inquiries directly to the regions.

Acquisition

OFPP hopeful Jordan gets Senate committee nod

Despite some points of controversy, OFPP nominee has cleared a hurdle on the path to confirmation.

Acquisition

Obama could veto defense authorization

The National Defense Authorization Act contains a number of troubling provisions, including an increased top-line budget, constraints on defense strategies, and a limited ability to cut resources where officials see fit, according to the administration.

Acquisition

Is the government getting aggressive on vendor prices? (Round Two)

Steve Kelman renews his call for agencies to fight for good deals from vendors.

Acquisition

VA's Frye stirs debate with reverse auction explanation

The VA official who halted reverse auctions becomes the focal point of the debate.

Acquisition

Agencies could lose some suspension and debarment discretion

Defense bill would mandate action against contractors in some situations, rather than allowing agencies to decide case by case.

Acquisition

Small businesses face federal market storms

The federal budget crunch could crush small businesses without more agency support, warns columnist Jaime Gracia.

Acquisition

Collins presses OFPP nom on politics in contracting

Sen. Susan Collins is concerend about OFPP nominee's stance on a hypothetical order requiring companies to disclose political contributions in bids.

Acquisition

OFPP nominee reveals priorities

Joe Jordan, nominated to lead the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, could get Senate governmental affairs committee approval next week.

Acquisition

Defense bill would boost small business contracting goal

DOD lacks a culture geared toward fostering small business participation, lawmakers believe, but a new bill would attempt to change that.

Acquisition

Mythbusting: OFPP tackles industry's contracting misconceptions

Officials emphasized feedback early in the acquisition process and taking advantage of industry days as agencies maximize scarces resources.

Acquisition

IG highlights GSA's missing pieces in contract files

Audit finds GSA's assisted acquisition service center, FEDSIM, without complete files on high-risk contracts.

Acquisition

Senators to DOD: Use more of your own employees

Lawmakers urge DOD to avoid placing caps on department employees that contractors don't have to also abide by.