Quick Hits

*** The Professional Services Council is backing a proposed rule change to limit the use of the lowest price technically acceptable criteria in defense contracting. In comments filed Feb. 1, the group's Executive Vice President and Counsel Alan Chvotkin wrote that LPTA "has a place in the acquisition toolbox," but it is not appropriate when applied to "complex professional or IT services where higher-level technical capabilities and innovation are often sought."

The proposed amendment to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement was called for in source selection provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act. The provisions specifically named IT, cybersecurity and other technically advanced services as not suitable for LPTA source selection.

*** Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) are teaming up on a bill designed to introduce new ethics requirements into the presidential transition process. The Transition Team Ethics Improvement Act updates existing law governing presidential transition teams, requiring them to develop and release ethics plans covering financial conflict-of-interest issues for the candidates themselves and transition team members. The ethics plans must include details on prohibitions of transition team members working on matters in which they have financial interests. The bill also requires transition team members to sign a code of conduct.

*** Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) called for a national cybersecurity strategy for 5G high-speed wireless networks at a Feb. 6 hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee. "In the push for 5G, we need to make sure we’re not blind to some of the very important policy issues," Cantwell said. "Put simply, 5G networks must be secure, and that starts with having a cybersecurity strategy that focuses on shoring up our defense against hackers and state-sponsored actors of cyberterrorism."

Cantwell, the ranking Democrat on the committee, called on the Trump administration to produce a threat assessment for 5G and provide assurances that the 5G supply chain is secure. In particular, Cantwell wants the U.S. to examine whether any "foreign bad actors" need to be banned from the 5G supply chain.