Just GSA

Rep. Graves introduces bills to boost small business contracting

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-small-business/post/rep-graves-to-introduce-bills-to-boost-small-business-contracting/2012/01/30/gIQAqjAidQ_blog.html

By J.D. Harrison

Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) on Tuesday introduced legislation that would give small firms a larger slice of the federal contracting pie and hold government officials accountable for delivering their fare share of business to the nation’s smallest employers.

The GET (Government Efficiency Through) Small Business Contracting Act would increase the small business contracting goal for government agencies from 23 percent to 25 percent for primary contracts, which, if met, would amount to roughly $11 billion in additional federal spending allocated to small businesses each year. The bill also lifts the minimum subcontracting goal from 35.9 percent to 40 percent for each agency.

“Small businesses have proven time and time again that they can perform a service or produce goods for the government cheaper and often quicker than their larger counterparts, however, various bureaucratic impediments remain for small contractors,” Graves, who chairs the House Small Business Committee, said in a statement. “Any avenue to save taxpayer dollars, increase competition and spark growth is the route we should be taking.”

In fiscal 2010, for which the most recent data is available, the federal government collectively missed the mark — albeit barely — by awarding 22.7 percent of contracts to small companies. Should the bill pass into law, that performance would in the future leave some government officials taking home smaller paychecks, as senior officials would no longer be allowed to collect bonuses following years in which their respective agencies fall short of their small business contracting goals.

Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.) two weeks ago introduced similar legislation that would penalize government departments that miss those contracting goals by cutting 10 percent of their overall budget the following year, suggesting that measures to increase accountability for meeting small business contracting standards have support on both sides of the aisle in the House.

Graves also introduced a bill Tuesday morning designed to give more sway to small business advocates embedded in each federal agency. Under the proposal, the director for the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization in each respective agency would be elevated to senior level status and prohibited from holding another position simultaneously.

The measure, according to a statement by the House Small Business Committee, is meant to ensure that the small business advocacy role is not merely shouldered ceremoniously along with many others by a top official but rather the lone responsibility of one empowered individual in each agency.

“Because the federal government spends half a trillion dollars on contracted goods and services, we owe it to the taxpayer to make sure their money is used wisely and efficiently,” Graves said.

2011 Washington Technology Top 100

http://washingtontechnology.com/TopLists/Top-100-Lists/2011.aspx

The Washington Technology 2011 Top 100 is based on an analysis of data from the Federal Procurement Data System–Next Generation. We analyzed the data according to a set of 702 product service codes that government agencies assign their expenditures of more than $3,000.

Our goal in picking those codes is to capture the range of technology work and mission expertise that contractors provide to the federal government. Many of the codes might not seem directly related to systems integration or IT, but IT is what gets the work done.

The data analyzed covers the 2010 government fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. We did not count obligations generated since that date.

As part of our analysis, we factor in mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, rolling that data up under the parent company.

As you look at the rankings, keep these factors in mind:

• The rankings reflect only prime contracts, so subcontracts are not included because data is not collected on subcontracts.
• Agencies report contract obligations that are worth more than $3,000 and are obligated to prime contractors. This represents spending on a contract during the time period analyzed, not the contract's life.
• General Services Administration schedule transactions of more than $3,000 are included, but some agencies are better at reporting their GSA spending than others. Companies should encourage contracting officers to make accurate and timely reports to FPDS-NG.
• Intelligence agencies, the U.S. Postal Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and congressional agencies are not required to report their spending to FPDS-NG.

GSA demands security plans from IT companies

More regulations, more oversight, more contractor compliance overhead - expect Refresh #30 soon

Source http://fcw.com/articles/2012/01/06/gsa-it-systems-access.aspx

General Services Administration officials have changed their acquisition regulation to strengthen security requirements for contracts through which they buy IT services and supplies and IT systems.

Under the new final rule http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-06/html/2011-33543.htm, companies have to submit to GSA an IT security plan so GSA can verify the company is keeping the agency’s data and systems from unauthorized use.

The rule sets a 30-day deadline for submitting the plans that describe how the company will properly secure information. It also requires contractors submit written proof of IT security authorization six months after award, and they have to verify that the IT security plan remains valid annually.

The requirements of the plan apply to all work performed under the contract, whether the prime contractor or subcontractor does the work.

GSA now also requires that contractors open their doors to give agency officials access to facilities, operations and databases, even employees, to check on what’s going on at the companies that are working so close to GSA’s sensitive IT data.

Officials want the authority to inspect and investigate a company. They may want to test the vulnerabilities of safeguards against threats and hazards to GSA’s data or the systems operated on its behalf. The access would help the agency to preserve evidence of computer crime, according to the notice.

The final rule amends the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation and takes effect Jan. 6. Officials issued an interim rule in June 2011.

GSA based the rule on a recommendation from the agency inspector general. The IG audited GSA’s information systems to verify that it was meeting Federal Information Security Management Act requirements. The IG recommended toughening the policies.

Officials say the rule may have a significant economic impact on small businesses that don’t know too much about the requirements. Where the information is not already available, those companies will need to familiarize themselves with the requirements and create the infrastructure to monitor and report compliance with the requirements.

RFQ for BPA's Laptops, Desktops, Notebooks, Netbooks, etc issued

Following the Industry Day in September, GSA's National Information Technology Commodity Program has issued an RFQ (4QBF47116809) for Blanket Purchase Agreements for Information Schedule products (Laptops, Desktops, Notebooks, Netbooks and Warranties) against Schedule 70, which are due December 21, 2011.

See https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=5dbd6fdcb8f3a9bc08bc7716a142f9f3&tab=documents&tabmode=list

The General Services Administration (GSA) National Information Technology Commodity Program (NITCP) intends to utilize innovative acquisition strategies in establishing several multiple award Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) for a variety of leading Information Technology (IT) products. NITCP considers the following IT products as areas to utilize innovative acquisition strategies: Laptops, Desktops, Notebooks, Servers, Video Teleconferencing and Monitors, to name a few. The NITCP has a goal to improve consistency of IT commodity offerings across the federal government. The NITCP's vision is to be viewed as the leading source and first choice for providing IT commodity end-to-end solutions for federal customers. The NITCP’s mission is to procure IT commodities and ancillary (integral and related) services for customers located nationwide using innovative solutions. In addition, the NITCP supports the Office of the Chief Information Officer’s 25 Point Federal IT Implementation Plan, specifically point #20 entitled, to work with Congress to consolidate commodity IT spending under Agency.

The Government estimates, but does not guarantee, that the volume of purchases through this agreement will be $275,855,000. This is not a ceiling amount and the accumulated value of delivery orders/call issued under this BPA may exceed this amount without modification to the BPA.

Senators question success of vet-owned business program

FCW, 11-8-11

As the Obama administration recently has emphasized the need to help America’s veterans find work, several senators are questioning whether Veterans Affairs Department officials are doing their part to make sure veterans are getting federal contracts.

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairwoman, Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) together sent a letter Nov. 3 to GAO Comptroller Gene Dodaro about the critical need to ensure the Veterans Affairs Department's Center for Veterans Enterprise works effectively and efficiently.

In 2006, Congress created the Veteran First contracting program to help small businesses that are owned by veterans and service-disabled veterans have preference over other types of companies. VA was charged with putting procedures in place to verify the ownership and status of the companies that wanted to participate in Veterans First. CVE began verification of companies in 2008.

However, there has been problems ever since, according to the senators.

“Since that time, CVE has struggled to implement an effective verification program,” the senators wrote.That has led to ineligible firms getting veterans' benefits. The VA inspector general found that up to 1,400 contracts went to companies that improperly claimed veteran-owned status in fiscal 2010.

The senators want GAO to help CVE to get the resources and necessary skills for an efective verification process. Overall, they have asked GAO to figure out if the systems work smoothly as applicants go through the evaluation process. Are the processes efficient? What metrics is CVE using in evaluating its processes? Are the processes effective in reviewing and verifying businesses? Has CVE improved its capacity to reduce manual data entry?

The senators also asked for GAO’s advice on specific steps to get CVE working better.

“These veteran-entrepreneurs continue to face red tape, delays and hurdles as they work to verify their businesses with CVE,” Murray said. “After sacrificing so much to serve their country, they should not have to face such challenges when they return home.”

Days before the veterans holiday, the Obama administration too issued proposals for putting veterans back to work with jobs banks, online resources for finding jobs, and a tax credit for companies that hire veterans.

New Authorization for American National Red Cross to Purchase via GSA Schedules

The IT Schedule 70 Center is excited to inform our industry partners of a new business opportunity. GSA Schedule contractors can now sell to the American National Red Cross through their Federal Supply Schedules contract. Section 2 of the Federal Supply Schedules Usage Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-263), provides that in furtherance of the purposes of the American National Red Cross as set forth in 36 U.S.C. & 300102, the Administrator of General Services Administration may provide for the use of the Federal Supply Schedules.

There is no modification required at this time to your Schedule contract in order to accept orders from the American National Red Cross. Acceptance of orders from the American National Red Cross is voluntary, and Schedule contractors may decline an order, for any reason, within a 5 day period after receipt of the order; however, credit card orders must be declined within 24 hours (GSAM 552.232.79).

Orders placed under this authority are subject to the Industrial Funding Fee and should be reported quarterly on your 72a Form under your Federal sales. GSA Order 4800.2G, Eligibility to Use GSA Sources of Supply, has been updated to reflect new eligible ordering activity.

For questions, please contact Tricia Scaglione via email patricia.scaglione@gsa.gov or Elaine Sauer via email susan.sauer@gsa.gov.

Expansion of GSA 1122 Program

The 1122 Program, which originally established the authority for states and units of local government to purchase law enforcement equipment in support of their counter-drug missions through federal procurement channels, was expanded to all states that choose to participate and have appointed and certified State Points of Contact (SPOCs). The expansion allows authorized states to purchase equipment in support of counter-drug missions as well as equipment for  homeland security and emergency response activities. The Schedule and Special Item Numbers are the same as previously approved under the 1122 Pilot Program.

 

The authority for the 1122 Program expansion, resides in Section 885 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 amended 10 U.S.C. 381. The Department of Defense (DOD), DLA, and the General Services  Administration (GSA) all provide equipment for purchase to the participating states under the program. Participation by each state is voluntary and determined by the Governor’s office.

 

For a list of approved SPOCs and a copy of the 1122 Program catalog, please visit; www.gsa.gov/1122program

GSA Awards BPA's under Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative for Print Management

Like the GSA Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI) Program Blanket Purchase Agreements awarded against Schedule 75 for Office Supplies http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/141857 in late 2010, GSA recently awarded BPA's against Schedule 36 (http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/112171).

While these initiatives anticipate huge federal spending savings, I fear a jolt to the compressed operating margins of GSA schedule holders.  Also, it's not clear of GSA's product/scope selection criteria, evaluation and selection of awarddes, even though awards have been made to a mix of social-economic business sizing. 

Today, GSA held a Industry & Customer Day in Arlington, Va to discuss their planned Information Technology Commodity BPA Program (Schedule 70)- details to follow.

SBA suspends 2 firms, alleging they served as fronts

I expected the suspension of EG Solutions (subsidiary of Eyak) and only wonder why it took so long.....

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The Small Business Administration has accused two small businesses of acting as front companies and funneling money onto a large-business subcontractor.

Source Link:  SBA Suspends 2 Firms

The accusations against EG Solutions and MultimaxArray FirstSource involve the Homeland Security Department’s FirstSource contract, which both companies hold as prime contractors. The same contract was involved in the SBA suspension of GTSI Corp.

EG Solutions was a joint venture of GTSI and Eyak Technologies but is now a subsidiary of Eyak, SBA said. GTSI’s suspension was lifted after its CEO agreed to resign and the company took other actions.

MultimaxArray is a joint venture formed by Multimax, later acquired by Harris Corp., and Array Information Technology. A spokeswoman for MultimaxArray FirstSource said the company was disappointed with SBA's decision and "believe[s] all our actions were appropriate." The company will "cooperate with SBA to address these important issues," she added.

According to SBA documents, EG Solutions and MultimaxArray had a subcontractor perform most, if not all, of the work under the contract. That kind of activity violates federal regulations governing small-business set-aside contracts.

MultimaxArray FirstSource also is accused of improperly representing itself as a small business.

Both companies have 30 days to respond to the suspensions.

ED Solutions did not return calls for comment.

2010 Washington Technology Top 100 Government Contractors Announced

Top contractors dominate the market with billions in government business

The Top 100 government contractors pulled in nearly $130 billion in prime contracts last year. We rank these companies based sales related to IT products and services, systems integration, telecommunications, professional services and engineering services.

Click on the link below:

2010 Washington Technology Top 100 Gov Contractors