SmallGovCon Week In Review: January 9-13, 2017

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There is a lot of excitement brewing here in our neck of the woods. We are cautiously awaiting a potential ice storm that is expected to hit town today and roll through the weekend, our Kansas Jayhawks are in action against Oklahoma State on Saturday and a win will likely seal them as the new number 1 seed in the polls and of course the Kansas City Chiefs have their AFC divisional round game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. I’m no fan of cold weather, so I’ll be watching the Jayhawks from Allen Fieldhouse and the Chiefs-Steelers game from the comfort of my living room.

While we await “icemaggedon” here in Kansas, it’s time for the SmallGovCon Week In Review. This week’s government contracting news includes three updates to the FAR affecting, a new survey shows that small businesses are spending more time and money trying to win contracts, a federal court rules that a large prime’s subcontracting plan was exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, and more.

  • According to an annual survey, small businesses upped their efforts to bid on federal contracts, reporting a 72 percent increase in time and money devoted to winning a share of the government’s procurement budget. [Government Executive]
  • The GSA is issuing a final rule amending the GSAR to clarify that the ordering-agency task and delivery order Ombudsman has jurisdiction and responsibility to review and resolve fair opportunity complaints on tasks and delivery orders placed against GSA multiple-award contracts. [Federal Register]
  • The DoD won an appeals court decision that denied a demand from a small business advocacy group that they be required to disclose its subcontracting plan submitted under a long-standing Pentagon program. [Government Executive]
  • Proposed revisions of the National Industrial Security Program would add provisions incorporating executive branch insider threat policy and minimum standards as well as make other administrative changes to be consistent with recent revisions to the NISPOM and with updated regulatory language and style. [Federal Register]
  • The FAR Council has issued a final rule to implement regulatory clarifications made by the Small Business Administration regarding the 8(a) Program–including by adding the longstanding “once 8(a), always 8(a)” policy to the FAR. [Federal Register]
  • Federal agencies exceeded $144 billion in improper payments in Fiscal Year 2016, according to the GAO. [Federal News Radio]