SmallGovCon Week In Review: July 10-14, 2017

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I’m back in the office after a great family beach vacation in Florida over the 4th of July. I have a confession to make: I didn’t read a single government contracts article during my trip. My beach reads consisted entirely of popular fiction with no redeeming social or educational value whatsoever.

But that was then, and this is now–I’m back, and so is the SmallGovCon Week In Review. This edition includes an update on the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, a DHS contract called out as the “textbook definition of waste,” a contractor accused of a $20 million bribery and bid-rigging scheme, and more.

  • The OMB and Commerce Department have issued guidance on the government’s policy to maximize the use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States in government procurement. [FEDweek]
  • A leading contractors group has welcomed a bipartisan House bill aimed at curbing agency use of lowest priced technically acceptable contracts. [Government Executive]
  • The Homeland Security Department did such a poor job of monitoring a contractor’s implementation of a new performance management software it was deemed a “textbook definition of ‘waste'” by GAO standards. [Government Executive]
  • The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act is out of committee, and will now proceed to the House floor. [Federal News Radio]
  • The GSA and the VA are making it even easier for VA acquisition professionals to access verified VA’s Vendor Information Pages after signing a memorandum of understanding this week. [GSA]
  • An Army colonel, his wife and a former defense contractor accused of bribery and bid-rigging in an alleged $20 million conspiracy at Fort Gordon have entered not guilty pleas in U.S. District Court. [The Augusta Chronicle]
  • Bloomberg Government analysed the OMB’s spending projections, and is predicting federal government contract obligations to increase by 1.4 percent, from $477 billion in fiscal 2016 to $484 billion, by the end of FY 2018. [Bloomberg Government]
  • Steve Kelman takes a look at ‘microconsulting’ and the potential for its disruption of government contracting. [FCW]
  • Will government transparency take a hit when Congress takes action on acquisition issues aimed at reducing regulations? [Federal News Radio]