I am back in Lawrence after a great Midwestern driving trip last week, where I spoke at two fantastic government contracting events.
Author Archives: Steven Koprince
SmallGovCon Week In Review: August 22-26, 2016
Greetings from Oklahoma, where I am wrapping up a busy week of travel that has included speaking engagements both at the Iowa Vendor Conference and The Indian Country Business Summit.
While I’ve been on the road, it has also been a noteworthy week in government contracting news. This week, SmallGovCon Week In Review takes a look at stories about the year end spending frenzy, the Freedom of Information Act may undergo major changes, DoD is barely exceeding 50% when it comes to meaningful competitions, and much more.
150 Protests And Counting: GAO Suspends “Frequent Protester”
Citing an abuse of the protest process, the GAO has suspended a company’s right to file bid protests for a period of one year.
The GAO’s unusual action was taken after the contractor in question filed 150 bid protests in the ongoing fiscal year alone, most of which have been dismissed for technical reasons. The GAO’s decision also cites “baseless accusations” made by the protester, including accusing GAO officials of being “white collar criminals” and asserting that “various federal officials have engaged in treason.”
SmallGovCon Week In Review: August 15-19, 2016
With the Olympics coming to a close this Sunday, we can look forward to getting back to our usual sleeping patterns without the lure of athletes seeking gold in Rio. So while preparations are ongoing for the closing ceremony and the eventual torch hand off to Tokyo, we continue to work to bring you the top government contracting news and notes for the week.
In this week’s SmallGovCon Week in Review, a businessman will serve prison time after stealing a veteran’s identity and using it to obtain SDVOSB contracts, the first protest of the Alliant 2 solicitation has been filed, faulty military helmets manufactured at a Texas prison under a government contract have been recalled, and much more.
GAO: Unequal Opportunity To Revise Pricing Was Improper
An agency acted improperly by inviting the ultimate contract awardee to revise its pricing, but not affording that same opportunity to a competitor–even though the awardee didn’t amend its pricing in response to the agency’s invitation.
According to a recent GAO bid protest decision, merely providing the awardee the opportunity to amend its pricing was erroneous, regardless of whether the awardee took advantage of that opportunity.
GSA CTA: Each Party Must Hold FSS Contract
Each party to a GSA Schedule Contractor Teaming Arrangement must hold the Federal Supply Schedule contract in question.
As demonstrated by a recent GAO bid protest decision, if one of the parties to the GSA CTA doesn’t hold the relevant FSS contract, the CTA may be found ineligible for award of an order under that contract.
SmallGovCon Week In Review: August 8-12, 2016
This week I had the pleasure of speaking at the 20th Annual Government Procurement Conference in Arlington, Texas. It was a great event and I was glad to see so many familiar faces. Next up, I’ll be in Des Moines on August 23rd for the Iowa Vendor Conference, where I’ll be joined by my friend Guy Timberlake for a great day of networking and information sessions.
But even as I log miles on the air and on the highways, there’s no mistaking the fact that we’re in the last days of the government fiscal year–and that means a busy week of government contracting news. This week, SmallGovCon Week In Review takes a look at stories involving an update to CAGE codes, some Milwaukee businesses under investigation for wrongly portraying themselves as veteran-owned and minority-owned, a lack of oversight allowed contractors to overbill a government customer, a look at the uptick in government spending as the fourth quarter winds down, and much more.