DOD Needs To Improve Space Acquisition Employee Tracking, says GAO

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing; a feat accomplished through a massive federal government contract program. A half century later, the federal government continues to pour significant resources into space infrastructure, particularly through the Department of Defense.

A recent GAO report provided a glimpse into the size and composition of the Department of Defense space contracting workforce. While GAO notes more precise data is needed, it is clear that space acquisitions continue to be supported by a robust workforce.

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Runway Extension Act: Congress Strikes Back

A short time ago in a blog not too far away, we wrote about the newly passed Small Business Runway Extension Act.

Shortly after passage of the Runway Extension Act confusion struck the government contracting world when the SBA openly stated that it would not implement the Runway Extension Act. Recently, the House Committee on Small Business passed H.R. 2345, “Clarifying the Small Business Runway Extension Act” which, in no uncertain terms, tells SBA it has to implement the Runway Extension Act before the end of 2019.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review April 29, 2019-May 3, 2019

Hope everyone is ready for the weekend. Around here, we’ll be enjoying a break from the intense rain that’s been coming down in the Lawrence area over the past week. What better way to welcome the weekend than with a review of what’s been happening in the government contracting world?

In this week’s roundup, we take note of new DoD rules on performance based contract payments and fixed-price contracts, ramifications of changes in the security clearance process, changes in supply chain security programs, and more.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Landmark ASBCA Decision Means Government Can be Bound to Commercial Computer Software Licenses It Hasn’t Even Seen

The FAR generally favors the Government clients’ entitlement to data and software rights in federal procurements. This has commonly—and understandably—led to disgruntled contractors who didn’t realize what they were truly giving up when they opted to use their own software in performance of contracts without including regulation-compliant markings and protections.

But recently—thanks to a first-of-its-kind decision by the ASBCA—it seems the tide may have turned in favor of protecting these contractor-inventors from the standard Government windfall in its data rights acquisitions.  Let’s take a closer look.

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SmallGovCon Week In Review April 22 – April 26, 2019

Happy Friday, everyone! I’m back in the office after presenting at a HUBZone workshop sponsored by the Oklahoma Bid Assistance Network (Oklahoma’s PTAC). It was a great day, discussing HUBZone eligibility, compliance, and updates. For great events in your area, be sure to connect with your local PTAC!

Before we all head out for the weekend, let’s review the week in government contracting. In this edition of the Week In Review, we’ll look at efforts to speed up small business payments, the role of automation in government contracting, and more contractors behaving badly . . . .

Have a great weekend!

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