With tax day looming (the IRS, in its infinite generosity, has granted taxpayers a reprieve until Monday), accountants and bookkeepers everywhere are preparing for a break.  But in the world of federal government contracting, there is never a pause.  And that’s why it’s time for our weekly look at government contracting news and notes.

In this week’s edition of SmallGovCon Week In Review we bring you two articles on just how much time is being saved with FASt Lane, a look into category management and if small contractors are being squeezed out, a closer examination of the shrinking 8(a) population and much more.

• The time it takes to get a company onto the General Services Administration’s Schedule 70 has decreased dramatically by using the new fast track process. [FCW]
• On April 6, GSA’s FASt Lane process was unveiled and has proven to reduce the processing time from an average of 110 days to 29 days. [FCW]
• Is category management excluding small federal contractors with the bundling of too many goods? [Public Spend Forum]
• The Department of Defense is trying to make clearer the worth of delivering a capability above “technically acceptable” or the minimum requirement when awarding contracts. [Federal News Radio]
• Oral arguments in a case involving the question of whether a claim submitted to the government for payment is actionably “false or fraudulent” under the so-called “implied certification” theory of falsity will be heard by the Supreme Court next week. [SCOTUS blog]
• Set-Aside Alert takes a look at the shrinking participation numbers of the 8(a) Program. [Set-Aside Alert]
• A new DoD initiative recognizes that awarding contracts on a lowest-cost, technically-acceptable basis may cost more in the long run. [Federal News Radio]