SmallGovCon Week In Review: December 5-9, 2016

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I don’t know about your part of the country, but here in Lawrence, the temperatures have plunged and it has finally felt like winter for the first time.  When temps get cold, I prefer to stay inside with a hot beverage, but I have to hand it to all of the die hard Chiefs fans who scoffed at the single-digit temperatures and spent the evening watching their team defeat the Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium last night.

As we continue our wintry approach to the holidays, it’s been a big week in government contracting. Here on SmallGovCon, we’ve been focusing on the government contracting provisions of the 2017 NDAA, and this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review has an additional update on the bill’s progress.  But that’s not all: our weekly roundup of government contracting news also includes a change to the FAR to reflect SBA regulations regarding multiple-award contracts, previews of contracting under President-elect Trump, and much more.

  • The 2017 NDAA conference bill has been approved by House and Senate, and is now on President Obama’s desk.  Will he sign it? [ExecutiveGov]
  • Speaking of the 2017 NDAA, it includes provisions restoring the GAO’s ability to hear protests of civilian task and delivery orders in excess of $10 million. [FCW]
  • Two men who executed “the largest disadvantaged business enterprise fraud in the nation’s history” will not have their sentences adjusted after a court denied a request for leniency. [Central Penn Business Journal]
  • Washington Technology takes a look at the incoming Trump administration and what is next for contractors. [Washington Technology]
  • Federal contracts played a factor in United Technologies’ decision to keep a Carrier plant in Indianapolis open at the request of President-elect Trump. [The Washington Post]
  • A bill protecting whistleblowers who expose what they think is wrongdoing in government contracts has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and is expected to be signed by President Obama. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
  • What will be the new administration’s acquisition priorities? Speculation opaquely says increased outsourcing of government activity, but what does that mean? Federal Times tries to answer these and other questions. [Federal Times]
  • President-elect Trump has nominated Linda McMahon, of World Wrestling Entertainment fame, to head the SBA. [ExecutiveGov]
  • The FAR Council has proposed important changes to implement regulatory changes made by the SBA, which provide Government-wide policy for partial set-asides and reserves, and set-aside orders for small business concerns under multiple-award contracts. [Federal Register]
  • The GSA has inked a government-wide deal for Adobe’s “data-centric” security and electronic signature software which the GSA believes could save American taxpayers $350 million. [fedscoop]
  • A commentator opines that improving government contracting should begin with “dumping the DUNS.” [The Hill]