Trump’s take on obscure law leaves contractors baffled
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act goes back decades. It prohibits U.S. companies from bribing officials of other countries for contracts. Even if corruption is the norm in that…
Federal contractor watchdog office seeks to ‘deter DEI’ at firms working with agencies
The new head of the Labor Department’s federal contractor watchdog office says the agency is taking steps to deter diversity, equity and inclusion policies at companies doing business…
DoD shepherds CMMC through Trump deregulatory initiative
The Defense Department is still working to finalize the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) acquisition rule and clear a deregulatory push by the Trump administration. DoD released the…
Two new AI tools help illuminate GSA’s future state
The General Services Administration is leaning into artificial intelligence with a goal of easing the burden on its workforce and making data more accessible. One of the tools,…
Contractors face new setback in getting paid for their work
Among the latest White House executive orders, one is holding up payments to contractors. EO 14-222 tells agencies to build tracking systems. It requires written justifications for each…
What NOT to Say to an Employee Expressing Feelings of Burnout
Rather than defensively comparing the burned-out employee’s workload to that of others in the department, managers should be trained to ask questions to look for potential solutions. The…
Draft EO would make GSA the center of most common buys
The White House wants to bring centralized procurement back to the government, returning agencies to the pre-acquisition reform days of the 1990s for most common services and products….
GSA says agencies froze 200,000 credit cards governmentwide
Agencies across the federal government have essentially frozen 200,000 purchase and travel cards, according to the General Services Administration, which is coordinating this work. Acting GSA Administrator Stephen…
Time to restore some rationality to government purchase card policy
When the White House froze the government’s credit cards, it really gummed up the works. The long running purchase card program has saved untold millions of paperwork hours…
The best thing about other-transaction-authority acquisitions may not be there after all
It’s no secret the Defense Department and other agencies have been using other-transaction-authority acquisitions more than more. One reason is they help agencies get things done faster. And…