A review of the MAS program
This week Robin Bourne, Subject Matter Expert, Federal Acquisition at the Gormley Group joins Off the Shelf with a check up on GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program….
The Supreme Court looks ready to help out False Claims whistleblowers
Right now, the Supreme Court is considering a case that could boost federal whistleblowers bringing forth wrongdoing by contractors under the False Claims Act. The case underscores the…
Is there a ‘revolving door’ between private companies and the Pentagon?
Last week, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) heard testimony, regarding a so-called “revolving door” between the Pentagon and companies to which it awards contracts. The SASC’s Personnel…
OPM’s dual role in talent acquisition poses ‘conflict of interest’
The Office of Personnel Management’s advantageous stake in the talent acquisition space is raising alarm bells in Congress. As both regulator and provider of federal talent acquisition systems,…
GSA’s Symphony tool is music to vendors, agency customers’ ears
Agencies are buying professional services at a rate experts call “astonishing.” The growth between 2021 and 2022 was unlike ever before. And half way into fiscal 2023, the…
Retired brigadier general sentenced to 12-month prison term
A federal court in Texas sentenced retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Bethel to 12 months in prison for wire fraud and filing a false tax return. Bethel…
Meet one little-known agency with an outsized influence on small business expansion
This week’s Deeper Look is with Arun Venkataraman, the assistant secretary of Commerce for global markets and director general of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, and his…
No-show job leads Army contracting officer to plead guilty to conspiracy, theft
An Army contracting officer is facing up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of…
Air Force $5.7B EITaaS contract freed from protests
The Air Force’s enterprise IT as-a-service program cleared its final hurdle and is ready for takeoff. The service emerged victorious after the Government Accountability Office denied the protest…
A Deeper Look at the Army acquisition community
I sat with the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army (ASA) for acquisitions, logistics and technology (ALT), my old friend Young Bang, this week. For those not…