Author Archive
Chris Riotta
Staff Writer

Chris Riotta is a staff writer at FCW covering government procurement and technology policy. Chris joined FCW after covering U.S. politics for three years at The Independent. He earned his master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he served as 2021 class president.
Contracts
DHS looks to expand its Procurement Innovation Lab
Department of Homeland Security Chief Procurement Officer Paul Courtney told FCW the agency is seeking a new senior level director to lead a small but mighty team of acquisition experts as they attempt to steer the federal government away from legacy buying processes.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
SBA team targets set-aside contracts awarded to ineligible firms
The Office of Government Contracting and Business Development successfully steered over $5 billion in contracting opportunities for small businesses away from firms that were ineligible for set-asides.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
TMF announces $95 million in new funding focused on security and networks
The Technology Modernization Fund is announcing a new set of investments to help three agencies meet White House cybersecurity objectives.
- By Chris Riotta
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Contracts
Small biz leaders urge Congress to address category management woes
As the rate of small businesses providing goods and services to the federal government plummets, experts are demanding lawmakers reassess an increasingly popular procurement method meant to reduce burdens and cost.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
GSA shares specs on governmentwide cloud BPA
The General Services Administration is providing more details on how it’s aiming to launch a new blanket purchase agreement for cloud commercial technologies that will serve as a major one-stop shop for the entire government.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
NASA chief calls out the 'plague' of cost-plus contracts
The space agency is hoping to increasingly use competitions among top vendors and fixed-price contracts as a new way of conducting business--and cutting steep costs for major projects.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
GSA plans to publish zero trust playbooks
The General Services Administration is focusing on how to take the concept of zero trust into the implementation phase in a series of new playbooks set for release in the coming months, according to a senior IT official.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
Federal procurement featured in new equity action plans
Improving access to federal contracting vehicles and supporting small, disadvantaged businesses are key parts in the equity action plans released by agencies on April 14.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
GSA aims for greener IT contracts by adding sustainability criteria
The General Service Administration’s new contracting language is one tool for the agency to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
- By Chris Riotta
Companies
NSC official calls for federal office to oversee commercial supply chains
A NSC official expressed support for a provision in the $52 billion America COMPETES Act that would establish a federal office dedicated to monitoring domestic and international commercial supply chains.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
GSA to launch new BPA focusing on cloud technologies
The General Services Administration will roll out a new blanket purchase agreement to provide federal agencies with commercial cloud offerings as it seeks to reduce burden on government buyers – and administration costs for providers.
- By Chris Riotta
Companies
Senators look to root out contractor conflicts of interest
A bipartisan group of senators have introduced legislation they say will help prevent potential conflicts within businesses that work with the federal government after concerns were raised over McKinsey's work with the Food and Drug Administration while it was consulting with pharmaceutical firms.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
GSA announces four-fold increase in contracting opportunity goals for SDBs
As the administration continues its efforts to steer $100 billion in contracting opportunities to historically marginalized firms by 2025, the General Services Administration is unveiling how it plans to help make that objective a reality.
- By Chris Riotta
Companies
Panel closes in on federal data use recommendations
The Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building is preparing a series of recommendations which officials said will center around increased stakeholder engagement and fostering public-private partnerships for effective evidence building methods.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
Agencies look to streamline payment data collection in contracting
The keepers of the federal government's acquisition rulebook – GSA, DOD and NASA – want to increase automation in payments to contractors.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
GSA relaunches federal IT dashboard
The federal IT dashboard has officially relaunched after an overhaul intended to modernize the site, which dates back to 2009.
- By Chris Riotta
Companies
GSA's DUNS replacement set to go live
The General Services Administration is ready to flip the switch in early April on the non-proprietary entity identifier that is replacing the old DUNS number in federal contracting systems.
- By Chris Riotta
Companies
White House order covers contractor pay equity
The Biden administration issued an executive order on Tuesday calling on the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to create new regulations around the use of past compensation in employment decisions.
- By Chris Riotta
Companies
SEC proposes mandatory breach reporting for publicly traded companies
The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing new rules requiring companies to disclose to investors material cybersecurity incidents within four business days.
- By Chris Riotta
Contracts
Former SBA officials press Congress for a more accessible 8(a) program
Former officials from the Small Business Administration, lawmakers and small business owners alike have all called for a series of major reforms they say will greatly improve the agency's landmark business development program.
- By Chris Riotta