Is FAR price clause really necessary?
Officials and contractors can't on agree whether the Federal Acquisition Regulation price-reduction clause will really bring fairer prices for agencies.
Senate may block proposal to limit set-asides
S. 3260 would block a controversial proposal from SBA that would limit the type of set-aside contracts given to women-owned small businesses.
Two ANCs violate set-aside requirements
AMP and Goldbelt Raven also entered unapproved agreements that would send large portions of their contract proceeds to managers who are not native Alaskans, according to a SBA audit.
CBO: 80 percent of $85B spent in Iraq went to services contracts
Contractors providing the government with administrative and management services in Iraq took the major share of federal contract dollars obligated between 2003 and 2007, according to a new report.
SBA takes HUBZone firms on faith
GAO finds that agency does little to verify contractor claims in applications.
GAO cons SBA with HUBZone applications
GAO investigators fooled the Small Business Administration by applying for certification for four fake companies under SBA's Historically Underutilized Business Zone program. SBA approved the applications in short order.
Report: Law limiting subcontracts could inhibit disaster response
DHS' inspector general wrote in an Aug. 4 report that legislation that restricts subcontracting by prime contractors could inhibit disaster responses and recovery work.
Service-disabled veterans to benefit from new bill
The House passed a bill that would require a company or agency working on behalf of the VA to give preference to small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans.
GAO to GSA: Rely on pre-award audits for contract cost stability
To keep prices stable on its Multiple Award Schedules contracts, GSA should continue to rely on pre-award audits as much as pricing policies, GAO officials told a Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel this week.
Bills would increase monitoring of contractors
Leaders in the intelligence community would have to keep closer tabs on what contractors are doing in their agencies under bills pending in Congress.
SBA, Navy sign Seaport-e memorandum
The agreement will give more contract opportunities to the small and disadvantaged firms participating in SBA's 8(a) Business Development program.
Senators worried about DHS' reliance on contractors
Lawmakers raise concerns that contractors are performing work that is more appropriate for federal employees or are doing work that comes close to inherently governmental functions.
Council to standardize background check process
The goal of the new Suitability and Security Clearance Performance Accountability Council is to standardize procedures for checking the backgrounds of government employees and contractors governmentwide.
GSA multiple-award schedules available to state, local government
The Local Preparedness Acquisition Act authorizes state and local governments to use GSA's Multiple Award Schedules to buy law enforcement and security-related items.
Thompson proposes bill to limit contractor award fees
Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, wants DHS officials to make sure contractors do their job before the government pays them bonuses.
Bill would block use of competition system
A House appropriations bill in its early stages seeks to block use of the public/private competition system for a year and let the next president deal with the issue.
SBA to propose new small business rule
The first of the redefined standards that define small businesses for contracting purposes may be final by the end of fiscal 2008, a senior SBA official said.
Lawmakers focus on contracting reforms
As Congress irons out differences in recently passed supplemental appropriations bills, House members are pushing contracting reforms through another channel to ensure they become law.
House establishes contracting caucus
New caucus will hold briefings with experts from think tanks, academia, industry, and government and independent oversight organizations.
Alliant GWAC, small-biz awards to be reassessed
GSA wants to make sure it fairly applied its past performance evaluations to the companies that were in the running contracts.
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