contract vehicle | The Contracting Education Academy

September 23, 2016 By AMK

Kingdomware decision gives new meaning to the words ‘government contract’

The Supreme Court’s June 2016 decision in Kingdomware Techs., Inc. v. United States, No. 14-916 (June 16, 2016), may significantly impact the meaning of the term “government contract” for years to come.

Supreme Court seal The case centered on a project for the Department of Veteran Affairs. When VA continually fell behind in achieving its three percent goal for contracting with service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, Congress enacted the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 8127 & 8128. The Act includes a mandatory set-aside provision that requires competition to be restricted to veteran-owned small businesses if the government contracting officer reasonably expects that at least two such businesses will submit offers and that the “award can be made at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the United States.” This is an iteration of the well-known “Rule of Two.”

When it published regulations implementing this statutory requirement, VA took the position that the set-aside requirements in § 8127 “do not apply to [Federal Supply Schedule] task or delivery orders.” 74 Fed. Reg. 64619, 64624 (2009). The Kingdomware case posed a direct challenge to this interpretation.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.contractorsperspective.com/small-business/kingdomware-redefines-government-contract/#page=1

January 18, 2016 By AMK

NIH-run IT contracting vehicle slashes fees

One of the federal government’s largest governmentwide acquisition vehicles is slashing the fees it charges agencies to purchase IT products and services.

The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center — known as NITAAC — announced it would pare back the prices for its three offerings by as much as 35 percent.

The center is one of just three entities authorized by the Office of Management and Budget to manage governmentwide acquisition contracts, or GWACs.

NITAAC officials cited the success of three agency-run programs for the fee drop. In 2015, the center expanded its services, including offering assisted acquisition services to Defense Department agencies.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2016/01/nih-run-it-contracting-vehicle-slashes-fees/124878/

January 4, 2016 By AMK

New protest delays GSA’s Agile BPA once again

One of the main goals for the General Services Administration’s 18F is to bring agile development practices to the government acquisition process.

One of the more innovative ways the 18F team is trying to accomplish that is through its Agile BPA, a contract vehicle for companies that can support agile development that itself was built using agile concepts.

Unfortunately, the process for getting the vehicle going has been less than agile.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/gsa-gwac/2015/12/29/agile-bpa-delayed/78027246/

July 21, 2015 By AMK

GSA launches dashboard for OASIS contracting information

The General Services Administration launched a dashboard so federal procurement staff can compare data on the agency’s newest contracting vehicle, according to a July 13 GSA statement.

The GSA calls OASIS, which is short for One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services, a first-of-its kind contract vehicle for contracts that span multiple disciplines, such as management consulting, logistics and finance. The OASIS dashboard, a tool that GSA says “takes OASIS data to the next level,” is now available for use by the federal contracting community.

The dashboard lets federal procurement professionals view and segment OASIS and OASIS Small Business data by federal agency and industry partner, and then build customized downloadable reports, the statement says.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/gsa-launches-dashboard-oasis-contracting-information/2015-07-14

June 8, 2015 By AMK

VA says using contracts for private medical care would be too burdensome

The Veterans Affairs Department spends billions of dollars on private medical care without contracts and, although the process does not comply with acquisition regulations, using contracts would be too burdensome, said a VA official during congressional testimony.

“VA acknowledges that our long-standing procurement processes for care in the community need improvement,” said Edward Murray, VA’s acting secretary for management at a June 1 House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations hearing.

The VA is expected to spend about $10 billion on healthcare outside of the VA health system in fiscal 2015, said Murray. Lawmakers were concerned by the amount of money spent on private healthcare – VA cites distance to health centers and a shortage of clinicians as barriers to care – and the lack of contracts.

“If the atom bomb can be built and wars conducted under the acquisition regulations, surely VA can deliver patient care under them as well,” Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.).

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/va-says-using-contracts-private-medical-care-would-be-too-burdensome/2015-06-02

See webcast of June 1, 2015 House Veterans Affairs subcommittee at: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/62985463

The Supreme Court’s June 2016 decision in Kingdomware Techs., Inc. v. United States, No. 14-916 (June 16, 2016), may significantly impact the meaning of the term “government contract” for years to come.

One of the federal government’s largest governmentwide acquisition vehicles is slashing the fees it charges agencies to purchase IT products and services.

One of the main goals for the General Services Administration’s 18F is to bring agile development practices to the government acquisition process.

The General Services Administration launched a dashboard so federal procurement staff can compare data on the agency’s newest contracting vehicle, according to a July 13 GSA statement.

The Veterans Affairs Department spends billions of dollars on private medical care without contracts and, although the process does not comply with acquisition regulations, using contracts would be too burdensome, said a VA official during congressional testimony.

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