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February 26, 2021 By cs

Future uncertain for industrial base as pandemic spreads

While the United States continues to deal with challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is still too early to know how the health of the defense industry will fare in the long run, according to analysts.

“The magnitude of the virus … it’s really unknown, a lot of this just has to do with when the virus is going to go away, … how quickly [a vaccine] can be deployed,” Nick Jones, the National Defense Industrial Association’s director of regulatory policy, said in an interview.  “COVID-19 is going to continue to be an issue until the virus is at very low levels, which may be who knows how long,” he added.

Jones’ comments echo sentiments expressed by Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.  During a virtual Defense News conference in September, Lord said many of the effects of COVID-19 may be yet to come.

“All the reports that have come out in large part don’t reflect the hits that were taken by business,” she said. “There have been mixed reports in terms of revenue and profitability. I would contend that most of the effects of COVID haven’t yet been seen, because most companies gave their employees time off — they stretched out production, paid a lot of people for working 100 percent when, perhaps, they were only getting 50 percent of the hours in, and so forth.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2021/2/3/future-uncertain-for-industrial-base-as-pandemic-spreads

The National Defense Industrial Association’s second annual Vital Signs report on the health of the U.S. defense industrial base was released on Feb. 2, 2021.  To download a copy, please click HERE.

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: commercial products, COVID, COVID-19, DoD, domestic products, industrial base, NDIA, pandemic, productivity

January 28, 2021 By cs

8(a) participants to receive one-year extension through COVID-19 bill

Congress has included in the new COVID-19 relief bill a one-year extension of the term for participation in the 8(a) Program.

Under the provision, any small business concern participating in the 8(a) program on or before September 9, 2020 may “elect to extend such participation by a period of 1 year.”

This is good news, especially for those concerns in their last year of viability in the 8(a) program who may have felt shortchanged from COVID’s effects on the economy.

This provision is found under Section 330 of the “Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act” (Division N, Title III of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021”).  The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was passed on December 27, 2020.  If you’re trying to find it, it’s at page 2183 of the 5593-page (!) law.

Keep reading this article at: https://smallgovcon.com/8a-program/8a-participants-to-receive-one-year-extension-through-covid-19-bill/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: 8(a), budget, COVID-19, NDAA, SBA, small business

January 5, 2021 By cs

Academy launches webpage containing Coronavirus information for contracting officers and contractors

The Contracting Education Academy, a Georgia Tech unit dedicated to supporting the professional education needs of the government’s contracting workforce, has launched a special webpage devoted to providing information and guidance dealing with the impact of COVID-19 on federal contracts.
Click on image above to visit the webpage.

The webpage, located here, presents helpful information to both contracting officials and contractors who are navigating the current contracting environment.

Numerous topics are addressed on the webpage.  For Contracting Officers and other members of the federal acquisition workforce, topics include:

  • Teleworking by contractor employees
  • Quarantine restrictions and excusable delays
  • Equitable adjustments
  • Extending performance periods
  • Contract modifications
  • Maintaining a contractor state of readiness
  • Application of the Stafford Act
  • Communication and transparency in contract administration
  • DoD emergency acquisition and preparedness
  • Tracking COVID-19 contract spending
  • The Defense Production Act
  • The Defense Priorities and Allocations System
  • GSA Schedule purchasing
  • Fraud and price gouging

For the contractor community, the following topics are addressed on the webpage:

  • Preventing workplace exposure and risks
  • Identifying critical infrastructure industries
  • The System for Award Management (SAM)
  • Excusable delay contract provisions
  • Changes clauses
  • Obligation to perform
  • The Defense Priorities and Allocations System
  • DoD progress payments
  • Sales through GSA Schedules
  • Advice for small businesses
  • Economic disaster loans
  • The Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Additional information and updates will be added as often as daily to the site.  We suggest you bookmark the site now and check back frequently for the latest news involving the impact of coronavirus on federal contracts.

Filed Under: Academy News Tagged With: acquisition workforce, change orders, contract administration, contractor performance, coronavirus, COVID-19, critical infrastructure industries, Defense Priorities and Allocations System, DoD, emergency contracting, equitable adjustment, excusable delay, Families First Coronavirus Response Act, GSA Schedules, loans, micropurchase, progress payments, quarantine, SAM, SAT, simplified acquisition threshold, Stafford Act, telework, threshold

December 7, 2020 By cs

Projections on contract spending for 2021 are murky

Though the Defense Department’s actual numbers won’t come out until January, federal contract spending for fiscal 2020 is projected to land somewhere upwards of $600 billion — an $89 billion increase over 2019.  Around $30 billion of that increase was COVID-related spending.

With a vaccine still on the horizon, and a presidential transition now underway, projections on contract spending for 2021 are murkier than usual.  That said, Kevin Plexico, senior vice president for Information Solutions at Deltek, said there are a few things that can be expected.

First, the topline budget caps are already set for next year due to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019.  They provide for modest increases in discretionary spending, which tends to lead to increases in contract spending.  It’s worth noting as well that 2021 is the final year subject to the restrictions of the Budget Control Act.

Second, President-elect Joe Biden has presented a seven-point pandemic response plan, which includes testing and tracing, as well as potentially $25 billion for vaccine development and distribution.  It’s likely to include significant spending on personal protective equipment as well, and it’s possible he could invoke the Defense Production Act toward this end.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/contracting/2020/11/what-contractors-can-expect-in-2021/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition workforce, budget, category management, coronavirus, COVID-19, Defense Production Act, DoD, government spending, pandemic, spending, vaccine

November 20, 2020 By cs

What lessons can public and private sector organizations share on cybersecurity?

In the midst of receiving the results of the 2020 presidential election, we’re faced with a potential administration change.

As such, we’re entering a period of transition that raises questions about the best way to protect our nation’s digital infrastructure from nefarious actors wishing to cause harm to our systems.

While comparing the difference between how the private sector operates versus the public sector, the past few years have brought into sharp focus the benefits and drawbacks of how each approach cybersecurity.  And looking forward, we see a more intertwined fate of both, as sophisticated and brazen cyberattacks deploy similar TTPs (techniques, tactics and procedures).

After all, phishing and ransomware campaigns don’t care whether you have a .com, .gov or .org email address, and non-state eCrime actors are taking advantage of remote working conditions whether you work for a corporation, city government or a federal agency.

In fact, since March 2020, CrowdStrike has observed a 330% increase from cyber threat actors deploying malicious files using COVID themes. And in the six months from January to June, CrowdStrike’s threat hunting team, OverWatch, observed more hands-on-keyboard intrusions than were seen throughout all of 2019.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/transition-coming-lessons-can-public-private-sector-organizations-share-cybersecurity/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: China, coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19, cyber attacks, cybersecurity, pandemic

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