EPA | The Contracting Education Academy

September 17, 2014 By AMK

GAO says federal agencies need better oversight of contractor-operated systems

Congressional investigators found that several federal agencies are not consistently overseeing security and privacy measures for information systems operated by contractors.

In reviewing six selected agencies, the Government Accountability Office said the agencies generally established security and privacy requirements and had plans to assess the effectiveness of contractor-operated systems. But five of the agencies were inconsistent in such reviews.

For example, the GAO report released Sept. 9, 2014 said Transportation Department officials responsible for system testing didn’t evaluate whether seven contractor employees had the required background investigation.

“When they did so in response to our audit, they found that three of them did not,” GAO investigators said. “Officials stated that they subsequently removed system access rights for the three contractor employees until their background investigations had been completed.”

Besides DOT, GAO also reviewed the Energy, Homeland Security, and State departments as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and Office of Personnel Management.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/gao-says-federal-agencies-need-better-oversight-contractor-operated-systems/2014-09-10

April 4, 2014 By AMK

Scam targets GSA schedule holders using spoofed federal email addresses

The General Services Administration’s schedules program has been victimized by spear phishing attacks costing vendors more than $1.5 million, and law enforcement officials say, is increasing.

GSA alerted Schedule 70 and 75 vendors Wednesday that since July 2012 the FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency and GSA inspectors general have been investigating a series of fraudulent orders placed online to GSA vendors from criminals posing as federal contracting officials, according to an email to Schedule-70 and 75 vendors, which Federal News Radio obtained.

The hackers ordered HP printer toner cartridges using official federal employee email credentials but fake phone telephone numbers and stolen credit cards.

Law enforcement officials now say scammers are targeting orders for laptop computers, though it’s unclear if these two cases are related. But GSA said “there are some significant similarities and we’re following up on investigative leads to make further determinations.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/490/3595717/Scam-targets-GSA-schedule-holders-using-spoofed-federal-email-addresses

August 6, 2013 By AMK

Valuing the cost of an economic price adjustment clause to the government

An Economic Price Adjustment (EPA) clause in a contract allows for adjustment of contract price if certain conditions are met.

The Department of Defense (DoD) often uses an EPA clause in contracts where there is an increased risk that the costs of inputs used by the contractor will diverge from the forecasts used in the original pricing of the contract.

EPA clauses transfer risk from the contractor to the government; thus, they are of economic value to the contractor.

This article reviews EPA clauses, analyzes the value of risk transfer, and discusses how DoD could account for this value in negotiating fees for contracts that contain EPA clauses. Other government costs and risks associated with EPA clauses are also discussed.

This excerpt is from an article published in the July 2013 edition of the Defense Acquisition Research Journal. Keep reading this article at: http://www.dau.mil/publications/DefenseARJ/ARJ/ARJ66/ARJ_66-Arnold.pdf

June 11, 2013 By AMK

Secret ‘man caves’ found in EPA warehouse

A warehouse maintained by contractors for the Environmental Protection Agency contained secret rooms full of exercise equipment, televisions and couches, according to an internal audit.

EPA’s inspector general found contractors used partitions, screens and piled up boxes to hide the rooms from security cameras in the 70,000 square-foot building located in Landover, Md. The warehouse — used for inventory storage — is owned by the General Services Administration and leased to the EPA for about $750,000 per year.

The EPA has issued a stop work order to Apex Logistics LLC, the responsible contractor, ensuring the company’s workers no longer have access to the site — EPA security officials escorted contractor personnel off the premises on May 17 — and ending all payments on the contract.

Since awarding the contract in May 2007, EPA has paid Apex Logistics about $5.3 million, most of which went to labor costs. Conditions at the facility “raise questions about time charges made by warehouse employees under the contract,” the report said.

“The warehouse contained multiple unauthorized and hidden personal spaces created by and for the workers that included televisions, refrigerators, radios, microwaves, chairs and couches,” the IG report said. “These spaces contained personal items, including photos, pin ups, calendars, clothing, books, magazines and videos.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2013/06/secret-man-caves-found-epa-warehouse/64202/

November 30, 2012 By AMK

EPA temporarily suspends BP from federal contracts

The Environmental Protection Agency has temporarily suspended the oil and gas conglomerate BP from receiving any new federal contracts, according to a statement released Wednesday.

Citing the environmental disaster following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, EPA said BP’s “lack of business integrity” will bar the company from receiving any new contracts with the government until the company meets “federal business standards.” EPA said the government still will adhere to its existing agreements with the company. BP currently has major fuel contracts with the Defense Department

As part of a deal announced in mid-November that settled criminal charges with the federal government, BP will be paying nearly $4.5 billion in damages and could still face civil lawsuits in the future. In a statement released Nov 15, BP said companies “convicted of certain criminal acts can be debarred from contracting with the federal government” but it had not been “advised of the intention of any federal agency to suspend or disbar the company.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2012/11/epa-temporarily-suspends-bp-federal-contracts/59793/?oref=govexec_today_nl.

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