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Changes coming to SAM.gov

The General Services Administration (GSA) is planning to test a new version of the System for Award Management (SAM). 

At present, SAM.gov is the federal database where vendors register to do business with the government.   When it went live in mid-2012, SAM was introduced as portal where, over time, several different government databases would be consolidated.  Federal Agency Registration (FedReg), the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), and the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) were among the systems to be first consolidated under the SAM umbrella.

The 2012 introduction of SAM initially was delayed and, once launched, many access problems were encountered by vendors and government agencies alike.  Since then, SAM experienced a data breach in 2013 and periodic difficulties with the interface with SBA’s small business database.

GSA now plans to resume work on the original vision for SAM – the consolidation of as many as 10 websites.

A new test site, at beta.sam.gov, reportedly is to launch between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2017.

The objective of the consolidated web site is to reduce the federal contracting burden on contractors and federal officials alike by creating a single place to access a range of data, including contractor registration information, award data for prime and subcontractors, and information about companies excluded from government work.

Eventually, the functions of 10 existing sites — including SAM.gov, the Federal Procurement Data System (fpds.gov); Federal Business Opportunities (fbo.gov), the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (fsrs.gov), and the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (fapiis.go) — will become a part of the SAM beta site.  Once testing is completed, all of the added functionality will become a part of a new SAM.gov site.  The sites that were merged into SAM.gov then will be retired.

Improvements, such as search features, will continue to be made to existing sites as the new site is being tested, GSA says.

Vendors are reminded that there is no cost to use SAM.  Vendors may use SAM.gov free-of-charge to:

  • Register to do business with the U.S. government
  • Update or renew registrations
  • Check status of an entity registration
  • Search for entity registration and exclusion records

 

 

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Vendors doing business with IRS owe nearly $600M in back taxes

Some 1,168 businesses that sell products and services to the Internal Revenue Service owe a combined $589 million in delinquent taxes, auditors found.

Federal law — as updated in the 2012 Consolidated Appropriations Act — forbids agencies from signing contracts with companies with unpaid federal tax liabilities, but the IRS’ system of controls, while effective much of the time, is not fool-proof, according to the report released Wednesday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

“When the IRS conducts business with vendors that do not comply with federal tax laws, it conveys a contradictory message in relation to its mission to ensure compliance with the tax laws,” said J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

The IRS in the past has resisted TIGTA’s recommendation that it conduct an annual check on contractor tax records. And though the agency’s use of its Master Vendor File is generally effective, auditors recently found that the IRS has not checked the General Services Administration’s Excluded Parties List System. The agency improperly awarded four new contracts or exercised additional option years on existing contracts, valued at $2.6 million, to three vendors that were suspended from doing business with the government, the auditors found.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2013/12/vendors-doing-business-irs-owe-nearly-600m-back-taxes/75665 

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DHS reduces noncompetitive contracts, improves oversight

Noncompetitive contracts at the Homeland Security Department totaled about  $389 million in fiscal 2012, down from $3.5 billion in fiscal 2008, the DHS office of inspector general says.

The department’s spending on noncompetitive contracts has dropped each year  since fiscal 2008, and in the meantime, it has improved its internal oversight  of acquisitions, the OIG says in a report dated Feb. 1, 2013 and recently posted online.

For example, out of the 40 noncompetitive awards from 2012 that auditors  examined, all those that required written justification had it complete and on  file. Problems with justification have fallen since 2008, when 27 percent of  justifications in the OIG’s sample were deficient.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/dhs-reduces-noncompetitive-contracts-improves-oversight/2013-02-20 

Download a copy of the DHA IG’s report referred to in this article at: http://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2013/OIG_13-36_Feb13.pdf 

Subscribe to FierceGovernment at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/signup?sourceform=Viral-Tynt-FierceGovernment-FierceGovernment

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DoD temporarily alters vendor registration rule due to SAM’s launch shortcomings

In order to avoid delays in “the timely processing of awards,” the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has ordered the temporary suspension of rules requiring vendor registration in the System for Award Management (SAM).

SAM replaced Central Contractor Registration (CCR), the government’s long-standing vendor database.  SAM was launched during the last weekend in July 2012 when CCR vendor data was migrated to the new system.

SAM’s late July implementation included not only CCR but Federal Agency Registration (FedReg), the Online Representation and Certification Application (ORCA), and the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) as well.  “Performance issues” involving the new SAM database prompted DoD’s action to suspend for “a brief period” the requirement that vendors be registered in SAM before being eligible for a contract award.

Since SAM’s launch there have been widespread reports and complaints from vendors and contracting officers alike that they cannot access vendor records or are experiencing slow performance within the on-line system.  The General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible for SAM.  GSA contracted with IBM to manage the design and implementation of SAM.

In the August 21, 2012 order to temporarily suspend SAM registration requirements, DoD noted that the action would provide “a brief period of time for achieving resolution of the remaining [performance] issues.”

DoD notes that “GSA has been taking aggressive action to resolve these issues promptly.”   Earlier news reports indicated that GSA issued IBM a “letter of concern” on Aug. 7.  In the official notice, GSA told IBM to develop a plan of action and milestones for how they will make SAM work more smoothly.  GSA hired IBM under an eight-year, $74.4 million contract in 2010.

DoD’s order was issued in the form of a “class deviation” which allows the department to suspend Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS) requirements pertaining to vendor registration  and annual representations and certifications.

In its order DoD notes that contractors are still required to be registered in SAM prior to submitting invoices.

Before the DoD order, all contractors were required to be registered in SAM, and all contracting officers were required to check SAM before making a contract award.

Until SAM is functional, DoD’s contracting officials are directed to obtain paper or electronic copies of vendors’ representations and certifications in lieu of accessing this documentation via that portion of SAM that used to be the stand-alone ORCA system.

The EPLS migration to SAM has been reversed, thus restoring that website as a site operating on its own.  Because of this action, contracting officers once again have the ability to conduct pre-award checks in EPLS to ensure prospective contractors are not on the list of entities excluded from federal contracts.

DoD’s class deviation remains in effect for an indefinite period of time until rescinded.

The SAM User Guide can be downloaded at: https://www.sam.gov/SAMPortal/img/Download-PDF.png.

© 2012 The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech.  All Rights Reserved.  Permission to reprint this article is hereby granted with the stipulations that the article is attributed to The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech and that the following URL is given: http://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/2012/08/dod-temporarily-alters-vendor-registration-rule-due-to-sams-launch-shortcomings

August 24, 2012 – 5:33 am EST

 

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GAO sets new policy on debarments, suspensions

As a legislative-branch agency the Government Accountability Office does not have to comply with Federal Acquisition Regulations on suspension, debarment and ineligibility of contractors, but it is choosing to adopt the rules.

The new policy comes out on the heels of the proposed debarment of Booz Allen’s San Antonio office by the Air Force. Published on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) on Feb. 6, the action was related to a former government employee hired by Booz Allen who inappropriately retained and shared sensitive information about a pending government procurement.

GAO’s new policy, published in the Federal Register as a notice, took effect on Feb. 13, 2012.

GAO now will not solicit offers from, award contracts to, or consent to subcontracts with, contractors who are listed on the EPLS, according to the notice. Additionally, if GAO debars, proposes for debarment, or suspends a contractor, it will list that contractor in the EPLS.

The office first proposed and solicited comments on the policy on Sept. 30 and received only positive comments.

GAO’s Acquisition Management office , which is responsible for the majority of its contracting activities, will be the unit with primary responsibility for investigating and referring potential debarment and suspension actions to the debarment/suspension official for consideration.

As the debarring and suspending official, GAO’s Comptroller General, “will also be responsible for deciding whether to solicit offers from, award contracts to, or consent to subcontracts with contractors who have been debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment, and whether to terminate a current contract or subcontract in existence at the time the contractor was debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment,” the notice said.

About the Author: Alysha Sideman is the online content producer for Washington Technology. This article was published Feb. 13, 2012 at http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2012/02/13/gao-debarment-policy.aspx?s=wtdaily_140212.

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