government contracts | The Contracting Education Academy

October 21, 2019 By cs

The insidious threat of pay to play

The government contracting world is deeply vulnerable to fraud, says a former federal investigator.

News that a former FEMA administrator was arrested recently for taking bribes from a contractor — one who landed $1.8 billion in federal contracts to repair Puerto Rico’s electrical grid after Hurricane Maria — was hardly surprising to those of us who work in fraud risk management.

Why? Because, unfortunately, the government contracting world is deeply vulnerable to fraud. Given the huge amounts of money at stake and the power that federal officials have in deciding winners and losers among contractors, this dynamic can lead to a “pay to play” scenario among the less ethical on both sides of the contracting relationship.

The volume and similarity of government corruption cases are striking. In the most recent FEMA case, the contractor provided the government official with helicopter rides, hotel accommodations, first-class airfare, and the use of a credit card in exchange for choosing his company to repair Puerto Rico’s electrical grid. Last year, charges were brought against the defense contractors who allegedly provided Navy officials with gifts and luxury items that included cash, checks, retail gift cards and flat-screen televisions in return for $6 million in government contracts.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/09/insidious-threat-pay-play/159935/

June 23, 2016 By AMK

OMB issues guidance applying ‘category management’ strategy to software purchasing

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued another in a series of information technology (IT) policies to make the acquisition and management of common IT goods and services more efficient and save taxpayer dollars.

omb OMB’s new policy is another step toward leveraging better pricing from the $8 billion government agencies spend annually on PCs, software licenses, and mobile devices. In the past eight months, OMB issued policies on federal contracting for on workstations and mobile services.

Through more efficient “category management” buying practices, OMB reports that nearly $2 billion in savings have been realized since 2009 and the prices for laptop computers have dropped by as much as 50 percent. In addition, 700 duplicative professional services contracts have been eliminated.

The latest policy policy calls for agencies to move to a more centralized and collaborative software management approach. Agencies are required to appoint a software manager to: 1) centrally manage software buys and reduce underutilization, 2) maintain a continual inventory of software licenses and better track usage, 3) consolidate redundant applications, and 4) maximize the use of best-in-class solutions.

Moreover, OMB’s latest policy directive charges the Enterprise Software Category Team (ESCT) — a cross-governmental, cross-functional team of senior IT and acquisition professionals — to lead an effort and help break down silos in government IT acquisition actions to foster centralization and greater transparency. Specifically, the ESCT is to drive and monitor the development of government-wide software strategies, such as increasing the number and use of government-wide software agreements and improving software license management practices.

Access the new OMB policy here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2016/m-16-12_1.pdf.

March 27, 2012 By AMK

Former OFPP chief cites progress in federal acquisition and workforce

Daniel I. Gordon, who served as the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy from 2009 through 2011, has authored a paper on his tenure in at the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP).

The paper, published in the Government Contractor, presents reflections on his three goals while Administrator: strengthening the federal acquisition workforce, driving fiscal responsibility in federal acquisition, and rebalancing the relationship with contractors.

Gordon points to reversal of several negative trends, in particular, decline in the size of the federal acquisition workforce during the years 1992-2009, unsustainable annual increases in procurement spending during those years, and an unhealthy overreliance on contractors in performance of key government functions. In each of those key areas, Gordon reports on the progress made — increasing the size of the federal acquisition workforce, buying less and buying smarter (particularly through the strategic sourcing initiative), and a better balance in relations with contractors, with more clarity about the proper role of contractors and improved oversight, as well as efforts to increase communication with vendors.

A full copy of the article can be downloaded here: Reflections on the Federal Procurement Landscape – February 2012.

The government contracting world is deeply vulnerable to fraud, says a former federal investigator.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued another in a series of information technology (IT) policies to make the acquisition and management of common IT goods and services more efficient and save taxpayer dollars.

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