industrial base | The Contracting Education Academy

January 15, 2021 By cs

DoD bringing companies into the fold for sensitive info

After a years long pilot, the Defense Department is establishing a permanent program that will let some trusted companies in on critical military information to help build needed systems.

“As the world sees a return to great power competition, DoD must strengthen its engagement with the defense industrial base in order to respond to the national security challenges facing the United States in a more responsive and cost efficient manner,” a Dec. 15 memo signed by Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord states.

The memo goes on to state that, increasingly, technologies and information are squirreled away in special access programs.

Those are programs that exceed regular classified information and entail highly sensitive operations and black projects.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/dod-reporters-notebook-jared-serbu/2021/01/dod-stands-up-permanent-program-to-give-vendors-access-to-top-tier-secrets/

Download the Dec. 15, 2020 DoD memo on the subject of “Special Access Program Contractor Portfolio Program Establishment” at: https://fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/sap-contractor.pdf

October 8, 2020 By cs

Contractors seek clearer, uniform guidance for returning to offices

Lack of such guidance is a “huge hole” in the federal government’s pandemic response, industry group says.

A lead trade association would like federal agencies to issue uniform guidance for their contractors’ return to workplaces amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The approximate 4.1 million federal contractors play an integral role in the functioning of the government, but are often managed differently than the 2 million federal employees. After calling on the Trump administration to issue guidance regarding telework at the onset of the pandemic, the Professional Services Council, which represents over 400 companies that work with the federal government, now would like to see agencies issue some form of uniform guidance regarding returning to workplaces.

The Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management outlined in April how federal agencies should consider bringing employees back to offices, while noting it will vary based on the region. Although there have also been questions, confusion and concerns, individual agencies have been issuing their own reopening plans for their employees.

“The guidance needs to be clearer, it needs to be more uniform, it needs to be consistent and it needs to be visible, transparent,” David Berteau, PSC president and CEO, told Government Executive during an interview last week. “I think it’s a huge hole in the government’s response. They don’t tend to think of contractors as part of an integrated workforce when they absolutely are.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/09/contractors-seek-clearer-uniform-guidance-returning-offices/168668/

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech has established a webpage where all contract-related developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) are summarized. Find the page at: https://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/coronavirus-information-for-contracting-officers-and-contractors/

August 28, 2020 By cs

PPP loan forgiveness: Challenges for lenders

Since April 2020, more than 5,400 lenders across the United States have faced common challenges arising from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Participating lenders have been charged with interpreting a slew of evolving regulatory guidance while vetting millions of borrower applications.

Participating lenders have also been tasked with responding to information requests from Congress, federal regulators and law enforcement authorities investigating potential fraud and abuse in the emergency loan program. Yet another challenge looms on the horizon as lenders determine whether and to what extent disbursed PPP loans are eligible for forgiveness.

At first glance, the forgiveness process appears simple. A PPP borrower must complete an application for forgiveness and submit the application to its lender. The lender is then responsible for approving or denying the borrower’s forgiveness application by verifying certain documentation and calculations and then requesting payment from the SBA, as applicable.

However, because the lender stands between the PPP borrower requesting forgiveness and the federal government making payment, lenders face a number of challenges and risks in connection with PPP loan forgiveness.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/financial-services/977036/ppp-loan-forgiveness-challenges-for-lenders

July 27, 2020 By cs

Government contractors and financing a post-coronavirus ‘reboot’ of the economy

When the shutdown ends, contractors will be busy.

When the economy does begin to recover from our nationwide lockdown, one certainty is that it will not be as simple as “turning the lights back on.”

Companies may have a long road back to full strength as they go through the process of restoring their workforces, rebuilding supply chains and planning for growth in a new, unfamiliar economy.

One certainty, however, is that government contractors will be in high demand as agencies face a backlog of project work as well as new initiatives grown out of coronavirus recovery plans. Taking the right steps now will be essential to aligning these resources with expected need.

So why will government contractors face a surge in demand when COVID-19 restrictions lift? One reason is that many projects that were underway in the spring, particularly construction projects, will once again come back online after being placed on hold due to social distancing guidelines. Construction on roads, bridges and highways is expected to peak as state and federal agencies race to catch up on work planned and postponed for the spring and summer periods.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2020/07/government-contractors-and-financing-a-post-coronavirus-reboot-of-the-economy/

July 22, 2020 By cs

We need $10 billion to pay contractors’ Coronavirus expenses, Pentagon tells Congress

It’s the first time a defense official has put a specific price tag on DoD’s COVID relief efforts.

The Pentagon needs Congress to approve “around $10 billion” to cover defense contractors’ coronavirus-related expenses, a top defense official said Monday.

Alan Shaffer, deputy defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, became the first Defense Department official to put a price tag on the relief effort.

“If there is another supplemental or stimulus package for realistic economic adjustment, we could be looking at somewhere around $10 billion in additional program costs,” Shaffer said during a taped appearance on the Government Matters television show that aired Monday afternoon.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defenseone.com/business/2020/07/we-need-10b-pay-contractors-coronavirus-expenses-pentagon-tells-congress/166852/

After a years long pilot, the Defense Department is establishing a permanent program that will let some trusted companies in on critical military information to help build needed systems.

Lack of such guidance is a “huge hole” in the federal government’s pandemic response, industry group says.

Since April 2020, more than 5,400 lenders across the United States have faced common challenges arising from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

When the shutdown ends, contractors will be busy.

It’s the first time a defense official has put a specific price tag on DoD’s COVID relief efforts.

Search this Website