Senate | The Contracting Education Academy

August 11, 2020 By cs

DHS seeks permanent flexible acquisition authorities

Temporary acquisition authorities that aid the Department of Homeland Security in getting innovative commercial technologies and goods in response to the COVID-19 crisis should be lasting tools in the department’s acquisition toolbox, the agency’s top acquisition official told a Senate panel.

The DHS other transaction authority (OTA) that allows the agency to conduct pilot projects outside of the traditional competitive bidding regulations expires at the end of each fiscal year.

Soraya Correa, the agency’s chief procurement officer, told lawmakers at a recent hearing of the Senate Finance Committee that she’d like permanent authorization for OTAs.

Similarly, the Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program (CSOP) expires at the end of 2022. Correa would like to see that become a permanent fixture of agency acquisition.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2020/07/29/rockwell-covid-acquisition-dhs.aspx

April 19, 2019 By AMK

Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity holds hearing to discuss responsibilities of the industrial base

On March 26, 2019, the Senate Armed Services’ Subcommittee on Cybersecurity held a hearing to receive testimony assessing how the Department of Defense’s (DoD) cybersecurity policies and regulations have affected the Defense Industrial Base (DIB).

To gain a better understanding of the DIB’s cybersecurity concerns, the Subcommittee invited William LaPlante, Senior Vice President and General Manager of MITRE’s National Security Sector; John Luddy, Vice President For National Security Policy at the Aerospace Industries Association; Christopher Peters, Chief Executive Officer of the Lucrum Group; and Michael MacKay, the Chief Technology Officer of Progeny Systems Corporation.

In their opening remarks, the Chairman of the Subcommittee, Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Ranking Member, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), acknowledged industry concerns about the DoD’s lack of clarity and disparate implementation of cybersecurity regulations, such as guidance relating to DFARS 252.204-7012 (DFARS Cyber Rule or Rule) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171.

Senator Rounds stated that he “expects [DoD] to come up with measured policies to make improvements in [cybersecurity]” and he “hope[s] DoD takes seriously the concerns of the DIB.” He further noted that DoD “cannot simply apply increasingly stringent cybersecurity requirements on its contractors” and that “doing so without subsidy or assistance is unlikely to particularly improve cybersecurity [for] the DIB” and would likely drive the most innovative small businesses out of the supply chain. Senator Rounds called for putting a program in place to ensure the best possible protections for contractors regardless of size and referred to the “Achilles heel” of this issue as the desire to use a large number of small contractors while still needing to protect sensitive government information. Later in the hearing, Senator Manchin expressed great concern over the cyber incidents experienced by DoD contractors and urged the witnesses to “tell [the Subcommittee] what you need . . . [the Subcommittee] is here to fix it and you’re here to tell us what’s broken.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2019/03/senate-armed-services-subcommittee-on-cybersecurity-holds-hearing-to-discuss-the-responsibilities-of-the-defense-industrial-base/

October 10, 2018 By AMK

Senate agrees federal cybersecurity office should have name to match

The lead office governmentwide for handling cybersecurity issues in the public and private sector was finally granted something officials had long sought: actually including “cybersecurity” in the office’s name.

Wednesday, Senate lawmakers passed a long-awaited bill to rename the Homeland Security Department’s point office for cybersecurity, the National Protection and Programs Directorate, to something more fitting. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2017—which passed by unanimous consent—would change the office’s title to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA.

As the name suggests, the office will lead efforts on cybersecurity of federal networks and critical infrastructure and coordinating between the government and private sector. The legislation also gives the office purview over “DHS’s responsibilities concerning chemical facilities antiterrorism standards.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2018/10/senate-agrees-federal-cybersecurity-office-should-have-name-match/151791/

May 3, 2018 By AMK

Bridge contracts need better definition, more disclosure, says Senate report

A Senate report calls for establishing a common definition in the Federal Acquisition Regulation for bridge contracts and for a series of reports on how agencies use such contracts.

“When used too frequently, bridge contracts reduce competition and can result in the government paying more than it should for needed services and supplies,” the report says. “When a contract is awarded outside of the competitive process, such as when an incumbent contractor is granted a sole-source contract, heightened oversight is necessary to ensure the government is getting the best value.”

The report was filed in support of S-2413, which cleared the committee level in February; with the filing of the report, the measure could reach a floor vote at any time.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fedweek.com/federal-managers-daily-report/bridge-contracts-need-better-definition-more-disclosure-says-report/

Read Senate report 115-232 at: https://www.congress.gov/115/crpt/srpt232/CRPT-115srpt232.pdf

January 22, 2018 By AMK

Thousands of federal workers in limbo as shutdown drags on

Lawmakers on Sunday (Jan. 21) appeared far from reaching a budget compromise that would allow federal agencies to return to normal operations on Monday following a funding lapse that took effect at midnight Friday.

As Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., put it: “This shutdown is gonna get a lot worse tomorrow.”

While Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the standoff, the shutdown that began Saturday is the first to take place during one-party control of Congress and the White House.

The House passed a temporary funding bill on Friday along party lines that would have continued funding through Feb. 16, but that measure was rejected by the Senate where the Republicans hold a narrow majority and need 60 votes for passage. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the House would accept a bill that extends funding through Feb. 8 to give lawmakers more time to reach a permanent agreement, and senators spent Sunday trying to work out a compromise. McConnell scheduled a vote for 1 a.m. Monday if Democrats wouldn’t agree to a vote sooner; by mid-afternoon the prospects appeared dim.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2018/01/thousands-federal-workers-limbo-shutdown-drags/145351

Temporary acquisition authorities that aid the Department of Homeland Security in getting innovative commercial technologies and goods in response to the COVID-19 crisis should be lasting tools in the department’s acquisition toolbox, the agency’s top acquisition official told a Senate panel.

On March 26, 2019, the Senate Armed Services’ Subcommittee on Cybersecurity held a hearing to receive testimony assessing how the Department of Defense’s (DoD) cybersecurity policies and regulations have affected the Defense Industrial Base (DIB).

The lead office governmentwide for handling cybersecurity issues in the public and private sector was finally granted something officials had long sought: actually including “cybersecurity” in the office’s name.

A Senate report calls for establishing a common definition in the Federal Acquisition Regulation for bridge contracts and for a series of reports on how agencies use such contracts.

Lawmakers on Sunday (Jan. 21) appeared far from reaching a budget compromise that would allow federal agencies to return to normal operations on Monday following a funding lapse that took effect at midnight Friday.

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