Shutdown | The Contracting Education Academy

October 14, 2013 By AMK

Under shutdown, a complicated picture emerges for contractor employees

With the start of the government’s first shutdown since 1996, every federal employee who’s not granted a specific exception is being placed on unpaid furlough starting today, for a total of about one million workers. But the picture’s a lot murkier for federal contract employees. Most of them will continue to do work for agencies during a shutdown, even if it’s not clear when their companies will be paid nor when the government employees with whom they share office space will return to work.

Trade associations who represent government contracting companies have been telling their members for the past several days that they need to stay in close contact with government contracting officers and project managers on each of the programs they’re involved in to determine whether work will go on during a shutdown, since the impact will vary dramatically case-by-case.

In the case of contract employees, the question is not so much about whether they’re essential to the protection of life and property — the biggest criteria used for most federal employees in furlough decisions — but rather, how and when the money that funds their contracts was obligated by the government. Since the shutdown is hitting at the beginning of a new fiscal year, it’s reasonable to expect that many, if not most, contract employees will actually continue working during a shutdown, depending on how long it lasts.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=851&sid=3469048

October 10, 2013 By AMK

Defense execs predict production halts If shutdown stretches to mid-month

The federal government shutdown won’t hurt much this week but after two to three weeks, contracts won’t get paid or issued, testing won’t get done. and production of major weapons systems may be disrupted or halted.

That was the consensus of several senior defense executives, including Exelis CEO David Melcher, at a gathering held here today by the Atlantic Council.

If contracts are not paid, then companies’ cash flow will be hurt, Melcher said during his presentation. ”I’m just not a big fan of the brinkmanship being practiced here,” he said when I asked him just what worried him about the next few weeks, especially since the federal debt ceiling must be lifted in the next two weeks to maintain America’s good faith and credit rating.

And then, of course, there’s the whole optics thing — like those World War II veterans shoving metal barriers aside to get to the ugly memorial on the Washington Mall. If you want to know how much this worries Republicans, take note of the fact that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus has offered to pay to keep the memorial open for the next 30 days.

Keep reading this article at: http://breakingdefense.com/2013/10/02/defense-execs-predict-production-halts-if-fed-shutdown-stretches-to-mid-month

October 9, 2013 By AMK

Bid protests won’t get processed during shutdown

The “vast majority” of its personnel cannot work during the government shutdown, the Government Accountability Office said on its website, noting that this includes staff in its bid protest office.

The GAO Office of General Counsel determined that the bid protest office must close for the duration of the shutdown. “There will be no personnel monitoring protest filings at GAO during the time our office is closed,” GAO noted.

Any new protest received while GAO is closed will be treated as filed on the day that GAO resumes operations. Any deadline for an agency filing — such as an agency report or other filing requested by GAO — may, upon request, be extended by up to one day for each day that GAO is closed.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.defenseone.com/management/2013/10/bid-protests-wont-get-processed-during-shutdown

October 8, 2013 By AMK

Shutdown’s cost to DoD contractors: $1 billion a day

The government shutdown affects Americans in different ways – everything from no seasonal flu program to the shuttering of 400 national parks and museums to limited Veterans’ benefits.

Companies doing business with the government are no different. Defense contractors face a $1 billion loss every day the government is closed. Some contractors who “provide support” will still receive checks, but what does “providing support” really mean?

At a Bloomberg Government breakfast, Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), added some clarity. The ranking member on the House Budget Committee told the room providing support covers “essential personnel and services” only.

Keep reading this articole at: http://blog.bloomberg.com/2013-10-01/1-billion-a-day-how-the-govt-shutdown-affects-defense-contractors/

October 7, 2013 By AMK

SecDef orders most furloughed civilian employees back to work

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Saturday that most of the 400,000 civilian defense workers who were furloughed due to the government shutdown can go back to work, ending a work stoppage that the Pentagon’s top budget official criticized as “a colossal waste of time.”

“I am now directing the military departments and other DOD components to move expeditiously to identify all employees whose activities fall under these categories,” Hagel said in a statement Saturday afternoon. “I expect us to be able to significantly reduce – but not eliminate – civilian furloughs under this process. Employees can expect to hear more information from their managers starting this weekend.”

Hagel and his staff have been huddling all week to find a way to exempt more workers from furloughs after President Obama signed the Pay Our Military Act late Monday, just hours before the shutdown, that keeps uniformed personnel on the job. The law was vague and brief, but said “the Secretary concerned determines [who provides] support to members of the Armed Forces.”

“The Department of Defense consulted closely with the Department of Justice, which expressed its view that the law does not permit a blanket recall of all civilians,” Hagel said. “However, DOD and DOJ attorneys concluded that the law does allow the Department of Defense to eliminate furloughs for employees whose responsibilities contribute to the morale, well-being, capabilities and readiness of service members.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.defenseone.com/management/2013/10/hagel-orders-most-400000-furloughed-civilian-employees-back-work/71384

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