GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
The Under Secretary of Defense Issues Memorandum Regarding the Appropriate Use of LPTA Source Selection Process and Associated Contract Type
The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Frank Kendall, distributed a memorandum to Defense Department (DoD) acquisition professionals, on March 4, 2015, providing additional guidance on when to use Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) contracts and how to apply LPTA competitions to acquisition for services. Kendall said that DOD shouldn't use LPTA if it is willing to pay more for superior performance. Additionally, Kendall's memorandum included some discussion of the types of contracts that DoD may use in LPTA procurements, such as fixed-price, time and materials or cost plus fixed fee contracts. The Under Secretary of Defense Issues Memo Regarding the Appropriate Use of LPTA Source Selection Process and Associated Contract Type.
OFPP Issues Memorandum Regarding Acquisition 360 – Improving the Acquisition Process Through Timely Feedback from External and Internal Stakeholders
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) issued a memorandum, on Wednesday March 18, 2015, directing agencies to use new surveys to solicit feedback from industry and government stakeholders after complex information technology (IT) acquisitions. OFPP director Anne Rung has said the new survey tool, called Acquisition 360, will help OFPP and agencies evaluate and improve their acquisition procedures from pre-award activities to contract awards and debriefings. The responses will also help OFPP learn more about why agencies use particular government-wide contracting vehicles and their relative satisfaction with different vehicles available to them. The surveys are not intended to rate individual contracting officers, program managers, or to compare procuring offices, instead they are intended to help agencies identify areas for internal improvement. OFPP’s memorandum includes separate survey questions for industries to evaluate the government, for contracting offices, and for program offices. OFPP has directed agencies to begin using the surveys quickly, with a goal of issuing two retroactive surveys for complex IT development within one month, and to issue surveys for at least 50 or at least 5% of new complex IT systems or services by the end of the fiscal year. While IT is the initial focus, OFPP has encouraged agencies to use the surveys for other acquisition areas as they see fit. OFPP Issues Memorandum Regarding Acquisition 360 - Improving the Acquisition Process Through Timely Feedback from External and Internal Stakeholders.
GAO Issues Report Regarding Defense Acquisitions - Assessments of Selected Weapons Programs
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report, on March 12, 2015, stating that the Department of Defense’s (DOD) major defense acquisition program portfolio has decreased to its lowest size and cost in a decade. The program has decreased from 80 programs to 78 with an estimated cost decrease by $7.6 billion. The GAO reports the decrease in the current portfolio cost is primarily due to significant quantity decreases of two programs, and that most other programs have actually experienced a cost increase over the past year. It is believed the overall costs are decreasing due to DoD’s increased use of focused acquisition reforms that address affordability, cost savings, and competition. However, DoD continues to accept risk by waiving initial certification requirements and beginning production of a new weapons system before developmental testing is complete, resulting in programs carrying unwanted risk into subsequent phases of acquisition that could result in cost growth or schedule delays. GAO Issues Report Regarding Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs.
GAO Issues Principles of Federal Appropriations Law Annual Update of Third Edition
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued the annual update of the third edition of Principles of Federal Appropriations Law. The objective of the publication is to present a cumulative supplement to the published third edition text. This March 2015 update adds all relevant decisions from January 1 to December 31, 2014. GAO Issues Principles of Federal Appropriations Law Annual Update of the Third Edition.
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
SBA Issues Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Seeking Input and Comments on SBIC Initiative
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to seek input and comments on its Early Stage Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) initiative, promulgated in the final rule on April 27, 2012, 80 Fed. Reg. 14034. The intent of the initiative was to license and provide SBA leverage to SBICs over a 5-year period (fiscal years 2012 through 2016) that would focus on making investments in the early stages of small businesses. Although 58 investment funds applied to the program, to date the SBA has only licensed 5 Early Stage SBICs. The SBA is seeking input from the public to determine whether existing market conditions warrant the SBA continuing to license Early Stage SBICs past fiscal year 2016 on an ongoing basis and, if so, what changes should be made to the program to attract qualified early stage fund managers. Comments are due May 18, 2015.
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
The Following Notices Were Issued:
80 Fed. Reg. 13351, March 13, 2015, to add a service (Janitorial Service, GSA PBS Region 5, Enterprise Computing Center, 985 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, MI) to the Procurement List. The addition will become effective April 13, 2015.
80 Fed. Reg. 13351, March 13, 2015, proposing to add a product (Padfolio with Pen, Department of State Logo, 8-1/2'' x 11''/7510-01-NIB-1015) and services (Janitorial Service, USDA, Agricultural Research Service Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory, 808 East Blackland Road, Temple, TX; Mail Service, US Air Force, Dyess AFB, TX) and delete a product (Cap, Operating, Surgical, 6532-00-250-5041, 6532-00250-5042, Allied Health Care Services, Clarks Summit, PA) from the Procurement List. Comments on the proposed additions and deletion are due April 13, 2015.
