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    Archives for April 11

    Apr 7, 2011

    Closing would affect more than 800,000 federal employees, including some White House staffers
    Contingency plans are in the works as the government prepares funding to expire on April 8.
     
    Expect about 800,000 federal employees to stop working, said a senior administration official in a conference call for reporters April 6. That figure is based on what happened during the last government shutdown in the mid-1990s, the official said.
     
    That rough estimate doesn’t account for changes since the previous shutdown though, such as the Veterans Affairs Department’s multi-year appropriations and the creation of the Homeland Security Department. Reference Article.

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    Apr 8, 2011

    A government shutdown seems more likely now than the near misses of earlier this year.
    Many prognosticators are putting the odds at 50-50 but leaning toward a shutdown. The government has estimated that 800,000 government employees will be sent home if it happens.
    For contractors, the picture isn’t quite as clear. They have options on how to keep working even if are locked out of customer sites.
     
    “We’ve been preparing for this for over a month,” one executive told me.
     
    The big question of whether contractors work or not depends on several factors.
    The first is whether the customer is exempt. An exempt customer means the contractor keeps working as normal. Another executive told me his company created teams that included operations, finance, legal, human resources and contracts. The teams then are putting work into four categories:
    • Funded and essential
    • Funded and non-essential
    • Unfunded and essential
    • Unfunded and non-essential
    A second factor is where the money is coming from. If it is 2010 money, work can continue but invoices may get paid late, according to Alan Chvotkin of the Professional Services Council. If the work depends on money coming out of 2011 funds, work stops.
     
    "If we have a contract and a statement of work and we aren't on a government site, we've got to show up for work," an executive told me.
     
    A third factor relies on company policy. Workers can be shifted to other work that will continue during a shutdown. That likely will not take care of most workers, and some companies may require employees to take paid time off rather than laying off workers. Read Full Article

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    Apr 17, 2011
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    Apr 19, 2011

    A database housing performance reviews of federal contractors is available to the public, beginning 15 April 2011.  But the public won't find much there, at least initially.

    That's because only contractor performance information posted on or after April 15 will appear on the site.
     
    The Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information Systems (FAPIIS) site shows actions taken against contractors in the course of their work with the government. Contracting officers are supposed to use the year-old database to review companies' past behavior before awarding a contract.
     
    Members of the public must submit a Freedom of Information Act request to access any info before April 15.
     
    The General Services Administration, which created the database, hailed the public launch of the website, saying the public now can view information previously available only to federal procurement staffs and congressional leadership. The database includes contract terminations, determinations of defective or false pricing data, and contractor self-reporting of criminal, civil and administration actions.
     
    "Creating the public-facing FAPIIS is akin to setting up the Better Business Bureau of federal contracting - which is good for government and good for the public," said Kathleen Turco, associate administrator of GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy. "As FAPIIS continues to be populated, it will significantly support and assist federal government efforts to make informed spending decisions and to reduce risk."  Read Full Article.

     

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    Apr 20, 2011

    “The Government is Open for Business”

    A government shutdown occurs when a disagreement occurs between members of Congress. In this instance, Republicans and Democrats could not agree on the amount of cuts that they should implement for the year. Republicans were proposing a $61 billion budget cut while Democrats suggested slashing only
    $6 billion of this year’s budget. Less than two hours before the government would have run out of funding at midnight, April 8, Democrats and Republicans finally agreed on a budget. Lawmakers will cut $78.5 billion below President Obama’s 2011 budget proposal and $38 billion below the 2010 budget.

    Army Corps of Engineers: Funding at the President's request level of $4.9 billion, supports existing applications for renewable energy loan guarantees at the Department of Energy, and provides a $697 million (7%) increase for the National Nuclear Security Administration to ensure adequate funding for critical components of our national defense.

    • The Continuing Resolution reduces most Treasury and Executive Office of the President accounts.

         o Reduces funding for construction of new federal buildings by more than $800 million.
         o $13 million increase over last year for the Inspector General of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to provide strong oversight of the billions of dollars remaining in TARP assets and continues current funding for drug task forces and programs to assist small businesses.

    Homeland Security: $41.8 billion in discretionary funding is provided for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for fiscal year 2011. This is $784 million, or 2%, below FY 2010, and $1.9 billion, or 4%, below the President's FY 2011 request.

    Department of Homeland Security: All critical frontline operations, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Agency, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service are sufficiently funded to meet mission requirements and sustain staffing levels. The bill reduces: CBP's Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology (BSFIT) account to the President's request; FEMA's first responder grants by $786 million, $264 million in funding previously targeted to earmarks, and $557 million in unobligated and lapsed balances from prior year funds.

    Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD): THUD and Related Agencies section of the CR contains a total of $55.5 billion, a $12.3 billion, or 18%, reduction from fiscal year 2010 levels, and a reduction of $13.2 billion, or 20%, from the President's fiscal year 2011 request.

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    Apr 22, 2011

    Award has work across eight primary military operations areas.

    Thirteen large contractors and 22 small businesses have been named to the Army’s $2.5 billion Operations, Planning, Training and Resource Support Services prime contract.

    OPTARSS II is an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract from the U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command Center at Fort McPherson, Ga.

    The key task-order vehicle for the Army Forces Command calls for support services across eight primary military operations areas: operational planning, training, modeling and simulation, flight operations, mobilization planning and execution, deployment operations, force protection, and transformation.

    Large contractor winners are:

    * Alion Technical Services
    * Booz Allen Hamilton
    * CACI International Inc.
    * CSC
    * Cubit Corp.
    * Eagle Support Services Corp.
    * General Dynamics Information Technology
    * L-3 Services
    * Lockheed Martin Corp.
    * Northrop Grumman Corp.
    * Raytheon Co.
    * SAIC
    * Stanley Associates Inc. (now part of the CGI Group)

    Small-business winners are:

    * Accent Controls Inc.
    * Aegis Technologies Group Inc.
    * Ahntech Inc.
    * Ahtna Support and Training Services LLC
    * Automation Precision Technology Inc.
    * Data Solutions and Technology Inc.
    * Eagle Systems and Services Inc.
    * Enterprise Information Services Inc.
    * The Ginn Group Inc.
    * HCI Integrated Solutions
    * HRJ International Inc.
    * Hughes Group LLC
    * Janus Research Group Inc.
    * Logistics Management Resources Inc.
    * Micro Technologies LLC
    * Orion Technology Inc.
    * Quantum Dynamics Inc.
    * Skyline Ultd Inc.
    * Strategic Resources Inc.
    * TechWise
    * Total Consulting Group Inc.
    * Unified Consultants Group Inc.

    Reference Article

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