Acquisition Policy News 
Top News
- OMB reworking financial systems to focus on outcomes, not inputs
- Lew taps government retiree pension fund to avoid default
- OMB taps VanRoekel to lead management team
- PHOTOS: Meet the 2013 Service to America Medal Finalists
- Hagel: Accountability breakdown was leading factor in sexual assaults
- Former IRS commissioner faces questions about Tea Party
- SBA starting new lending program for veterans
- New Apple devices cleared to join DoD IT networks
- Army prioritizes access to data in fight over intelligence IT system
- DoD upends slow approval process for mobile devices
- Senior execs' bonuses under fire at agencies
- Gould moves the needle on many of VA's toughest challenges
- Tuesday federal headlines - May 21, 2013
Column: Finding answers to a better trained acquisition workforce
Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said the acquisition workforce is most important to improving how the government buys goods and services. He said with 55 percent of the current workforce eligible to retire by 2018, agencies and Congress have to work together to figure out how best to train and equip these employees to be successful.
Lieberman, Collins warn against slashing acquisition workforce
The two influential senators say the mistakes the Defense Department and others made in the 1990s during the last serious budget reductions can't be repeated this time around. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) said budget cuts shouldn't be balanced on the backs of the acquisition workforce. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) added reductions in acquisition staff mean the government will pay more for goods and services.
Federal Drive interviews - June 12
This is the Federal Drive show blog. Here you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.
Agencies taking a more disciplined approach to managing vendors
GSA, Commerce and others are using supply chain management techniques to buy smarter and more efficiently. Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Steve Kempf said a recent survey of their contractors will help influence the next generation of schedules.
Analysis: Partisan climate stymies long-term acquisition improvements
Two former administrators of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Al Burman and Steve Kelman, discuss how acquisition reforms and improvements often fall prey to partisanship. One of OFPP's goals is not only to create acquisition policy, but systems that last beyond one administration. "You want to try to have continuity, as much as you can and keep better management of the procurement system out of partisan politics as much as you can," Kelman said. "If it's just an initiative — if it's forgotten in six months — it's never going to accomplish anything."
'Better Buying Power' already making waves in DoD acquisition
Steven Grundman, a Lund Fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., and former deputy undersecretary of Defense for Industrial Affairs, provides his perspective on how the Better Buying Power initiative has shaped DoD procurement.
Q&A with Larry Allen
Larry Allen of Allen Federal joins host Mark Amtower to talk about changes in government procurement.
June 11, 2012(Encore presentation June 25, 2012)
NIH's GWAC adjusts to new procurement rules to cut waste, increase competition
The National Institutes of Health has more than a decade of experience under its belt administering a governmentwide acquisition contract (GWAC).
Strategic sourcing: Pennywise but pound foolish?
Some small businesses are calling into question the benefits of the Obama administration's strategic sourcing initiative. They say the agencies are mandating the use of the office supplies BPA and putting more than 500 Schedule 75 holders at risk of losing their business. GSA, which runs Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI), said there still are plenty of sales to go around as the BPA accounts for less than half of the $1.4 billion office supplies market.
Quick wins show the benefits of DoD's Rapid Acquisition Program
Pia Romero is a contracts administrator at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and serves as an executive officer in the New Mexico Army National Guard. In a column for Federal News Radio's special report, Inside the World's Biggest Buyer, she says DoD's Rapid Acquisition Program provides items to the force, allows the contracting community the ability to participate and compete in the process, and can save money when applied properly.
GSA ridding schedules of deadwood
Agency introduces the new Demand Based Model that will focus resources on the products and services agencies need and want the most. GSA plans on closing two schedules and parts of 14 others to new offerors. GSA also will cut vendors who do little or no business on the schedule to help reduce administrative costs.
From DoD to State: Agencies break new contracting ground in Iraq
In a first-ever interview, key officials from the Departments of Defense and State responsible for planning the transition to a diplomatic-led mission in Iraq discuss how the two agencies coordinated one of the largest overseas logistical operations since World War II. The article is the first part in Federal News Radio's special report, Trial by Fire: Overseas Contracting in Transition, part of the series, Inside the World's Biggest Buyer.
Data reporting and transparency
Mayer Brown LLP partner Marcia Madsen will talk about what government managers and contractors need to know when it comes to data collection and transparency.
June 5, 2012(Encore presentation June 12, 2012)
Waste, fraud in Iraq put all eyes on DoD contracting
When the Defense Department began contingency contracting operations on a large-scale in Iraq in 2003 it was largely a trial by fire. Despite the best planning, DoD lacked the programs and practical solutions to handle the environment, officials say. Since then, commissions, panels and lawmakers have offered fixes and DoD has evolved to try to create "rock-solid" reforms. Federal News Radio examines these issues in the next part of our series, Inside the World's Biggest Buyer.
Contingency contracting a slowly turning tide, budget shows
The State Department's share of overseas contingency contracting has grown over the last few years as the department took on new activities and functions as the military departed Iraq. Still, the budget shows, the Defense Department is the main player in overseas contingency contracting. And there's no guarantee Congress won't turn to the foreign affairs budget in its efforts to dramatically reduce the deficit.
Small business contracting: The keys to success
Guy Timberlake, chief visionary officer of the American Small Business Coalition joins host Mark Amtower to discuss what small business contractors can do to increase their business.
June 4, 2012
Telework and Cloud Communications
Siemens Enterprise Communications Director of Federal Sales Russell Brodsky will talk about telework and collaboration is changing at your agency.
May 28, 2012
All things AFCEA
Former AFCEA Central Maryland presidents Chuck Taylor and Jerry Schepers will talk about the organization and its activities.
May 21, 2012
Buying commercial in DoD: 15 years after acquisition reform
During the last Defense drawdown, Congress and the White House pushed the Pentagon to make smarter buying decisions in the hopes that it would save a lot of money. The idea was to have the military buy many products the same way businesses do. A decade and a half later, DoD now spends tens of billions of dollars a year under the commercialized models Congress set up. In a two-part, exclusive report, Federal News Radio examines the debate underway over how well it has worked out.
Small business contracting
Congressman Mick Mulvaney and Coalition for Government Procurement Chairman Bill Gormley will talk the challenges that small businesses face when trying to do business with the government.
May 15, 2012
