DHS Launches Contract Review; DoD Issues Guidance on Insourcing
More Insourcing Initiatives, Legislation Introduced

In response to Secretary Napolitano’s efficiency reviews, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also undertaken an assessment of whether its workforce is adequately structured to meets its missions. DHS Undersecretary for Management Elaine Duke, in a June 8 presentation to an industry group, offered insight to DHS’s strategy for conducting the assessment. She said all DHS professional services contracts exceeding one million dollars will undergo a mandatory review before a new contract is awarded or an existing contract is renewed to ensure that proposed contract awards do not include inherently governmental functions or impact core functions that must be performed by federal employees. Read more.

Army's Testing Takeover Raises Body-Armor Costs

By Sara A. Carter, The Washington Times, May 24, 2009

Manufacturers of body armor say the U.S. Army's decision to move testing from private companies to in-house has increased costs by more than 500 percent and undermined research and development of life-saving equipment.  Read more.

Tracking Stimulus Spending May Not Be as Easy as Promised

By Alec MacGillis, Washington Post, May 21, 2009

Shortly after the economic stimulus bill was signed, Vice President Biden was talking up the administration's Web site to track the spending, Recovery.gov, when he accidentally directed people to Recovery.org.

PSC to Secretary Gates: Analyze before Acting on Workforce Proposal

April 29, 2009
In an April 6 press briefing, Defense Secretary Robert Gates outlined the department’s fiscal year 2010 budget proposal, which includes plans to reduce DoD’s reliance on contractors providing support services to the Pentagon and bring that work back in-house. The Professional Services Council (PSC) responded to Gates’ proposal immediately, supporting his efforts to “strategically rebuild core capabilities” that have atrophied in the department, but also asserting that any decisions to bring non-critical positions in-house should be accompanied by sound analyses that demonstrate the cost savings and/or performance improvements that will result. Read more.

GAO Report Finds Downward Trend in DoD Protest Filings

April 29, 2009
An April 9 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report concludes that while the number of bid protests at the defense department increased in FY 2008, when viewed in the context of increased DoD procurement spending, there has been a downward trend in the rate of DoD protest filings. The report was prepared in response to the FY2009 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 110-417). Congress requested that GAO also provide recommendations regarding actions that Congress and/or the executive branch could take to disincentivize “frivolous and improper” bid protests.

With respect to dealing with “frivolous and improper” bid protests, GAO found that its existing process provides a “balanced approach to adjudicate and resolve challenges brought by protesters to federal government procurements.”  GAO believes its existing regulations and procedures allow for prompt close-out of protests not meriting further action, and that it does not require additional authority to dismiss protests. Read more.

Industry Coalition Contributes to Senate Panel’s Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Bill

April 29, 2009
On April 2, the Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously reported an amended bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) that would alter how DoD procures major weapons systems. The committee-adopted version of the legislation includes recommendations made by the Acquisition Reform Working Group (ARWG), a contracting industry coalition which seeks to provide balanced inputs into federal acquisition policy development. Read more.

Getting It Right

April 15, 2009
No matter what the nation's challenges are, the public expects government to work. In addition to carrying out its many existing programs, the stimulus bill and the financial bailout have added new promises the executive branch must deliver on. All the more reason the new administration must find the appropriate balance between the civil service and contractors to get the job done right. Read more.

New IG Report Says Department of Energy Must Intensify Efforts to Hire More Acquisition Staff

April 6, 2009
As attention to federal contracting continues to grow, more and more analyses are concluding that the key to improving federal acquisition lies in aggressively addressing current workforce shortfalls.  Indeed, as the government’s missions have grown in complexity and scope, so too have the demands on the federal acquisition workforce. But the resources, training and professional development opportunities available to that community have not kept pace. The latest objective assessment to reach this conclusion comes from the Department of Energy (DOE) Inspector General. Read more.

Competition of DoD Contracts Increases in FY 2008

March 20, 2009
In the Department of Defense’s (DoD) March 4th report to the Office of Management and Budget, the Department states that $252 billion, or 64 percent, of all DoD dollars awarded through contracts were competitively awarded.  This was an increase over its 10-year average of 61 percent and exceeds the prior high of 63 percent. This stands in stark contrast to some perceptions that competition levels have decreased in federal contracting. Of the $340.5 billion reported in the Government-wide Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS) Competition Report as being competitively-awarded dollars, 74 percent was awarded by DoD. Read more.

Challenges of Implementing the Stimulus

March 12, 2009
The Professional Services Council (PSC) has spent much time over the past few weeks assessing the challenges of implementing the economic stimulus plan as well as the broader issues facing federal acquisition. Our recently-released position paper includes several immediate and longer-term recommendations that Congress and the Executive Branch should take to ensure that America’s civil servants have the capacity to fully and effectively spend the money authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In addition, PSC President and CEO, Stan Soloway, and former Clinton Administration Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator, Steve Kelman, co-wrote a recent opinion piece pointing out that the stimulus effort is similar to other emergency relief efforts in its mission, scope and immediacy. To avoid the problems that beset those efforts, equal energy must be given to front-end functions as to those back-end accountability and oversight measures that seek to ensure compliance. We must also remember that while transparency, accountability and performance are the underpinnings of the Obama administration’s agenda, it is performance that will do the most to deliver results and restore confidence in government.

President's Memorandum on Government Contracting

March 12, 2009
In addition, PSC has completed an analysis of the President’s March 4th memorandum on government contracting and the challenges that will be presented as new guidance is formulated in accordance with the President’s directive. PSC looks forward to playing a constructive role in this process, and urge you to read and consider the comments regarding each of the directives.