Acquisition & Procurement

Federal agencies are expected to spend up to 40 percent of their fiscal 2018 budgets before the new fiscal year begins in October, Nextgov reported Wednesday. Defense and civilian agencies would have to obligate at least $140 billion in additional budget authorized under the omnibus spending package passed by Congress …

The Government Accountability Office raised issues the General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget should consider as they implement the next phase of a federal program that facilitates agencies’ procurement of commercial products through online portals. Those issues include the potential impact of the e-commerce program on current …

Ellen Lord, undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Defense Department and a 2018 Wash100 awardee, has said that her office will train DoD procurement managers on how to buy commercial technology platforms through the nontraditional contracting process,  SpaceNews reported Sunday. She also aims to establish a policy that would …

The Defense Department is expected to issue this week the third draft solicitation for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud procurement program, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday. Dana Deasy, chief information officer at DoD, assumed responsibility for the JEDI cloud effort early this month and told the Senate and House …

Tiffany Hixson, assistant commissioner of the office of professional and human capital services at the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, has said she believes the government should adopt a performance-based approach when it comes to services procurement, Federal News Radio reported Friday. “Traditional strategic sourcing proposals based on price …

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Defense and Aerospace Export Council has expressed support for the Trump administration’s implementation plan for a new policy governing U.S. arms transfer processes. Keith Webster, president of DAEC and vice president at Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement released Thursday implementing the Conventional Arms Transfer policy will …

A technology trade association has called on House and Senate conferees to retain in the final fiscal 2019 defense policy bill a provision that would restrict the use of “lowest price technically acceptable” contracting method in government-wide procurements of information technology and cyber security platforms. BSA | The Software Alliance wrote …

The Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration have launched efforts to advance the use of “commercial solutions opening” method to speed up the acquisition of innovative platforms and services, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. DHS released in June its guidelines for the CSO contracting method, while GSA unveiled in …

The Defense Department has released a memorandum that would authorize contracting officers to use a competitive procedure to procure “innovative” commercial technologies and services as part of a four-year pilot program in a move to encourage participation from non-traditional contractors, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday. DoD’s acquisition officials will release …

The U.S. Air Force’s security and protection category council has implemented the category management approach to help the service streamline its procurement processes and achieve cost savings. Scott Heise, council director at the Air Force Security Forces Center, said in a statement published Thursday a five-year contract the service awarded to …