Acquisition & Procurement

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Army Contracting Command offer guidance to help its personnel comply with a policy regarding issuance of service extensions to vendors. GAO said Thursday it reviewed five contracts from the command and found three of the deals were extended for periods longer than what is …

The General Services Administration could open its government Acquisition Gateway online portal to companies and the general public beginning next week, Fedscoop reported Thursday. Billy Mitchell writes GSA launched the site in October 2014 for agency procurement employees to access information about a wide range of goods and services by category as well as to share …

Frank Kendall, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, has proposed an acquisition strategy for satellite launch services that he believes could help the Defense Department reduce costs and dependence on Russian-built RD-180 rocket engines, DoD News reported Wednesday. “The basic business deal we have in mind is that the …

The Defense Contract Management Agency is in the process of hiring personnel for its network of “centers of excellence” that aim to give procurement and contracting officers guidance on what constitutes as a commercial item versus a non-commercial product, DCMA’s director has told ExecutiveGov. Air Force Lt. Gen. Wendy Masiello, who has …

The General Services Administration, NASA and the Defense Department have proposed a regulation to block vendors that use internal agreements to prevent their employees or subcontractors from reporting wasteful spending, fraud and abuse to federal customers. The three agencies said Friday in a Federal Register notice their proposed rule would …

The Office of Management and Budget plans to release a draft policy that will block federal agencies’ new contracts for the procurement of mobile devices and services, Federal News Radio reported Monday. Jason Miller writes the draft policy will require agencies to adopt existing government-wide General Services Administration wireless services. …

Lt. Gen. Michael Williamson, principal military deputy to the U.S. Army acquisitions chief, has said that a “whole government” approach and an increased decision-making authority for the services will help efforts to reform defense acquisition. He told Defense News reporter Jen Judson in an interview published Tuesday that acquisition reform plans should focus on …

James Geurts, U.S. Special Operations Command acquisition chief, has said acquisition officials at SOCOM should be more adaptable to change and promote innovation in order to respond to the needs of a “globally deployed” Special Operations Force, Defense News reported Wednesday. “I don’t want to be surprised by change, I …

Federal agencies that used the General Services Administration’s Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative blanket purchase agreements to acquire wireless services experienced an average savings of 27 percent valued at over $10 million in fiscal year 2015. Mary Davie, assistant commissioner of the integrated technology service office at GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, wrote …

U.S. Air Force Sec. Deborah Lee James has detailed the service branch’s Bending the Cost Curve acquisition system that seeks to support innovation and deliver cost savings and process efficiencies. James wrote in a guest piece published Wednesday on Defense One that the Air Force worked with the defense industry as part of efforts to develop …