How to Respond to RFPs During the Shutdown While affected agencies are unlikely to publish new RFPs during the shutdown, government contractors who want to compete for existing opportunities are advised to continue submitting their proposals and questions based on the previously listed schedules. Contracting officers may not be present to receive your submissions, but […]
Randolph Law’s Chris Shiplett was excited to present the following bid protest webinar for Jennifer Schaus’ federal contracting audience. Below, we’ve provided a transcript of the introduction along with the full video for anyone who is currently struggling to decide whether or not to go ahead with a bid protest. As always, please feel free […]
Oracle’s JEDI Protest Ends with More Protests on the Horizon The Government Accountability Office denied a bid protest from Oracle America, Inc. which argued that the winner-take-all structure of the Pentagon’s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract restricted competition. While the single-award nature of the contract is currently unique, the GAO determined that it […]
We recently hosted a webinar to help companies prepare to exit the 8(a) program and continue growing their government contracting businesses. What follows is the beginning of our presentation. To listen in full, see below or click here to watch on YouTube. My name is Chris Shiplett and I’m an attorney with Randolph Law, and you […]
Pentagon Pilot Program Aims to Secure Supply Chain A top defense contractor reports that the Pentagon has implemented a pilot program to identify the origins of parts that end up being used in military weapons and equipment. Increasing transparency comes amid concerns that parts are currently susceptible to hacking by foreign agents. Read more about […]
GSA Schedules Modernization Slated for 2019 According to an interview with Alan Thomas, the commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, changes are coming in 2019 based on feedback from customers and vendors. These changes include: The elimination of minimum purchase thresholds Provisions allowing agencies to combine products and services under one buy Collaboration between the GSA […]
Federal Employment is Shrinking While Contracting Firms are Hiring Federal employment has decreased by about 7,000 jobs over the past year as civilian agencies have been drawn down under the Trump administration. At the same time, government contractors are on a hiring spree, particularly in Northern Virginia where defense and intelligence contracts abound. Some contractors […]
System for Award Management (SAM.gov) Fixes Planned for June 29th Hundreds of federal contractors are hopeful that promised fixes to the SAM.gov website will roll out at the end of June, 2018. These changes will give contractors a new way to log in, update information, renew entries, and enter initial data. Most importantly, the fixes […]
GAO Questions Pentagon’s Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contracts A watchdog agency recently reported that 40% of the Pentagon’s contracts were IDIQ and 75% of those were awarded to a single contractor, raising concerns about the agency suppressing competition. A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the matter states, “Nearly all of the contracts we reviewed […]
The Navy Seeks an Algorithm to Flag Perceived Contracting Threats After nearly awarding a contract to a company involved in a joint venture with Huawei, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, the Navy is calling for changes that will flag similar security risks that may be lurking with potential contractors. The goal is to find an institutional […]