GSA and IRS have lowered the mileage reimbursement and deduction rate by 4 cents to 44.5 cents per mile.

After gas prices jumped in September, IRS increased the rate for the business mileage tax deduction. GSA’s reimbursement rate follows the IRS rate.

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A small-business joint venture has been awarded a $191.6 million contract to perform environmental remediation and waste management activities at the Energy Department’s Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah, KY.

The contractor, Paducah Remediation Services LLC is a joint venture of Portage Environmental Inc. and Shaw Environmental Inc. Portage, a Native American-owned 8(a) firm headquartered in Idaho Falls, ID, is the managing partner. Shaw Environmental is a subsidiary of Shaw Group Inc. of Baton Rouge, LA, a large engineering company.

The contract, awarded as a result of a competition, will run through 2009 and provides incentives to the contractor for managing costs effectively while completing the cleanup work on schedule.

The Energy Department said Paducah Remediation Services will be responsible for groundwater and soil remedial actions, removing legacy waste, decontamination and decommissioning facilities, operating the site waste storage facilities, surveillance and maintenance activities, as well as other activities. The company will take over from Bechtel Jacobs Co., whose contract expires April 23.

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FedBid Inc. has been awarded a five-year contract to provide online reverse auction services for federal agencies. GSA awarded the governmentwide indefinite delivery task order contract.

FedBid, of Vienna, Va., said GSA and other agencies under the contract buy nearly $100 billion in commodities each year. The company says its auction system can produce savings of up to 15%.

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The Government Printing Office has awarded a contract to FedEx Kinko’s that allows federal employees to buy printing and other services at any of the company’s 1,100 stores. GPO said it has negotiated discount prices under a new program called GPOExpress. Agencies will issue credit cards to employees who are authorized to use the program.

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President Bush announced he intends to nominate James I. Finley to be deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition and technology. Finley is president of a consulting firm and is a former CEO of Smartskin Inc.