(Click on headlines below to read each full story.) News Analysis: Congress passes a FY2014 budget; $1.1 trillion brings partial relief Package restores some funds but not to pre-sequester levels... Winners & Losers in the new budget VA is up; SBA, TSA down SBA budget takes a hit President Obama’s nominee to head the Small Business Administration, Maria Contreras-Sweet, once approved by the Senate, will be coping with a budget cut. Fed contracts shrink by $58B Total federal contract awards dropped by $58 billion in fiscal 2013, which was about an 11% reduction from the year before. That is the steepest decline in a decade. DC, MD & VA win 1/2 of all fed IT spending The District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia accounted for half of all federal information technology contract spending in fiscal 2012, according to a new report by Deltek. Rep. Moran leaving Rep. James Moran, D-VA, a long-serving member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced his retirement... Column: DCAA Update - Upcoming areas of Focus The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) has been refining its audit processes and procedures in light of criticisms from several Government Accountability Office reports. The agency also has been facing increasing demand for its services without a corresponding increase in staffing levels. This article addresses how the DCAA is changing and focusing its efforts and the possible impact to your organization from an audit standpoint. Washington Insider: Conference Spending Federal conference spending at four agencies fell a dramatic 88% from fiscal 2010 to 2012.... DOD event attendance Pentagon officials are raising concerns about how long it takes to get permission to attend a conference.... OFCCP Agenda The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is planning several new regulations in 2014.... Alliant goes social The General Services Administration has begun planning for the next iteration of the Alliant contract vehicles (including Alliant-Small Business), and has set up an online social media site.... Fraud update Two Michigan contractors will pay $3.8 million in penalties for falsely claiming to be disadvantaged....