GAO’s high-risk list

The Government Accountability Office added two new areas--management of climate change effects and gaps in weather satellite data--to its High-Risk List outlining 30 major management challenges for federal agencies. The GAO updates the list every two years.

“Climate change creates significant financial risks for the federal government,” the GAO said. “The federal government is not well positioned to address the fiscal exposure presented by climate change.”

The gaps in weather data are expected to span 53 months starting as early as 2014 and resulting in incomplete weather forecasts.

In addition, two areas were removed from the high-risk list following improvements: management of interagency contracting and Internal Revenue Service business systems modernization.

More information: GAO High-Risk List update: http://goo.gl/xJ5iI

DOD insourcing memo

Defense Department contracting officers must notify contractors of insourcing decisions before any hiring is done, according to a new memo from Frederick Vollrath, principal deputy assistant secretary.

“The leadership of each Component, organization, or command shall determine and document final decisions to in-source. Within 20 business days of the receipt of such decision, the contracting officer shall provide a written notification to affected incumbent private sector providers,” the memo states.

“No formal hiring or contract related actions may be initiated prior to such notification, except for preliminary internal actions associated with hiring or contract modification,” the memo said.

In some cases, agencies have hired contractor staff while insourcing work.

Insourcing of contracted work can be justified if the work involves inherently governmental functions or if the work is “closely associated with inherently governmental functions, critical in nature, and unauthorized personal services,” the memo stated.

Work also may be insourced if it makes fiscal sense based on a cost analysis, the memo added.

More information: DOD memo http://goo.gl/BHk6T

Strategic Sourcing RFQ

The General Services Administration expects to issue a Request for Quotes in June for its next phase of the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI), the agency announced at its “Listen to Industry Day” on Jan. 30.

Award is anticipated in August 2013.

The next FSSI phase involves two categories of products: janitorial and sanitation supplies, as well as maintenance, repair and operations products.

Those two categories accounted for $1.6 billion in federal spending in fiscal 2011, GSA officials said in a PowerPoint presentation. GSA’s goal is 10% to 20% savings through strategic buying in those categories.

More information: GSA PowerPoints: http://goo.gl/2e1Lh

NASA plans investments

NASA released a 92-page Strategic Space Technology Investment Plan that outlines its future plans for leadership in space over the next four years.

The goal is to support NASA’s exploration and science missions as well as other government and commercial space activities.

More information: NASA space tech plan: http://goo.gl/ixhoh

Debarment overhaul

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-CA, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, recently introduced a draft bill that would consolidate federal contractor suspension and debarment programs.

The legislation would end agency-based suspensions and debarment programs. Those functions would be handled by a centralized body called the Board of Civilian Suspension and Debarment.

The bill has gotten mixed reviews. One of the areas of disagreement is how the bill would affect contractor due process rights.

More information:
GovExec: http://goo.gl/wUR4E
Issa statement: http://goo.gl/RxcXo

Stumped by a tree?

The National Park Service is blaming a contractor for mistakenly cutting down a historic ginkgo tree in a downtown Washington DC park.

The contractor — identified by the Washington Post as a Lothian, MD company called Greentree — was supposed to remove a sickly ash tree.

A Park Service spokeswoman told the Washington Post that the agency followed proper procedures and this was “an error and mistake by the contractor.”

The ginkgo was healthy and at last 140 years old.

A Greentree official said the company is not making statements at this time.

More information: Washington Post article: http://goo.gl/oXuIW