Follow @Setasidealert on Twitter for the latest news & tips Delays and more delays: Prolonged budget fight slowing down work The ongoing federal budget impasse of recent months is generating widespread concerns about federal contract solicitation and award delays affecting both small and large firms, and fears that those patterns may be worsening in 2013. Goal met for service-disabled veteran-owned firms? But HUBZone buys falling short Federal agency purchases from small companies owned by service-disabled veterans have risen dramatically and appear to have reached the government’s 3% goal for the first time for fiscal 2012 SBA’s Karen Mills, Johns are leaving Karen Mills, administrator, and Marie Johns, deputy administrator, both recently announced they are leaving the Small Business Administration. Sequester: once unthinkable, now may be inevitable Union-backed report advises service contract cuts to avoid agency furloughs With just two weeks to go until $85 billion in automatic spending cuts begin to go into effect on March 1, Congress recessed and most lawmakers left town. For Government Contractors, Employee Incentive Compensation May Be Key to Navigating Challenging Times Ahead For some time now, government contractors have been operating in a holding pattern due to the threat of sequestration, tenuous funding for existing contracts and the unresolved debt ceiling crisis. Washington Insider: 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.... DOD insourcing memo Defense Department contracting officers must notify contractors of insourcing decisions before any hiring is done 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).... 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.... 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.... Stumped by a tree? National Park Service is blaming a contractor for mistakenly cutting down a historic ginkgo tree....