GovCon Open Dialogue

      White House and executive agencies have launched a public “Open Dialogue on Federal Procurement” to improve acquisition, including how to involve more small and disadvantaged contractors.

      The online dialogue is being sponsored by the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, Chief Information Officers Council, General Services Administration and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

      The three topics for the dialogue are reporting and compliance requirements; procurement practices; and participation by small and minority businesses, new entrants and nontraditional government contractors.

      Discussion is to include how to improve existing technical or strategic assistance programs and to make finding business opportunities more user friendly.

More information: https://cao.gov/open-dialogue/

SAM.gov bad for blind?

      A group of blind contractors has initiated a class action lawsuit against the General Services Administration claiming the SAM.gov contracting registration website discriminates against the visually impaired, according to a report from NextGov.

      The blind contractors say they have had serious difficulties registering or updating their SAM.gov (System for Award Management) data entries, even with special software designed for the blind.

      The American Council for the Blind and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs filed in the U.S. District Court for DC.

      The lawsuit accuses GSA of violating Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which bans discrimination solely based on a disability.

      The GSA has 60 days to respond. GSA generally does not comment on pending legal disputes.

More information: NextGov story http://goo.gl/xtaVCV

GSA ombudsman

      The General Services Administration named a new procurement ombudsman, Millisa Gary, to better communicate with its vendors.

      The GSA announced the new position in an interview with Federal News Radio.

      "Millisa's role is to meet with industry and take that feedback and translate that for our workforce," Jeff Koses, GSA’s senior procurement executive, told the newspaper. "If she's hearing of a weakness in the debriefing process — a common complaint — she identifies that, she helps us identify the training that's needed internally to reinforce that. If we have a contractor raising a specific concern, she will give voice to it. She'll make sure we actually thoroughly discuss it, give it fair hearing and help us to reach a fair resolution."

      Last year, several industry associations recommended a GSA schedules ombudsman after the inspector general’s office found improper management interference in GSA schedule negotiations.

More information: Federal News Radio story http://goo.gl/Z6hIJK