Washington Insider
Services contract decline
One of the most notable trends in federal services contracting in recent years has been the dramatic decline in services contracts of less than $250,000, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a new report.
Spending on those contracts has fallen by half from fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2012, from $16 billion to $7.7 billion, CSIS said.
Overall, spending on all federal services contracts dropped by 7%, from $332 billion to $308 billion, between fiscal years 2011 and 2012. Services contracts valued at between $25 million to $100 million, or over $500 million, declined by 3% over the same period.
CSIS projects that 2015 spending on federal services contracts will be below 2009 levels.
Use of multiple-award indefinite delivery contracts grew from 6% of all services contracts in 2000 to 20% in 2012.
More information: CSIS report http://goo.gl/vzpSk7
Charge card abuse
Federal employees who make unauthorized, illegal, improper or erroneous purchases with government charge cards may be subject to dismissal or other disciplinary measures, according to new guidance from the Office of Management and Budget.
The 2012 Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act ordered agencies to strengthen protections against charge card abuse.
Agencies must certify to OMB by Sept. 30 that they have internal controls in place.
More information: OMB memo http://goo.gl/HgCFcI
House prepares CR
The House Appropriations Committee is expected to introduce a stop-gap spending bill shortly to avoid a partial government shutdown after Sept. 30 when the fiscal year ends.
As of Sept. 10, Congress had not approved any of the 14 appropriations bills needed to keep federal agencies operating.
The stop-gap Continuous resolution (CR) is rumored to be for about two months.
Hope for Q4 spree
Fourteen federal agencies are still striving to reach their small business goals for fiscal 2013 and that is likely to boost small vendors in the fourth quarter, according to a Bloomberg Government quantitative analyst.
The Defense Department has the largest gap, $5.7 billion, between its achievement and goal, Evan Croen told Federal News Radio on Sept. 9.
The Homeland Security Department has about $357 million left to spend before it reaches its small business goal, Croen said.
Historical performance also is important, with some agencies consistently overachieving and others underachieving.
DoD historically has awarded only about 20% to small businesses, falling short of its 22.5% goal, Croen said.
More information: Federal News Radio article: http://goo.gl/BvzRnw
