Contract spending hits high; deficit at $3.1T

      Federal contract spending in civilian agencies reached a record high of $228 billion in fiscal 2020, mostly due to additional spending to fight the COVID-10 pandemic, Bloomberg Government reported based on data available as of Oct. 6. That represents a $33.5 billion increase--or 17%--from the fiscal 2019 levels.

      Complete defense agency data was not available due to lags. Increases at HHS and the VA accounted for a large share of the boost in spending.

      Also, the federal government ran a budget deficit of $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020, triple the fiscal 2019 rate, the Congressional Budget Office reported.

Read more at:
Bloomberg analysis: https://bit.ly/3mkcEIO
Congressional Budget Office reports: https://www.cbo.gov/topics/budget

DUNS shift delayed

      The government’s transition away from the “DUNS” identifier to a government-generated unique identifier has been delayed, the GSA announced.

      The deadline for completing that transition has been extended to April 2022. The DUNS number will continue to be utilized until the transition is complete.

Huawei waiver extended

      The Defense Dept. has extended its waiver for compliance with the ban on Chinese telecommunications products from Huawei and other companies. The waiver has been extended to Sept. 30, 2022.

Read more at:
PilieroMazza client alert: https://bit.ly/3jAA62F

New ID for eBuy

      On Oct. 10, GSA implemented the new FAS ID centralized identity management system allowing access to eBuy and other applications.

Read more at:
GSA Interact blog entry: https://bit.ly/3mt8cHC

$16.5M SDVOSB fraud

      The Justice Department charged Sherman Barton and Chris Neary, owners of VE Source LLC, Shrewsbury, MA, with fraudulently obtaining SDVOSB federal contracts worth $16.5 million.

Inside this edition:

Major regulatory overhaul of SBA mentor-proteges, JVs, 8(a), recerts. etc. in effect on Nov. 16

Small biz items in 2021 NDAA

Self-certs end for WOSBs

Tribes win CARES funds; ANCs lose out

Controversial “correction” in final rule

Groups object to diversity EO

Column: Top 5 Things Every Small Business Government Contractor Needs to Know about Size Protests

Washington Insider:

Coronavirus Update