Winvale Blog

For years, GSA did not enforce the cancellation of contracts when they did not meet the minimum sales criteria before the end of the five-year contract period. Recently, this has changed. 

The Contract Sales Criteria clause (I-FSS-639) states:(a) A contract will not be awarded unless anticipated sales are expected to exceed $25,000 within the first 24 months following contract award, and are expected to exceed $25,000 in sales each 12-month period thereafter.(b) The Government may cancel the contract in accordance with clause 552.238-73, Cancellation, unless reported sales are at the levels specified in paragraph (a) above. 

In efforts to reduce administrative costs, given ongoing budget concerns, GSA began this push to cancel contracts in 2012. First, GSA focused on cancelling contracts that had no GSA reported sales. From there, we saw the scrutiny switch to contractors who had GSA sales, but below the minimum sales criteria of $25,000 over the first two years and each year…

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The pilot program for RFP-EZ has shown to have many advantages for the federal government. Not only did RFP-EZ make it faster and easier for federal agencies to acquire technology, but it also has the potential to create substantial savings for taxpayers. The Small Business Administration (SBA) analysis of four common IT projects showed that bids received on RFP-EZ came in 30% lower than similar bids received on the FedBizOpps procurement portal.

Federal Chief Technology Officer, Todd Park, said, “It’s clear the new system (RFP-EZ) will save money and open up the government marketplace to a wider range of companies.” The RFP-EZ pilot program enticed more than 270 new businesses into the market. Even though projects listed on RFP-EZ are limited to the simplified acquisition threshold of $150,000, the federal government is expected to spend approximately $1.4 billion. Federal CTO Park also said, “Half of those projects will be under the simplified acquisition threshold,” which…

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In recent months the General Services Administration (GSA) has placed significance on the importance of having a digital certificate.  In fact, some GSA Schedules already require a digital certificate to access the applications GSA’s eOffer/eMod system.  With the increased prominence and use of digital certificates it is important to be informed on what they are, why they are important and how to obtain them.  A digital certificate is essentially a way of verifying an individual’s identity and securing internet transmissions. It is reassures the parties involved in the transmission, as it creates verifiable digital signatures and enables secure transmissions of data through encryption and decryption.  It is for these added security and verification benefits that the GSA desires its contractors to have these digital certificates. 

Obtaining a digital certificate is an online process that is completed through a company such as IdenTech, and it can take up to 2 weeks to be issued…

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Breaking news was announced when the Inspector General (IG) released a report stating that The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has spent over $50 million on at least 220 conferences for their employers for the past three years. A total of three congressional committees are currently being investigated and a Justice Department criminal investigation is also under way, according to NBC.

Michelle Eldridge, a spokeswoman for the IRS, stated that the costs of the conferences fell from $37.6 million in 2010 to $4.9 in 2012. The lavish conferences in 2012 offered the following benefits to some of the 2,600 attendees: baseball tickets, presidential suites costing up to $3,500 a night, and outside speakers that cost around $135,000. Despite the standard government practice of negotiating lower room rates, the IRS did not bother to strike any deals. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday to discuss the inappropriate use of government funds.…

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The General Services Administration (GSA), in partnership with a federal cybersecurity interagency working group (comprised of members of the DoD, GSA, DHS, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)), released an RFI for stakeholders’ input to improve the governments’ cybersecurity acquisition and implementation.

This Request for Information (RFI) is in response to Executive Order 13636 on Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (EO) and Presidential Policy Directive-21 on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (PPD-21).  Both of these directives have the goal of standardizing cybersecurity contract elements and procurement requirements. The RFI is being touted by Dan Tanglieri, current Acting Administrator of the GSA, as “an important first step to a public private partnership that will help secure out nation’s infrastructure.” If you would like to provide comments you must do so by June 12^th,…

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According to a recent interview with the Federal Times, Acting GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini presented the case that GSA remains undaunted by current budgetary uncertainties.  The agency is making efforts to expand market share by rededicating its efforts to channel more federal procurements through GSA contracts.  In fact Tom Sharpe, GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service commissioner, highlighted in a separate interview that GSA is creating agency specific plans to help agencies cut costs and save money by using GSA programs and schedules. 

Last year GSA only achieved 12 percent of federal procurement spending that could have gone through one of its vehicles.  To date, that percentage has increased to 15 percent.  Mr. Tangherlini noted that it is GSA’s goal to hit 17 percent by the end of the fiscal year and to strive for a figure closer to 90 percent within 10 years.  Moreover, he has been meeting with agency stakeholders to remind them of the core advantage of utilizing GSA’s…

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