On October 4, 2022, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) published a Request for Information (“RFI”), seeking information “about the availability of domestically manufactured, locally sourced low-carbon construction materials” for governmentwide construction procurement. Significantly, the results of the RFI are expected to help inform how the GSA will spend the $2.15 billion appropriated through Section 60503
Not to be outdone by the Department of Defense’s commitment to consider inflation relief, on September 12, 2022, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) Federal Acquisition Service published a Supplement to Acquisition Letter MV-22-02, extending and enhancing policies to provide inflation relief to GSA Schedule contractors. As we previously explained, the original Acquisition Letter relaxed
This week’s episode covers the Cyber AB’s recently released pre-decisional draft CMMC Assessment Process, an SBA final rule that implements new methods for evaluating expanded sources of small business past performance, a GSA OIG Alert about the Transactional Data Reporting rule, and Senate passage of an amended version of the Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest
On July 18, the GSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued an Alert Memorandum both broadcasting and criticizing the Federal Acquisition Service’s (FAS) apparent decision to expand the Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) rule to the entire Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). The TDR Pilot Program studied the potential for TDR to reduce the compliance burdens of the MAS program by replacing the various requirements Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contractors must fulfill to ensure the pricing offered to GSA customers is fair and reasonable, including the obligation to make Commercial Sales Practice disclosures and to track commercial pricing and discounts to the negotiated Basis of Award customer under the Price Reductions Clause. The GSA OIG previously criticized the TDR Pilot Program.
The General Services Administration (GSA) transition from the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Number System (DUNS) to the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), which took effect on April 4, 2022, has faced challenges. Substantial verification and validation delays continue, agencies have had to issue guidance for the management of SAM delays, and even Congress is showing concerns.
According to the Federal Service Desk (FSD), GSA requires entities to submit new validation documentation, despite the years of submissions to Dun & Bradstreet, because data rights limitations prevent SAM.gov from using previously validated data.
Continue Reading SAM Transition to UEI Plagued with Registration Processing Delays
On July 7, 2022, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPR”) seeking public comment on revising GSA policies and procedures to reduce single-use plastics in purchased products and their packing and shipping materials. GSA is acting in furtherance of the directives set forth in Executive Order 14057, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability (discussed here), which, among other things, directed GSA to use federal procurement policy as a way to support a recycled content market. Thus, for purchases under the Federal Supply Schedule program, as well as GSA’s construction, concession, and facility maintenance contracts, GSA seeks to reduce reliance on single-use plastics and move toward what the Administration considers to be “environmentally preferable” materials.
Continue Reading GSA Exploring New Regulations to Reduce Single-Use Plastic in Federal Procurement
On April 28, 2022, the DoD issued a final rule that, effective immediately, requires the government to treat a contract previously awarded using FAR part 12 procedures as a prior commercial item determination (“CID”) for the acquired product or service, unless the head of contracting activity determines that the prior use of FAR part 12
Following President Biden’s announcement of Executive Order 14042 (“EO”) on September 9, 2021, several agencies have issued guidance on the EO’s applicability to the contractor community, which we reported on here. Further to GSA’s September 30, 2021 Class Deviation CD-2021-13, on October 6, 2021, GSA reiterated that a mass modification program for all
This week’s episode covers a new Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, expansion of the GSA Schedule Transactional Data Reporting pilot program, conflicts of interest, revised CDC mask guidance, and Treasury’s Interim Final Rule to provide guidance on the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds established under the American Rescue Plan Act, and
On April 27, 2021, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced its intention to not only continue but expand the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) pilot program, based on a third consecutive year of positive results.
Since 2016, GSA’s pilot has studied the potential for TDR to replace the various onerous requirements FSS