The General Services Administration has proposed new rules asking contractors to incorporate security standards in order to protect government information on the IT systems they manage. Last week, in the new requirements were located in a Federal Register post detailing the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, two proposed rules — GSAR Case 2016-G511 and 2016-G515 — call for amending the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation to include requirements for contractors to safeguard GSA information in a solicitation's statement of work, as well as the procedures for they inform the agency of a potential breach.  Read More

President Donald Trump has signed a stop-gap continuing resolution, delaying the prospects of a government shutdown for four more weeks. The Senate passed the CR early Thursday afternoon with a 74-20 vote. The House easily cleared the measure Tuesday. The president had to take action before 11:59 p.m. on Thursday to avoid a second government shutdown in 2019.  Read More

The General Services Administration (GSA) is continuing efforts to consolidate its multiple-award schedules and modernize its government acquisition platforms. Late in the summer, GSA announced plans to discontinue the Federal Business Opportunities contracting website and transition it into a unified System for Award Management.  Read More

Late last month, President Trump issued an executive order to "promote economy and efficiency in Federal Government procurement," by rescinding an Obama-era EO, which gave existing employees, a "right of first refusal" for jobs on successor service contracts.  Read More

With more than 34.8 billion recovered by the government since 2010 under the federal False Claims Act, it has never been more crucial for private practitioners and corporate in-house counsel to keep abreast of the changes and hear a wide variety of perspectives on this rapidly evolving and highly challenging area of the law.  Read More

The Trump administration's plan to merge most of the Office of Personnel Management with the General Services Administration looks like it will take another major hit. Legislators from both chambers reject the proposed consolidation, as the Senate joined the House in including no funding for the plan in its consolidated appropriations bill for fiscal 2020.  Read More

Lawmakers seem to be viewing another stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown just before Thanksgiving, as inevitable. By all outward appearance, Congress seems unlikely to resolve their differences in order to use regular spending bills before the stopgap bill funding agencies at their fiscal 2019 levels expires on Nov. 21, an additional continuing resolution seems more likely.  Read More

The Office of Personnel Management ordered federal agencies to start fully complying with three executive orders altering federal workforce policy after a federal court lifted an injunction that had blocked their full implementation. In an Oct. 4 memo, OPM Director Dale Cabaniss reinstated guidance dating back to July 2018 that ordered agencies to update OPM and the White House on the status of collective bargaining agreements and current negotiations in order to put the three executive orders in effect.  Read More

The head of the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service has resigned his position after a little over two years to take a position in the private sector. FAS Commissioner Alan Thomas resigned on Oct. 2 and GSA Senior Advisor Julie Dunne will serve as acting FAS commissioner beginning Oct. 15.  Read More

Despite stop-gap funding, with another potential government shutdown looming next month, activist groups are pushing for legislation to protect low-wage federal contractors, a group they say can least afford to lose income but has the fewest protections. When Congress struck a deal to fund the government following a 35-day shutdown earlier this year, it included a provision that guaranteed federal employees back pay in all future shutdowns.  Read More