If you are a small federal contractor, I have a question for you. Would $500,000 help you right now? No tricks and no strings. Now what is that were repeated several thousand times over the course of a fiscal year? The real-life scenario is very possible based on a piece of legislation introduced by Congressman Connolly and Congresswoman Eshoo. It's called RFP-IT and it's focused on reforming Federal IT but it includes language for the proposed Digital Government Office to put more emphasis on small businesses getting a piece of the action, and goes one step further by offering to increase the Simplified Acquisition Threshold to $500K versus the current $150K.

Below in News You Missed, I've included a link to the article about the bill and a link to my blog article with my two cents as to the potential impact and what else I would like to see in the bill as it relates to Simplified Acquisitions.

We're proud to announce one of the newest benefits for members of The American Small Business Coalition. The GovCon Help Desk is now live and taking inquiries! It's a complimentary resource for answers to common and not-so common questions related to government contracting. We cover a lot of ground with the GovCon Help Desk A-Team we've assembled and invite members to begin firing away!

If you're a member and you have government contracting questions, we've got the answers you need.

You'll see the article below in News You Missed, but I just could not wait to make a few comments about it. The title is STARS II shines in GWAC universe and it goes on to espouse the virtues of this government-wide contract vehicle and how spending wil be on the rise. Really? Maybe I'm interpreting all of this information wrong. Maybe STARS II is doing great, albeit doing just slightly more in obligations than it's predecessor with the only difference being six hundred awardees versus 180 on the original STARS GWAC. STARS saw $678M from FY04 to FY06, whereas STARS II has just over $1B from FY11 to FY13. But keep in mind the current version has three times as many contract holders.

Then there's the part about spending on 8(a) companies under the same four NAICS Codes away from STARS II. I'm not  talking about other established contract vehicles, I'm referring to buys made to standalone contracts, the kinds of buys that on paper are more labor-intensive and subject to more scrutiny than GWAC buys. Agencies have obligated more dollars to 8(a) sole source and competitive buys using contracts that don't reference the STARS II contract numbers (or any other IDV numbers), as do delivery/task orders under the GWACs. How much more? Last time I checked, it was $300M more. If I add in all other small business types and other than small businesses, the difference is in the billions.

While we're on the subject of the 'GWAC universe' I wonder what NASA and NIH would have to say about how successful STARS II is compared to their GWACs. Since GSA doesn't include their GWACs information on the GWAC Dashboards it's not so obvious. As far as I know, SEWP, although more product focused originally, is still the most successful GWAC in all of GovCon. Just sayin'!

On February 18th, we'll host a virtual (webinar) kickoff for the program formerly known as Presidents, Owners and Chief Executives, now known as Principals, Owners and CxO's. This is a member-led activity focused on supporting industry decision-makers with practical and proven experience and insights from their peers. The group page for this members-only activity is live with information available! The first in-person POCx Exchange meeting will occur in Reston, VA on the morning of March 13th. See the events section below for links to details.

To ensure we have a "boots-on-the-ground" perspective, long-time member (and all around good guy!) Matt Ramsey of Excivity takes the helm of POCx as chairman. He's already put together a list of topics and is already plotting which key speakers can provide the insights and added motivation to support organizational growth for member companies. 

POCx participation is reserved for Principals, Owners and CxO's of member companies providing goods and/or services to government agencies as a prime contractor, subcontractor or teaming partner.

Membership in The American Small Business Coalition works for and with you!   

To learn how our membership programs can support your federal sector efforts, call 410-381-7378 ext 1 or email us.

 

Visit www.theasbc.org/events for additional information!

"First, let me thank you for a very powerful and productive day! I was afraid to leave the room for fear I might miss one word of your presentation. The information you provided to those of us putting rubber to the road is critical to our success in business development. The Ethical Stalking for Government Contractors workshop is a must for anyone responsible for navigating the complex and ever changing environment of the government acquisition process for products and services."