As you probably know, we have been following very closely developments relating to Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which prohibits executive agencies from purchasing restricted
Continue Reading The True Impact of the Chinese Telecom Ban on Government Contractors
MAS Contract
GSA Implements Restrictions on Certain Chinese-Made Telecommunications Services and Equipment
On September 9, 2019, the U.S. General Services Administration (“GSA”) announced it would be issuing a mass modification (expected sometime this month)[1] requiring all new and existing GSA Multiple Award Schedule (“MAS”) contracts include two new clauses. The new clauses come in response to Section 889 of the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), and recently implemented FAR provisions, which impose prohibitions relating to the procurement of certain Chinese telecommunications equipment and services (which we have previously discussed here and here). The two clauses to be added to all MAS contracts are:
- FAR 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Aug 2019)
- GSAR 552.204-70, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Aug 2019)
House Armed Services Committee Takes Aim at GSA with Proposed Legislation
On May 18, 2017, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry introduced H.R. 2511, titled “The Defense Acquisition Streamlining and Transparency Act.” The bill drastically would change how commercial off-the-shelf (“COTS”) products are acquired by the Department of Defense, and could signal the end of the line for the GSA Schedules program. This bill aims to create a more streamlined COTS procurement system. To achieve this goal, the proposed legislation ignores longstanding procurement principles, statutes, and regulations – and even contravenes several stated positions of the Trump administration – to provide an alternative to the General Services Administration (“GSA”) Schedules program the drafters clearly believe is too burdensome, inefficient, and costly.
Continue Reading House Armed Services Committee Takes Aim at GSA with Proposed Legislation
What GSA Can Learn from the National Parks Service
Note: The following post is adapted from the forthcoming 2016/2017 GSA Schedule Handbook, published by ThompsonWest, due out later this year.
Any way you look at it, 2016 will be an interesting year. You may have heard there is an election on the horizon. That’s right; in November 2016, U.S. voters will trudge down to their neighborhood elementary schools and community centers to pull the lever (or, far less climactically, tap a graphic on a screen) for their favorite candidate. As we draft this preface in Washington, D.C. in June 2016, Hillary and Donald are neck in neck for the White House with more than half of all Americans saying they are dissatisfied with both candidates. This dismal statistic, of course, is consistent with the growing numbers of Americans who say they are dissatisfied with the federal Government (and Congress) generally.Continue Reading What GSA Can Learn from the National Parks Service
Understanding the Scope of Federal Supply Schedule Labor Category Descriptions: Risks and Opportunities Presented by the GAO’s AllWorld Language Consultants Decision
In a Federal Supply Schedule (“FSS”) procurement conducted under FAR Subpart 8.4, all items quoted and ordered by the agency are required to be available on the vendor’s schedule contract as a precondition to its receiving the order. This means, in the case of a task order for services, that all of the solicited labor categories must be on the successful vendor’s FSS contract.
Continue Reading Understanding the Scope of Federal Supply Schedule Labor Category Descriptions: Risks and Opportunities Presented by the GAO’s AllWorld Language Consultants Decision
As GSA FAS Struggles to Reinvent Itself, Contractors Suffer
Note: The following post is adapted from the forthcoming 2015/2016 GSA Schedule Handbook, published by ThompsonWest, due out later this year.
The last year has been a tough one for the GSA Multiple Award Schedules (“MAS”) program. The Federal Acquisition Service (“FAS”) – the agency charged with administering the MAS program – has struggled to re-invent itself and its contracting vehicles in order to ensure they both stay relevant in an increasingly competitive federal marketplace. The byproduct of this struggle has been mostly negative for Schedule vendors.
Continue Reading As GSA FAS Struggles to Reinvent Itself, Contractors Suffer
What Happens In Vegas Doesn’t Seem To Stay In Vegas: A Different Take on GSA’s Recent Woes
By John Chierichella and Jonathan Aronie
Note: The following post is adapted from the forthcoming 2012/2013 GSA Schedule Handbook, published by ThompsonWest, due out later this year.
The past 12 months were interesting ones for the Multiple Award Schedule Program. To the dismay of many, and the embarrassment of some, the General Services Administration seems to find it hard to stay out of the press these days.Continue Reading What Happens In Vegas Doesn’t Seem To Stay In Vegas: A Different Take on GSA’s Recent Woes