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The Obama Administration has put a greater emphasis on improving government information technology (IT) and digital services than any other presidential administration in our history. We had a glimpse of the tech-savvy Obama campaign back in 2008, and again in 2012, with its adept use of social media and modern analytics. This approach continued when President Obama entered the White House, demonstrating [...]
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The Senate takes up its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) this week, leading many in the federal contracting community to quickly analyze provisions that could affect federal contractors. From a proposed restructuring at the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L) branch, to a complete overhaul of the DOD’s Cost [...]
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Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, has introduced his latest plan to increase acquisition agility and interoperability in programs at the Department of Defense (DOD), and while an iterative approach to true acquisition reform may be effective in the long run, too few steps may stall the momentum. The proposal, the Acquisition Agility Act, is a continuation [...]
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Despite the veto threat looming over it, there is reason to cheer that the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) came in ahead of the December timeframe observers have come to expect. More importantly, the conference report for the NDAA bill, H.R. 1735, that was passed by the House yesterday is chock full of forward-leaning provisions that change the way that the Department of [...]
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An interim rule which went into immediate effect when it was released last month by the Department of Defense (DOD), DFARS Case 2013-D018 on Network Penetration Reporting and Contracting for Cloud Services, has changed the way that contractors and suppliers report network penetrations to DOD. It imposes stricter regulations on how contractors can sell cloud computing services to DOD, including how [...]
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The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) often earns the nickname “the Christmas Tree bill,” not only because it tends to act as a catch-all for a variety of unrelated pet project amendments, but also because, like the holiday, its passage usually comes in late December. However, this year’s NDAA bill is poised to pass both chambers before the August recess. The House and Senate Armed Services [...]
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When the House and Senate return for an expected ‘lame duck session’ after the election, one of the proposals they plan to focus on will be the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). To speed up the proverbial legislative sausage making, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are pre-conferencing their separate proposals now because it is unlikely the Senate could complete passage [...]
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As the appropriations process moves toward the Senate, the federal contractor community has cause for concern with a series of amendments in Fiscal Year 2015 House appropriations bills that could mean mass debarment of federal contractors who have been involved in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This morning, the IT Alliance for Public [...]
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The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs today will be marking up H.R. 1232, the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, or FITARA. It’s significant because it is the first time the Senate will formerly consider the House’s signature acquisition reform bill. What remains to be seen is how similar the Senate’s marked-up version of the bill will be to FITARA. [...]
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The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today, June 9th, 2014, on H.R. 4228 - DHS Acquisition Accountability and Efficiency Act. The Information Technology Alliance for Public Sector (ITAPS) issued a letter of support on April 29th as the bill advanced out of Committee. As the bill comes before the House today, we echo our previous support and remain behind H.R. 4228. This bill would be [...]