SmartContracting Daily Intel for May 30 & 31, 2012

Happy Thursday! Today, a special double edition of Daily Intel bringing you news you may have missed from yesterday and today. 

NextGov: Budget and Staff Pressures are Reshaping the Federal Cybersecurity Market

http://bit.ly/JPikY3

Politico: Cyberthreats turn into megabucks for defense companies

http://politi.co/JZtzq9

Bloomberg Government: September Spending Spree Takes on New Urgency: BGOV Insight (subscription required) http://bit.ly/JTCewr

CNN: Defense official says automatic cuts will cause 'absurdities'

http://bit.ly/KAEMCr

Bloomberg Government: Pay Pushing $1 Million at U.S.-Funded Groups Spurs Call for Caps (subscription required) http://bit.ly/MbSaz6

SmartContracting Daily Intel for May 29, 2012

Happy Tuesday! In today's news...

Fox Business: Are 2013 Budget Cuts Hurting Business? 

http://bit.ly/L12V2j

Washington Post: The high cost of savings

http://wapo.st/KXLtuQ

Washington Post: Contractors air concerns about hiring proposal

http://wapo.st/N5DCxE

Federal Times: DoD's contract audit agency hobbled by backlog

http://bit.ly/K9yZFm

Wall Street Journal: Afghan Dam Saga Reflects U.S. Travails

http://on.wsj.com/JyshYh

SmartContracting Daily Intel for May 25, 2012

Happy Friday! In today's news...

Federal News Radio: Senate confirms wave of DoD nominees, new OFPP administrator
http://bit.ly/KoEXiu

Defense News: Think Tank Calls for Major U.S. Defense Reductions
http://bit.ly/Lv1eJ1

Washington Post: Investigators want explanation of alleged overbilling in Afghanistan
http://wapo.st/Kg4NXf              

FCW: Bills would establish higher small-biz contracting goals
http://bit.ly/JyajBK

DoDBuzz: Senate leader ‘not backing off’ sequestration
http://bit.ly/KoF4dX

SmartContracting Daily Intel for May 24, 2012

In today's news...

Washington Post: John F. Sopko, veteran investigator, nominated to fill Afghanistan special inspector general post

http://wapo.st/LdG6e6

The Hill: Pentagon worried about fake weapons parts from overseas

http://bit.ly/KCVuMo

Washington Technology: Budget uncertainty puts damper on contractor stocks

http://bit.ly/LjVked

AOL Government: VanRoekel Argues For Government's Mobile Opportunity

http://aol.it/JuOYJy

Federal Times: Survey: Feds see short-term goals as barrier to sustainability efforts

http://bit.ly/KjaRg2

SmartContracting Daily Intel for May 23, 2012

Happy Wednesday! In today's news...

NPR/Morning Edition: Afghan Public Protection Force Replaces Contractors

http://n.pr/KOpo1L

Federal News Radio: Buying commercial in DoD: Pentagon struggles to stay away from customization

http://bit.ly/LoMUoJ

Washington Business Journal: Small businesses with outside investors could qualify for set-aside federal research funds

http://bit.ly/LqzKnD

FCW: OMB's digital strategy expected imminently

http://bit.ly/KC6UCm

Government Executive: Agencies told to assume the worst in budget requests

http://bit.ly/KOpyX8

Federal Times: Sharing IT gets more attractive as budgets shrink

http://bit.ly/JxLz1d

SmartContracting Daily Intel for May 22, 2012

After a brief hiatus, we're back with your rundown of news you can use about the government contracting industry. 

Washington Times: Defense contractors eye cuts to jobs, plants 

http://bit.ly/L2fz3e

Washington Post: Doubling direct foreign aid could bite U.S. vendors

http://wapo.st/KvH8NW

Defense News: Dispute Brews Over Changes to Commercial Acquisition Process

http://bit.ly/JlgXPd

Federal News Radio: OMB directs agencies to cut 5 percent from 2014 budgets

http://bit.ly/LosBEu

Washington Post: Tension is common in federal employee-contractor relationships | #FedBuzz

http://wapo.st/JDgb0x

Federal News Radio: House OKs $642 billion defense bill

http://bit.ly/L2fLPZ

Contractors Feel the Fiscal Pinch

In recent weeks, there has been a cry from some on the Hill and from some federal employee unions that government contractors aren’t suffering enough in the current fiscal austerity environment. They point to federal government pay and hiring freezes as examples of the unfairness. But this rhetoric ignores basic facts about the contractors’ lot. 

In a recent column in BNA’s Federal Contracts Report, PSC Vice President of Government Relations Roger Jordan details exactly how government contractors have felt the pinch of the government's austerity budgets. Jordon concludes that, as a result of direct government actions to reduce federal spending on services contracts, “contractors have already borne a far greater brunt of the [austerity] reductions than has the federal workforce, and all indications are that this will continue to be the case.”

Read Jordan's column, reproduced with BNA’s permission, here.