Surviving Sequestration, Part 2: What’s a company to do?

As agencies grapple with the prospect of sequestration, your contract funding could be at risk. What’s a company to do? PSC attempted to answer that question for its members during a panel discussion on Jan. 17.

Here is some of the advice PSC’s own Alan Chvotkin gave to attendees.

Immediate actions:

• Know your existing contracts:
• Contract Type
• Available period of performance
• Revenue options/ceiling amounts
• Option periods remaining/available
• Ensure that your past performance is the best it can be and that your PPIRS and FAPIIS database references are accurate and most favorable.

Short-term actions:

• Engage your customers, but recognize contracting officers and program managers might not have answers until the last minute or the authority to act in all cases.
• Evaluate agency spending on its priority contracts – even if you aren’t on it.

Long-term actions:

• Ensure that your past performance is the best it can be and that the PPIRS and FAPIIS database references are accurate and most favorable.
• Evaluate your existing contracts for flexibility to add new work or new funding opportunities.
• Evaluate future solicitations and potential awards for performance flexibility and for risk.
• Be an aggressive advocate for your performance capabilities and revenue options.

PSC Discusses Debt Threat

With the debt limit breach just a few short days way, Smart Contractors are sure to be asking “What is going to happen to my contract and my business if Congress doesn’t reach an agreement and the administration can’t raise the debt ceiling?”

 

Since the U.S. government has never defaulted on a debt before, it is difficult to say with any certainty what will transpire. It’s not even clear that failure to raise the debt ceiling will result in a default, but there are some key points you should understand about operating when the government cannot borrow money: