PSC Supports Woman-Owned Small Business Rule

The Professional Services Council this week submitted comments to the Small Business Administration highlighting some necessary recommendations to strengthen its proposed Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program.

While PSC generally supports the long-awaited program, which was first mandated by Congress in 2000, we believe the following will help SBA achieve the programs goals:

• Provide a level playing field for both economically disadvantaged WOSBs and other WOSBs to compete for set-aside contracts under the program.
• Swift action to identify third-party certifiers for WOSB status so businesses can readily take advantage of the program.
• Quickly establish a program repository that allows businesses to submit documents online regarding their eligibility for the program to avoid having to provide eligibility documents each time they submit a proposal for a set-aside solicitation.
• Set a clear timeline for when and how often the industry codes eligible for the set-aside program will be reviewed and updated. In addition, SBA should consider a petition process for organizations to provide information to SBA about market changes that may justify including new NAICS codes.
  

To read PSC’s comments, click here.

PSC to Gates: DoD’s Strategic Human Capital Initiative is Devolving into a Quota-Driven Process

Professional Services Council President and CEO Stan Soloway sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates today expressing concern that the Defense Department’s plan to insource critical functions is going off track. The president of the International Association of Machinists, R. Thomas Buffenbarger, sent a separate letter to the secretary with identical concerns. Read our press release and both letters here.

PSC Raises Concerns with DoD’s Safeguarding Unclassified Information Rule

The Professional Services Council today submitted comments that raise concerns to the Defense Department regarding an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to govern how contractors protect controlled unclassified DoD information residing on contractor networks.

While PSC believes protecting this information is important to both national security and industry interests, the notice raised several concerns. Among PSC’s concerns are the broad scope of its application, its lack of clarity of a number of key terms and its potentially onerous reporting requirements.

The House passes the IMPROVE Acquisition Act

The House passed the IMPROVE Acquisition Act yesterday — to borrow a phrase — to improve DoD acquisition. Or at least that’s how the Hill sees it. And, for the most part, PSC agrees that the bill will make some needed improvements to the Defense Department’s acquisition processes. However, PSC has some serious reservations about amendments offered on the floor that take the bill off its intended track.

An amendment submitted by Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., could require contracting officers to make cost at least half of the evaluation criteria on a contract unless a contracting officer justifies why cost shouldn’t be the primary consideration. How do you put cost above outcome on a research and development contract for new body armor or a new mine-resistant vehicle? Given the tremendous workloads staff-strapped contracting shops face, that’s what Grayson is doing since it is doubtful contracting officers have the time to provide written justifications on why best value should trump cost in such cases.

Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., offered another troubling amendment. Hare’s amendment would make it the “sense of Congress” that the government shouldn’t do business with any company that has violated a labor law. Excluding from further contracts any contractor that has a labor law violation against it doesn’t make “sense” to PSC. An acknowledged violation could be a signal that the company took responsibility for its action, proving it trustworthy. Further, a violation may be technical and that does not affect a contractors’ ability to fulfill its responsibilities to the government.

Gordon hears PSC, ABA concerns on multi-sector workforce policy memo

Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Daniel Gordon took part in a question and answer session the Professional Services Council and the American Bar Association hosted on April 26. Gordon discussed his March 31 draft policy letter, “Work Reserved for Performance by Federal Government Employees.” Among the top concerns raised by attendees about the letter: a failure to offer clear guidance on conducting a cost comparison and a failure to address what to do when a job could be considered “government only” but the need is immediate or the job isn’t a long-term requirement. Gordon said he is in “listening mode” and welcomed written comments on these and other concerns raised during the town-hall style meeting. PSC is preparing comments to send to Gordon by the June 1 deadline.

Hiring rule would limit contractors

The Labor Department did a curious thing on March 19. It proposed a rule that appears to run afoul of basic labor laws and practices. The “Cliff’s Notes” version: Labor, at the order of the White House, proposes to force contractors that win government work from another firm to give the outgoing contractor’s wage-grad...e employees the right of first refusal for the jobs they’re vacating. However, the proposal fails to provide a meaningful way for the incoming contractor to assess the qualifications of those employees. Sound absurd? PSC President and CEO Stan Soloway thought so too. You can read his in-depth analysis of the rule in this Government Executive op-ed.

PSC Raises Concerns with DoD Proposed Rule on "Safeguarding Unclassified Information"

Alan Chvotkin, PSC's executive vice president and counsel, discussed another Defense Department proposal affecting contractors at a public hearing yesterday. The initiative would govern how contractors secure controlled unclassified Defense information on the contractors’ networks. You can read his presentation and PSC’s views on this rule here.