While much of the federal market is abuzz with cybersecurity and hi-tech solutions, the Department of Homeland Security is taking a new, low-tech approach to augment its existing Continuous Diagnostics Monitoring (CDM) mission. “It is precisely because CDM is so important that we are bringing in the nuns”, said DHS spokesperson Eve Arden. “The sisters have shown unique resilience and the ability to watch everything all at once,” she added. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas directly approved of the initiative stating, “I remember when I was in Catholic school. We had a student who spraypainted “Sister Mary is a slavedriver” on our rock. They had him locked up by lunch.” Sister Mary Johnmarie of the Sisters of Notre Dame will lead the DHS project. Sister stated “We not only know where you are, we know what you’re thinking and that you need to go to confession right now. Our over 50 years of experience in watching every move of elementary school students has prepared us well for the task of helping DHS with their CDM requirements. In fact, we anticipate that this will be far easier than teaching catechism to 7th graders.” The nuns also have considerable diagnostic experience since they routinely administer approximately 3,000 tests per student per year. They are also adept at solving problems. One commenter who preferred to remain anonymous said “I had a problem at home with my mother drinking and my father chasing nuns. Sister Johnmarie was able to help.” The move to bring in the nuns reportedly caught US adversaries off guard. NSA intercepts from an unconfirmed source reportedly said “DHS didn’t have a prayer before, but now they have a heavenly hotline.”
The Department of Defense will receive $26.8 billion more in discretionary spending per the six-bill
“minibus” package Congress passed this past weekend. That’s good news for contractors and their DOD customers. The overall measure includes over $1.2 trillion in spending to fund about three quarters of the government. In addition to DOD, the Department of Homeland Security will also see an increase in discretionary spending of $1.1 billion from last year. That is a significant increase with most funds going toward strengthening the US southern border. Not all agencies will see an increase. The Department of State and associated foreign operations spending will see a $3.4 billion cut from FY’23. This reflects Congressional skittishness over sending money overseas, despite what others believe to be compelling needs of US allies. Financial service spending will also decrease by $1.1 billion. Other agencies, such as HHS and Labor, will essentially see modest increases that are more than offset by inflation, making for a net decrease in spending ability. It may take 4-6 weeks for each federal office to receive its final FY’24 spending number once the appropriations measure passes. That means that contractors and their customers will only have 5 months to get available money obligated. Contractors should be prepared to assist agency customers by recommending fast, efficient acquisition methods to ensure that critical programs can progress before midnight September 30th. There will be no extension of the fiscal year regardless of the Congressional delay. Bloomberg Government had estimated earlier this week that the significant delay in funding resulted in 40% fewer acquisition actions. That translates into significant pent-up demand. Be prepared.
A new report from Bloomberg Government estimates that Best-in-Class (BIC) contract spending hit $57.3 billion in FY’23, a new record. The total figure equates to 7.4% of total government contract dollars. The single largest area of BIC use was for IT solutions, with the GSA IT Schedule, GSA Alliant II, and NASA SEWP contracts leading the way. IT BIC contract spending totaled $239.4 billion between FY’15 and FY’24, according to Bloomberg. BIC contracts are specially designated IDIQ contract programs that have been identified by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy as offering competitive pricing and easy ordering capabilities. Although a BIC designation may sometimes seem to be subjective (see the Alliant Read more
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finding that federal agencies improperly compensate hourly rate, “blue collar” workers 75% of the time is just the latest example of issues that result in agencies getting a slap on the wrist while contractors engaging in the same behavior would be in line for keel hauling. GAO said that agencies sometimes pay more than prevailing wage rates for covered workers, but also sometimes underpay them. Any contractor offering hourly rate services knows well that they would face fines, legal fees, and potentially other sanctions for engaging in the same behavior, yet the impact on agencies seems to be minimal. Another recent case of “do as I say not as I do” comes from GSA where Read more
Work has begun on FY’25 budgeting even as government contractors await passage of FY’24 spending bills to fund 80% of all discretionary spending. Here are three takeaways contractors need to know about what all of this action means for them:
1. Congress appears close to being ready to pass 5 of the 6 remaining FY’24 appropriations bills. The good news is that the DOD spending measure seems to be nearing agreement. The bad news is that the DHS bill is stuck and at least some appropriators are wondering if the gulf between Democrats and Republicans can be bridged. If not, it’s looking more and more Read more