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Author: Admin

Government Grinch

All government contractors should be aware of procedures in the event that our federal system shuts down at midnight tonight. GSA sent the following in an email earlier today:

In the event of a Government shutdown Friday night after 11:59pm, GSS acquisition will continue to process orders and will remain open during the Government Shutdown in the near term.

However, Government personnel responsible for receiving delivery or performing inspections at many agencies* may not be available during the period of the funding gap.  The Federal Government is closed Monday, December 24, and Tuesday, December 25th, regardless of whether there is a shutdown. Please review the contingency plans of government agencies posted here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-for-agencies/agency-contingency-plans/

Since the status of agency personnel remains uncertain, we advise you to call ahead to confirm that government personnel are available to accept deliveries.  The Government will not be liable for any costs you may incur if you attempt delivery during the period of the funding gap (shutdown). If, after reviewing the affected agencies at the website above, you are still unsure of imminent delivery schedule success, please contact your customer agency for further instructions before attempting delivery during this timeframe.

*Agencies impacted in a potential shutdown include the Departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture, Interior, Treasury, State, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Commerce, and Justice.

Agencies where funding for FY19 has already been passed, and therefore not affected by a shutdown, include the Departments of Defense, Labor, Energy, Health and Human Services, Education, Veterans Affairs and the legislative branch.

If you’re worried about something in particular, give us a call at 301-913-5000. We will be working sporadically next week, but are always available for your emergencies.

What’s Going On PSS?

During the PSS “What’s New and Coming Soon” webinar this week, Lisa Norgren provided some updates and coming attractions. Among the most interesting/important points:

  • SSQ has a new interface! And it’s pretty! We tried using the sample search, it didn’t work. But that doesn’t mean yours won’t. One big change: you now must log in to perform a search.
  • 72a reporting is slowly migrating to a new FAS Sales Reporting Portal. Slowly, you ask? Yesss. The new system is being rolled out to some users, and the method seems haphazard. As we check the portal for all our clients, you may want to do the same. This ongoing migration will eventually replace the current system for all contractors.
  • The streamline process for PSS continues, with more updates expected early next year.
  • PSS SIN consolidation also continues, with more announcements expected by the middle of 2019.

As always, please contact us (301-913-5000) with any questions or concerns about the above. We are here to help!

Sign on the dotted line…

On the recent-GSA-trend front, our EZGSA proposal specialists have noticed our Contracting Officers making a small but significant change to GSA Schedule awards.

Until recently, COs would provide us with a GSA Schedule contract number immediately upon issue and contractor signature of the SF1449. This allowed businesses to begin marketing their Schedules immediately, as well as prepare for new task orders with interested government clients. Recently, however, the COs have been waiting to give a contract number until it has been countersigned. And the number is being issued with a modification, effectively changing the contract before it’s been awarded.

A little confusing, yes. Tragic, no. But if you have questions, give us a call and we will do our best to answer them. 301-913-5000.

Oh Say Can You See? Focus on the Micro-Purchase Threshold

During a recent industry day, GSA reiterated that the Portals Program will focus on transactions under the Micro-Purchase Threshold. The current draft of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act grants a GSA request to increase the Micro-Purchase threshold for purchases through approved portals to $25,000. If included  in the final draft, this will make the Portals Program the preferred vehicle for any micro-purchases. The GSA Schedules Program will remain the preferred contracting vehicle for all other commercial item procurements. GSA said this would simplify the acquisition process and address federal buying requirements (such as considering AbilityOne and designated small business contractors for procurement).

On the other hand, not all industry partners are so enthusiastic. Will this create two completely separate market places for the same services and products, at two different price barriers? Some contractors are nervous that the Portal initiative might create a different compliance structure from Multiple Award Contracts,  potentially leaving businesses with difficult decisions. The concern is that the move will create parallel systems of compliance and companies will have to weigh the cost of navigating both.

Roger Waldron, president of Coalition for Government Procurement, has an example. “If there are compliance requirements in one channel and they don’t exist in another channel, do (businesses) stay in the channel where they have compliance requirements and increase costs and lower margins? They are going to be making those kinds of business decisions ultimately.”

In response, GSA officials said they are still weighing how to design the policies for the portals and would be testing the new micropurchase threshold in a proof of concept pilot sometime next year. Jeffrey Koses of the Office of Governmentwide Policy said GSA is “still trying to determine if this is more of an [indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity] type of relationship or is this something else. It’s a fair question. I don’t know if we have all of the answers at this point.”

GSA released two RFIs about the regulations needed- one for suppliers that sell on commercial e-commerce platforms and one for commercial providers. Leave your thoughts there, or in our comments.

Mass Modification to Incorporate OLMs

Order-Level Materials Now Featured on Schedules

Image result for OLM gsa

The new GSAR incorporating OLMs into the Multiple Award Schedule program should simplify buying and selling procurement solutions through MAS.

Quick Recap: OLMs, or Order-Level Materials are supplies or services. Agencies acquire OLMs in direct support of a task or a delivery order on an existing Schedule contract or BPA. Types, quantities, and prices of OLMs are not known or established when contracts and BPAs are awarded.

What’s New: This authority adds flexibility to existing Schedules programs on other commercial IDIQ vehicles. It also saves time and money, decreases the number of new contracts, and decreases barriers posed by unanticipated needs.

Opting-in: To start providing OLMs, partners need to accept a mass modification which adds the terms and conditions to current contracts and verify subscriptions to the MAS Interact Group. When contractors opt in, they can compete for more orders and reduce additional bid and proposal costs.

The removal of some barriers to entry into the federal marketplace means that small business are better able to compete for orders.

As always, if you have questions, feel free to contact us at 301-913-5000 or admin@ezgsa.com