Congress' sends mixed messages on competition

Some in Congress believe the proportion of federal contracts that are
competitively awarded has dropped precipitously even though competition levels
are at about the same proportion today as they were 10 years ago....Full story

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE) pushing two bills pending in Congress to support Small Governement Contractors

Congress’s campaign to close the so-called “tax gap,” the amount of money
businesses report on their tax returns verses what the really take in....

Three years ago, as part of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, Congress required government agencies to withhold 3 percent of every payment made to federal contractors to make sure they paid taxes on the income. But a new study by the Department of Defense concludes that it will cost $17 billion over five years to collect just a fraction of that amount.

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE) has maintained from the outset that the cost to implement the 3 percent mandate would be staggering. Beyond that, it argued that the mandate would create serious cash flow issues for small government contractors, would prevent many from bidding, or would force them to raise prices. The council is pushing two bills pending in Congress, H.R. 1023 and S. 777, that would repeal the mandate. Read more...

Government Contracting Reform Bills

The House passed three contracting reform bills April 23, 2008 by voice vote

These include-

• The Close the Contractor Fraud Loophole Act
• The Contractors and Federal Spending Accountability Act
• The Government Contractor Accountability Act

For more information on each bill read the full article...

Government Contractors Association Resource - PSC

JAMIS recently sponsored the spring Professional Services Council Spring Conference 2008. This marked the first major meeting of the newly unified association between PSC and CSA. JAMIS is preparing to sponsor the Fall event also as the attendees bring substance to the table and are a fit for the focus in the coming year.

PSC is a resource for government contractors and interested parties. They focus on preserving, improving, and expanding the federal government market for its members.

Stan Soloway (soloway@pscouncil.org) is president of PSC and contributor to Washington Technology Buy Lines- Policies, strategies and trends to watch. His expertise and insight comes alive with his recent article which reviews the question of which functions can or should be performed by federal contractors. This has been the focus of increasing debate, including two congressional hearings held in early March..... full article