SCOTUS: Veteran-owned small businesses get preferential treatment

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on the Federal Drive.

• Managers from four agencies have asked Congress for a little breathing room. The managers told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee they’ll need Congress’ trust if they’re to address high-risk issues highlighted by the Government Accountability Office. Food and Drug Administration Director Jeff Shuren said they need to let agencies fail to learn. (Federal News Radio)

• A prominent senator wants acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management Beth Cobert to find out what kind of bonuses agencies are dishing out to senior executives. In a letter, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) asked for statistics pertaining to bonuses for every agency. It was recently revealed one TSA official received $90,000 in bonuses. (Federal News Radio)

• Air Force Chief of Staff nominee Gen. David Goldfein blames lack of manpower for the delayed use of the F-35. He told Congress the service needs about 4,000 more maintainers to fill the gap as it can’t spare them from other systems. Even if the Air Force reaches its goal to grow to 317,000 airmen by the end of the year, it will take years to train them. (Federal News Radio)

• Veterans Affairs must give preference to veteran-owned small businesses for procurements, even when it reaches its target number for them. That was the ruling handed down by the Supreme Court. USA Today reports all eight justices unanimously upheld a 2006 law’s “Rule of Two” provision, which says bidding must be limited to veteran-owned small businesses when two or more of them submit reasonable bids. (USA Today)

• The VA is losing another benefits director. Acting Undersecretary for Benefits Danny Pummill is retiring. He’d been on the job about eight months after Allison Hickey resigned last October. He oversaw the VA electronic disability claims processing system which cleared much of the backlog during his tenure. Pummill had delayed his retirement to take over the position. (Federal News Radio)

• President Barack Obama nominated his choice for the next Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency. Shirley Woodward has worked as a Partner in the Litigation and Controversy Department at the firm WilmerHale for the past 6 years, and a law clerk for Sandra Day O’Connor before that. She did work for the CIA from 1985 to 1997, serving as an Intelligence Operations Officer. (White House)

• The stage for a staring contest between the President and both chambers of Congress is now set. The House passed its version of the 2017 Defense Appropriations bill, despite numerous criticisms by the White House and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. They condemned the Senate’s as well. The administration is most unhappy with the House bill’s use of Pentagon’s war fighting reserve to pay for high profile contracts according to Bloomberg News. The $517 billion bill also creates more obstacles for transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees. (Bloomberg Government)

• The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services awarded 27 large businesses and 54 small firms a spot in its major IT services contract. The Strategic Partners Acquisition Readiness Contract or SPARC has a $25 billion ceiling over the 10 year life of the vehicle.  SPARC is replacing the existing Enterprise Systems Development (ESD) contract that CMS has had in place since 2007. Under SPARC, CMS will issue task orders across 10 functional categories, including concept and planning, test and development and software development services. (FedBizOpps)

• The GOP has launched a new agenda, calling for more oversight of federal agencies. The Better Way initiative is crafted by a group of Republican House members calling themselves the Task Force on Restoring Constitutional Authority. The group promises alternative proposals for health care and the war on poverty. In a video, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) promises to trim what he calls executive overreach. The group vows to take control from un-elected bureaucrats. And to increase transparency of federal spending. (Rep. Paul Ryan)

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.