If a cloud services provider (CSP) wishes to provide their services to a federal agency they must obtain authorization and approval from the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). As more and more CSPs have entered the FedRAMP assessment process, there has been a push to help agencies and CSPs achieve FedRAMP authorization faster. Moreover, the Office of Management and Budget mandated starting June 5, 2014, that all CSPs must be FedRAMP approved or at least in the process of getting an authority to operate prior to contracting with federal agencies. In order to assist with these efforts, GSA recently unveiled a new category to its program for cloud systems proven “FedRAMP Ready.”
Continue Reading GSA Announces New FedRAMP Category to Speed Up Approval Process
GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS)
Learning from Bid Protests: Non-GSA Contract Holders Can Submit Offers Through a Contract Holder—If They Follow the Rules
By Bass, Berry & Sims on
Posted in Bid Protests, GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS)
The government contracting industry is extremely competitive, which is not a surprise given the $500+ billion dollars in federal procurement spending up for grabs each year. This competition certainly gives government contractors ample incentive to seek out any useful information that may provide even a small advantage in their procurement activities. Bid protest decisions can be one such source of useful information, often providing valuable insight into the procurement process.
One bid protest decision may focus on a contractor’s mistakes which led to its proposal being rejected from competition, serving as a how-to-guide of sorts showing contractors what not to do. Another bid protest decision may instead highlight errors made by the agency, giving contractors a blueprint of what agency actions/inactions to look out for in their own procurements that may lead to sustainable protests. Whatever the issue, knowledgeable contractors can utilize this information to avoid missteps and properly protect their interests in the potentially lucrative government contracting space.
Another useful aspect of bid protest decisions is that some decisions, while pointing out avoidable defects in proposals, can also shine a light on obscure rules and regulations which may open up contracting avenues not otherwise considered. GAO released a bid protest decision last week which may provide an example of this notion.Continue Reading Learning from Bid Protests: Non-GSA Contract Holders Can Submit Offers Through a Contract Holder—If They Follow the Rules
Can a contractor assign their leasing agreement with the federal government to another party?
By Todd Overman on
The Court of Federal Claims in American Gov’t Props. & Houma SSA v. United States recently restated the general prohibition on assignment of federal government contracts and laid out the necessary steps contractors must follow in order to avoid an improper assignment of a lease agreement.
The case involved a contract to design, build and then lease to the Social Security Administration an office building in Houma, Louisiana. The General Services Administration (GSA) terminated the contract for default citing lack of progress. The plaintiffs brought suit alleging termination was improper and sought damages as a result of the alleged breach of contract. The defendant moved to dismiss on the grounds that plaintiff lacked standing to maintain suit against the government due to an improper assignment of the contract. The defendant alleged that the contract was assigned to Houma SSA, LLC (Houma) by American Government Properties (AGP), the original contracting party in violation of the Contracts Act.Continue Reading Can a contractor assign their leasing agreement with the federal government to another party?