This week's Off the Shelf focuses on the mission of the Department of Justice’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (the PCSF).

The PCSF is charged with coordinating the national response to antitrust and related crimes in procurement and grant programs at the federal, state, and local levels.

It was created to fight procurement collusion which undermines the integrity of the procurement system, diminishes faith in government, and costs the taxpayer billions of dollars.

The PCSF’s director Daniel Glad and deputy director Sandra Talbot join host Roger Waldron to discuss the PCSF’s mission, what it has accomplished, and what contractors and attorneys should know regarding compliance best practices.

Glad and Talbot talk about what constitutes antitrust crimes in the context of procurement including collusion and bid-rigging.

They also share real life case studies outlining the keys to identifying and combating collusive fraud and explain how the PCSF works across government entities to combat collusive fraud.

Additional links:

PCSF Complaint Online Form: https://www.justice.gov/atr/webform/pcsf-citizen-complaint

Antitrust Division Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs in Criminal Antitrust Investigations: https://www.justice.gov/atr/media/1376686/dl?inline

PCSF contact: pcsf@usdoj.gov

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Nelly Wilson, Google’s global head of AI Services for Weather and Climate joins Off the Shelf for a fascinating discussion on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how to implement it. 

Wilson discusses the impact of AI as the biggest technology shift since the creation of the

internet.

She explains how AI will transform business operations and how it can be applied to all aspects of a business, including production, analysis, HR, accounting, sales, and engineering. 

AI will drive workforce enhancements and operational efficiencies and Wilson highlights the key

management practices and considerations that drive effective AI implementations. 

She discusses how to implement AI successfully at scale, and shares key insights regarding data integrity and portability, interoperability, and security. 

Finally, Wilson shares real life use case examples of AI implementation and highlights the path to successful AI implementation. 

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Alan Thomas, founder of Alpha Tango Strategies, and Bill

Gormley, president of the Gormley Group, join host Roger Waldron on this week's Off the Shelf for an engrossing discussion of the evolving federal procurement market. 

The discussion highlights the consolidation of procurement functions at the General Services Administration (GSA) pursuant to the president’s executive order. 

Thomas and Gormley, both former senior executives at GSA, share their insights on the role of GSA, the management opportunities, and considerations of consolidating federal

procurement for common products and services with GSA’s Federal Acquisition

Services (FAS). 

They also provide historical context to GSA’s role in federal procurement and how the consolidation will reshape the federal market.  As part of that discussion, Thomas and Gormley share their thoughts regarding consolidation opportunities and implementation strategies for GSA and FAS. 

Other topics covered include right-sizing GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule program, the impending rewrite of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, and the

state of the IT GWACs.    

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Christine Harada, former senior advisor in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy during the Biden administration, joins Aileen Black on this week's Leaders and Legends.

Harada is currently the senior advisor of Project Redword at Advanced Energy United and is a dynamic executive leader with over 25 years of experience bridging the public and private sector.

That experience coupled with her educational background in aeronautics,astronautics, and business from MIT, Stanford, and Wharton, positions her as a versatile leader.

On today's program, Harada will discuss the challenges of leadership during today's changing times. She offers sage advice on approaches to keep teams focused on the mission.

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This week on Off the Shelf, Ken Dodds, executive vice president, and general counsel for the Coalition for Common Sense in Government Procurement, shares his thoughts on opportunities for acquisition reform.

Dodds discusses the opportunities to streamline GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), including potential reform of the underlying statutory authority to focus on best value results for customer agencies.

He also highlights the opportunity to put commercial back in commercial contracting by eliminating over 100 clauses from commercial item contracting.

Finally Dodds talks about small business contracting opportunities and the roadmap for reform.

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This week on Off the Shelf,  Moshe Schwartz, president of Etherton and Associates, provides a briefing on select provisions in the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the broad national security landscape driving defense acquisition policy. 

Schwartz outlines the traditional defense challenges, new challenges, and the budget constraints shaping overall defense policy. 

Additionally, Schwartz highlights key provisions from the FY 2025 NDAA that focus on supply chainrisks, industrial base, and the defense contracting process. 

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This week on Off the Shelf, Jason Workmaster, member and Government Contracts Practice lead at Miller & Chevalier, provides a wide-ranging update on key policy developments and legal trends in government contracts. 

Workmaster discusses the impact of the administration’s EEO/DEI Executive Order (EO) and what government contractors need to know, including how compliance programs will need to adjust.  He notes that the EO guidance includes a new certification requirement that will raise potential Civil False Claims Act liability for government contractors. 

Workmaster also talks about the new proposed organizational conflict of interest FAR rule, and he looks into his crystal ball and highlights the possibility that the new Congress may repeal some final rules issued by the Biden Administration pursuant to the Congressional Review Act.  It will be a question of timing and Congressional workload as to whether some final rules

are repealed. 

Finally, Jason briefs the Federal Circuit’s ACLR  decision regarding the adequacy of commercial record-keeping practices in the context of a claim.     

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Eric Crusius, partner at Holland & Knight, joins Off the Shelf for a cybersecurity update as well as providing his procurement expectations for the Trump Administration. 

Crusius discusses the likelihood of CMMC remaining intact and moving forward with implementation across DoD. 

He also provides his initial comments/analysis on the recently

proposed Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) rule, highlighting key

considerations for contractors. 

Turning to what to expect from the Trump Administration, Crusius shares his thoughts on Administration priorities and how they may impact/influence procurement operations. 

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This week on Off the Shelf  Alex Canizares, partner at Perkins Coie, shares his thoughts regarding False Claims Act landscape for 2025, including the anticipated priorities of the Department of Justice in 2025. 

Canizares also discusses the recent status of the legal challenge to the

constitutionality of the FCA’s qui tam provisions. 

He also addresses recent cybersecurity policy developments, including CMMC and CUI. 

Finally, Alex shares his thoughts and insights regarding the major government

contract policy trends and case law developments. 

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Bill Gormley, president of the Gormley Group, joins Off the

Shelf for a discussion of some the key procurement trends of 2024 and what to

expect in 2025. 

Gormley gives his thoughts on the key trends shaping interagency contracting

with a focus on GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS).

Among other topics, Gormley assesses the performance of the Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) in 2024 and the prospects for 2025.   In his assessment, Gormley outlines

how the FAS systems, organizational structure, and contracting workforce impact

customer agencies and contractors in the FSS marketplace.   

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