Off the Shelf

Phil Christy, principal executive director, Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction (OLAC), and chief acquisition officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, joins Off the Shelf for update on VA acquisition operations. 

Christy provides his acquisition vision as the VA reorganizes its acquisition workforce, and shares the key priorities and goals for the restructuring and what it means for the workforce, mission, and industry partners.

He addresses the key management considerations driving change with the goal of enhancing consistency of operations, driving accountability, creating efficiencies in operations, and leveraging standardization.   

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Tim Brennan, president of the Center for Procurement Advocacy, joins Off the Shelf for a spotlight on the year end legislative priorities for Congress. 

Brennan identifies the principal legislative priorities before year end, including FY27 appropriations and the NDAA, and shares how he sees the calendar playing out and how the election results may impact approaches to moving forward on appropriations and the NDAA. 

He notes the multiple funding and authorization deadlines that are converging in December and how Congress may resolve them. 

Brennan also discusses potential NDAA acquisition priorities, highlighting the continuing focus on commercial acquisition, intellectual and technical data requirements, and supply-chain resiliency.  

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Jason Workmaster, member at Miller & Chevalier, joins Off the Shelf for procurement potpourri, highlighting some of the current developments in federal procurement policy, law, and operations.

Workmaster gives his assessment of the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (the RFO), ad shares his thoughts on whether the RFO, specifically the FAR Part 15 rewrite, will reduce the risk of protest. 

He also provides his insights regarding a series of policy and contracting issues surrounding GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program, including the potential outcome surrounding GSA’s RFI targeting resellers.

The discussion turns to the so-called “MAS Blogger’s” recent post regarding the use of e-Commerce platforms to fill MAS orders. 

Other topics include the role of bid protests involving Other Transactions Authority (OTAs) and Commercial Solutions Openings (CSOs).

Finally, Workmaster covers a recent decision addressing the constitutionality of the role of relators under the Civil False Claims Act.

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Ken Dodds, executive vice president and general counsel at The Coalition for Common Sense in Government Procurement, joins Off the Shelf for a timely and in-depth discussion of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) proposed rule amending the size standards. 

The proposed rule makes significant changes to the size standards. For example, the size standard for IT services goes from $34 million to $531 million and the size standard for consulting services goes from $24.5 million to $295 million. 

Dodds discusses the implications of the proposed changes, including the impact on competition across the federal market as well as the potential impact on current small, medium, and large businesses.

He also provides a tutorial on the basics of the non-manufacturer rule, including what happens when the rule is waived for a procurement. 

Finally, Dodds shares his thoughts on GSA’s proposed AI clause versus commercial practice. 

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Michael Gruden, partner at Steptoe LLP, joins Off the Shelf for the latest on cybersecurity and government contracts compliance. 

The conversation focuses on “CMMC to Be or Not to Be” where Gruden provides his insights and assessment of the CMMC journey to date and in the future. 

He outlines the considerations playing into the CMMC pause and what he expects moving forward.

Gruden also shares some best practices for cyber compliance across the federal contracting landscape, and he give his thoughts regarding the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) and the new Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) guidance in FAR Part 40. 

Finally, Michael talks about Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (CIRCIA) rule making and what can be expected. 

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Brian Friel, owner of BD Squared, joins host Roger Waldron on this week's Off the Shelf for a wide-ranging and in-depth discussion of the current state of interagency contracting. 

The discussion kicks off with some historical context regarding interagency contracting, the creation of the IT GWACs, and the evolving role (mandatory versus non-mandatory) of the Multiple Award Schedules (MAS). 

Friel gives an update on POLARIS, Alliant 3, OASIS+, and shares his thoughts on the impact of the wind down of NIH’s interagency contracting vehicles and program. 

Turning to NASA SEWP VI, Friel provides his insights, analysis, and outlook for the recently awarded contract vehicle, and touches on interesting policy changes impacting multiple award IDIQs. 

Finally, Friel discusses the current status of the Army’s MAPS procurement. 

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This week on Off the Shelf, Soraya Correa, president and chief executive officer of the National Industries for the Blind (NIB), shares the AbilityOne story, discussing its origin, history, and mission to the present day. 

Correa then turns to NIB, sharing its mission of providing opportunities for people who are blind or visually impaired.   

She outlines NIB’s organizational structure, employee profile and the products and services it provides to the government, and highlights the contributions NIB makes to local economies across America, including its focus on delivering domestic products. 

Finally, Correa gives her take on the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) and the role of the acquisition workforce in leveraging the new, streamlined framework. 

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This week on Off the Shelf, Rob Burton, partner at Crowell & Moring LLP, joins host Roger Waldron to talk about the reorganization of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS).

Burton outlines the six offices (Create, Deliver, Assist, Centralize, Optimize, and Transform) under the new FAS structure, highlighting the key features and functions of the offices. Of note, is the new Transform office that will focus on AI procurement and implementation. 

He also discusses the status of NASA SEWP, and outlines the next steps for the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul. 

Finally, Burton addresses the government’s current procurement policy priorities. 

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Luke Levasseur and Keeley McCarty, partners at Fox Rothschild, join host Roger Waldron on this week's Off the Shelf for an in-depth discussion of the current government contracts compliance, bid protest, and regulatory environment. 

Levasseur and McCarty discuss the interplay between the Civil False Claims Act and the Trump administration’s focus on DEI, including the potential impact of the new DEI clause. 

They also talk about current bid protest trends and the “loser pays” provision in the FY2026 NDAA. 

Finally, Levasseur and McCarty share some initial impressions regarding the RFO. 

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This week Alex Canizares, partner at Vinson & Elkins and co-head of the firm’s Government Contracts Practice Group joins Off the Shelf for a wide-ranging and informative discussion of the key trends in government contracts compliance, oversight, and enforcement.

Canizares gives an update on Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil False Claims Act enforcement priorities, and provides a quick primer on the FCA’s key statutory language and overall framework.

He also shares his insights and analysis of the new DEI clause requirements and the Department of Justice’s enforcement priorities. 

Finally, Canizares gives his thoughts on the recently created Fraud Enforcement Division at DOJ.  

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