Federal News Network Executive Editor Jason Miller joins host Roger Waldron on this week's Off the Shelf for “Procurement Potpourri,” a wide-ranging discussion of key procurement policy and program developments across the federal market.

They tackle the state of interagency contracting focusing on the status of the four major interagency procurements: OASIS+, CIO-SP4, NASA SEWP, and Alliant 3.  The discussion highlighted the role of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy has played in establishing and overseeing the IT GWACs and whether enough is currently being done. 

Miller also shares his thoughts on the ever-growing cybersecurity regulatory regime, including CMMC, and the need for cyber harmonization.  

Finally Miller talks about a new SBA report on the mentor-protégé program. 

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Tony Celeste, Head of Ingram Micro Public Sector LLC and Promark Technology Inc., joins Off the Shelf for a wide-ranging discussion of significant trends shaping the federal IT market. 

Celeste offers his thoughts on digital transformation and best practices agencies and contractors can leverage towards IT modernization. 

He also addresses the role of AI and virtual reality in supporting federal IT mission requirements, including how agencies can effectively leverage these rapidly evolving capabilities in support of mission requirements. 

Celeste also shares his observations on the diverge between government unique requirements and the commercial market and what it means for competition, pricing, and innovation. 

Finally, Celeste discusses opportunities for small business and the critical role they play in the federal market.  

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This week Al Montoya, the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA’s) acting under secretary for Health for Support, and Spencer Roberts, executive director for Logistics at VHA, join Off the Shelf for a briefing highlighting the VHA’s key strategic priorities.

Montoya and Roberts outline VHA’s strategic efforts in bringing more veterans to the VA and ensuring those veterans receive best in class benefits, care, and support programs.

Montoya shares how The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act has increased veteran enrollment by expanding eligibility for VA healthcare for veterans with toxic exposures and veterans of the Vietnam era, Gulf War era, and Post 9/11 erRoga.

Roberts discusses VHA’s key procurement and logistics developments, including the new MSPV contract vehicle, the focus on supply chain resiliency, and the VHA’s recent logistics conference.

Montoya also highlights the growing strategic partnership with the Defense Healthcare Agency (DHA) whereby VHA and DHA are sharing resources in markets across the country to deliver care to veterans.

Finally, both guests share how, as veterans themselves and customers of the VHA, their personal experiences have helped inform their leadership at the VHA.

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Joy Sturm, partner at Hogan Lovells, joins Off the Shelf for a briefing on the proposed BIOSECURE Act that would reshape biotechnology supply chains serving the federal government.

The proposed legislation would prohibit the federal government from contracting with certain Chinese “companies of concern.”  The prohibition would cover contracts, grants, and subcontractors.

Sturm provides context on the goals for the legislation and outlines the key provisions and how they would impact federal contracts, agencies, and contractors. She addresses the proposed legislation’s key definitions, contracting restrictions, scope of coverage, and implementation timelines. Importantly, Sturm also addresses how companies should prepare for the BIOSCURE Act requirements.

The discussion concludes with thoughts on the prospects for the proposed BIOSECURE Act over the reminder of the Congressional year.

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Steve Schooner, Jeffery & Martha Kohn associate dean for Academic Affairs and Nash & Cibinic professor of Government Procurement Law at The George Washington University Law School, joines Off the Shelf for a wide-ranging discussion focusing on green acquisition and the role of sustainability policy in the federal procurement market.

Schooner recently received the Coalition for Government Procurement’s Sustainability – Green Excellence Award for his thought leadership on the nexus between federal procurement and sustainability. He outlines key initiatives and policy developments advancing green acquisition in the federal market. He also compares federal green procurement with efforts at the state level and internationally.

Finally Schooner discusses his most recent book recommendation, Craig Whitlock’s Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked and Seduced the U.S. Navy. The book tells the remarkable story of a wide-ranging procurement scandal. It is a cautionary tale of susceptibility, lack of accountability, and individual and organization ethical lapses.

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This week on Off the Shelf, Jason Workmaster, Member at Miller & Chevalier, provides an update on key legal developments in federal procurement.

Leading off the discussion is a briefing on the Federal Circuit’s Percipient.AI decision potentially lowering the jurisdictional bar for task order protests. Workmaster outlines the facts of the case, the legal analysis and the implications for bid protests generally and task orders protests more specifically.

He also gives his thoughts on the recent Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) regarding the semiconductor supply chain. The ANPR is the first step toward regulatory implementation of Section 5948 of the 2023 NDAA (the so-called “889 ban on certain microchips”).

Finally Workmaster talks about other developments in cyber, including NIST 800-171, Revision 3.

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The Gormley Group’s Sean Nulty and Andrew Sisti join host Roger Waldron on this week's Off the Shelf for a deep dive into current trends shaping the contract negotiations and administration under GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program.

Nulty is a managing consultant and director of DC Operations & Training, and Sisti is a principal consultant and GSA Systems Subject Matter Expert for the Gormley Group.

Both are subject matter experts on the MAS pricing policies and procedures. They share insights on the latest involving GSA use of pricing data, including the role and impact of Transactional Data Reporting (TDR), and outline current negotiation trends for options, modifications, and new offers.

They also address how GSA is using horizontal pricing comparisons and automate pricing tools in negotiations. Finally, Nulty and Sisti discuss the role of automated systems and data analytics in the management of MAS contracts, from pricing analysis to Trade Agreements Compliance. GSA is increasingly looking to systems to make decision for contracting officers.

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This week on Off the Shelf, Moshe Schwartz, president of Etherton and Associates, examines the economic, technological, and geopolitical trends that are shaping the federal market. 

Schwartz highlights the accelerating strategic competition among major powers which is reflected in current federal procurement and budget priorities. In this context, the fields of AI and biotechnology are rapidly advancing and are an increasing focus for the federal government. 

Schwartz also provides an update on federal government spending for FY2024 along with the latest on FY2025 budget requests. The show also focuses on the shrinking industrial base and what it means for the customer agency mission support.  

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This week’s guest on Off the Shelf is Tim Keeler, partner, and co-head of the International Trade team at Mayer Brown.   

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) plays a critical national security role regarding the industrial base. Keeler details the inter-agency structure, purpose, and scope of CFIUS, and explains the process and criteria whereby CFIUS reviews certain covered transactions involving foreign investments in the nation’s industrial base that raise national security concerns. 

Keeler talks about the key considerations and practices for potential mergers and/or acquisitions involving foreign investors, and he shares key trends in the CFIUS decision-making process. 

Finally, Keeler provides his thoughts on key trends in international trade and trade agreements.  

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This week on Off the Shelf , Jonathan Aronie, partner at Sheppard Mullin, updates his leukemia journey since his last year’s appearance on the show. He is now back to work full-time and as such the conversation quickly turns to key trends in investigations and audits. 

Aronie outlines the spectrum of “reviews, investigations, and audits” that are part of doing business with the federal government. He continues with his analysis of the oversight spectrum by outlining the key features associated risks for contractors when dealing with GSA’s Industrial Operations Analyst (IOA) reviews, audits, and investigations.

As part of a wide-ranging discussion, Aronie shares best practices and key considerations for contractors dealing with investigations and audits. 

Among other topics, Jonathan gives his thoughts on the role contractor self-initiated internal reviews/investigations can have in mitigating risk. Finally, the discussion concludes with a focus on how of GSA’s legislative proposal addressing “best value” in the federal supply schedules will increase competition, leverage commercial innovation, and deliver enhanced mission support to customer agencies.  

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