Now it is Cronyism and Corruption

The assault on the federal procurement process continues.

The Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, uses the words, "cronyism" and "corruption" as the headline of their press release about an "event" featuring Rep. Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as its keynote speaker.

Both Federal Computer Week (FCW.com) and Government Executive (GovExec.com) reported on this event and neither one used those words. In fact, the text of the organization's release talked of Rep. Waxman's vision of increasing the size of the government acquisition workforce. The release says that,

He cited the need for more contract managers and government overseers and proposed that 1 percent of federal procurement spending be set aside for
procurement management and oversight.

That doesn't sound like everyone in the federal contracting profession are on the take. However, his remark that,

While government contractors are getting richer, taxpayers are getting soaked

sounds a little more inflammatory.

We must redouble our efforts, as federal contracting professionals to keep our eyes on the goal of being good stewards of the taxpayer's money and earning their continuing confidence on a daily basis.

House passes Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act

Sorry for the delay between posts at this important time for small business issues.

The reports are true, this bill (HR 1873) passed the House and heads for the Senate. An amendment that increased the percent of federal contracting dollars earmarked for small businesses from the current 23 percent to 30 percent was added to the final package sent forward.

The House Small Business Committee chair (Chairwoman Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) believes that the government understated its compliance with this goal over the past few years.

There is little in this bill to help achieve a 30 percent higher goal.