Contract Awards

The top 50 8(a) firms

The 8(a) program helps many disadvanatged businesses sell their products and services to agencies. Here are the 50 companies that did the most business through the program in fiscal 2011.

  • By FCW Staff

Will less federal spending really mean fewer jobs?

Conventional wisdom holds that federal budget cuts lead to less spending on contracts and, therefore, to job declines. Is that really true?

  • By Amber Corrin

DISA awards $578M contract to company with history of fraud

DISA's recent contract award to Red River includes services similar those the company was once fined for failing to provide, but a key executive involved in the charges is no longer with the firm.

  • By Amber Corrin

NIH picks 54 winners for major IT deal

The Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 3 contract will provide support for enterprise architectures across government.

  • By Matthew Weigelt

Small businesses face federal market storms

The federal budget crunch could crush small businesses without more agency support, warns columnist Jaime Gracia.

  • By Jaime Gracia

Army closes ITES hardware contract to non-Army buyers

ITES-2H becomes Army only vehicle so its life can be extended until a new award is made.

  • By Nick Wakeman

Agencies: Stop abusing simplified acquisitions

Small-biz advocate Raul Espinosa says agencies skirt rules designed to create contracting set-asides.

  • By Raul Espinosa

Government expected to hire more small businesses

Prediction: The near future will see more small business contracting and brand-new governmentwide contracts.

  • By Camille Tuutti

Air Force punishes contractors for shoddy work

Three IT firms suspended while officials try to fix problems.

  • By FCW Staff

Obama wants small businesses paid in 15 days

The faster payments will give small businesses more confidence in cash flow, officials say.

  • By Matthew Weigelt

CMS solicits contracts for data center project

CMS hunts for contractors for virtual data center.

  • By FCW Staff

Competition in new IT contract may take old path

GSA squeezed 599 small businesses into four categories of business, but the orders still will go to a few aggressive companies and may even cause headaches for agencies.

  • By Matthew Weigelt

VA continues to pay ineligible contractors, audit finds

Serious deficiencies in contracting at the Veterans Affairs Department are allowing ineligible contractors to work and get paid, audits find.

  • By Alice Lipowicz

Possible default scares contractors

The ongoing debt-ceiling debate that threatens to put the government into default is as unnerving for contractors as it is for feds.

  • By Matthew Weigelt
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Government recognizes need to take politics out of procurement, expert says

Political concerns have become increasingly involved in the procurement process, but the government is realizing that its focus should be on the strategic needs of agencies, official says.

  • By Alyah Khan

GSA expects to award STARS II in July

GSA officials pushed back the award date for a month to get better prices from bidding companies on the governmentwide, small-business IT contract.

  • By Matthew Weigelt

Turnabout: GSA pulls back major contract

After apparently awarding a contract to small businesses, GSA rescinds it almost immediately and urges bidders to rethink their prices.

  • By Matthew Weigelt

Union urges curbs to contractor salaries

Amid proposals to cut federal salaries and freeze hiring, a union suggests Congress put limits on contractor pay.

  • By Alyah Khan

DHS corrects contractor miscount

How many contractors work for DHS? If you said 210,000, based on a figure provided by contractor LMI, guess again.

  • By Washington Technology staff

Procurement leader blasts mandatory debarment proposal

A one-size-fits-all recommendation for suspension and debarment doesn't account for the extreme situations faced by contractors in war zones, OFPP head testifies.

  • By Matthew Weigelt

Agencies can conduct background checks on contract employees, court rules

The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that the federal government is authorized to perform background checks of people who work under government contracts.

  • By Alyah Khan