4 major acquisition changes GSA is pursuing in 2024

The General Services Administration is driving what it hopes to be a final nail in the LPTA coffin. As one of three major acquisition policy changes GSA is seeking over the next year, the proposal would remove language in the schedules program that many blame for why agencies use lowest price, technically acceptable (LPTA) still too often. Jeff Koses, GSA’s senior procurement executive, said the legislative change would bring clarity to the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984. Jeff Koses is the senior procurement executive at GSA. “Over the last…

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Capital Crime Wave Prompts DC Mayor’s Major Reversal on Police Restraints

Amid escalating crime in the nation’s capital, President Joe Biden went to bat for a “police reform” law passed by the D.C. Council by vetoing a bipartisan congressional measure that would have overturned it. Now, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to roll back the same law that Biden protected.  The House Oversight and Accountability Committee, whose oversight includes the District of Columbia, held two hearings earlier this year on the D.C. crime problem.  “Unfortunately, President Biden refused to stand by the Metropolitan Police Department and allowed the D.C. Council’s anti-police…

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AFGE heightens calls for major SSA workforce improvements at union rally

A group of union officials and Social Security Administration employees gathered outside SSA’s headquarters in Baltimore, to voice frustrations with a shrinking agency workforce, and some of the major fallouts from it. The American Federation of Government Employees organized the rally on Oct. 26, where union leaders urged SSA to make several major changes to its workforce policies, like improving telework opportunities and increasing employee pay. The rally also built on the union’s demands from an Oct. 20 town hall to boost funding for the agency in fiscal 2023. “SSA…

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Biden Picks Major Recipient of Pfizer Research Dollars to Oversee Cancer Institute 

President Joe Biden’s choice to lead the National Cancer Institute received $ 290.8 million in research funding from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer over her career as an oncologist and scientist, according to data uncovered by The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. Last week, the White House announced Biden’s appointment of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to be the first woman to serve as director of the National Cancer Institute. Bertagnolli will be the 16th person to hold the position, which doesn’t require Senate confirmation.  The cancer institute is the largest of the 19 institutes…

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VA looks to overhaul pay, ‘antiquated’ hiring processes in major veteran care bill

The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing to transform its workforce and health care facilities in anticipation of legislation that would deliver a historic expansion of health care to veterans. The Senate is expected to reach a final vote this week on the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (Honoring Our PACT) Act. The legislation, at its core, would expand disability compensation and health care benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service. VA Secretary Denis McDonough told the Senate VA…

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Biden faces key test, major opportunity ahead of Russia talks on Ukraine

The slow-burning military standoff along the Russia-Ukraine border could reach a tipping point next week as the Biden administration enters a series of high-stakes diplomatic meetings with Moscow, and analysts say the U.S. and its NATO allies must seize a golden opportunity to turn the tables and extract concessions from … The Washington Times stories: White House

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