Greetings from the Beach!
Sitting on the beach, with my feet in the sand and my eyes gazing at the ocean, my mind begins to wander to thoughts of the Coalition’s summer that lies ahead. As we move into July, I am excited about the many opportunities that the Coalition will be hosting for members on the latest issues in Federal procurement.
On July 14, the Coalition will be hosting a “must attend” in-house counsel training class. This class is directed towards lawyers and corporate officials in our member companies who deal with GSA and VA Schedule contracts and have significant contract management and compliance responsibilities. Attendees will be taught by Phil Seckman, Partner, Dentons; Jason Workmaster, Of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP; and myself. After attending the seminar, in addition to receiving 6 hours of VA CLE credits, you will have a greater understanding of the pricing policies and oversight processes at GSA and the VA. To register, please click here!
In light of the recently published final rule for Transactional Data Reporting, the Coalition will be hosting a complimentary instructional webinar on July 14, 2016 from 12 to 1:30 pm. This timely and informative session will provide participants with a detailed analysis of the changes GSA has made to the rule based on comments from industry, the anticipated impact of the rule’s implementation, and the challenges that contractors may face moving forward. Speakers will include Jonathan Aronie, Partner, Sheppard Mullin; and Lorrain Campos, Partner, Crowell & Moring.
In addition, on July 15, the FAR & Beyond blog will commence running a series of commentaries focusing on the final rule for Transactional Data Reporting. This blog series will examine various aspects of the final rule, as well as address crucial questions from industry. The following are some of the topics of discussion:
- An examination of whether the final rule is consistent with the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (FASA) and the subsequent procedures in FAR Part 12.
- What does the elimination of the PRC tracking customer requirement and CSP disclosure mean for both contractors and government?
- An examination of the burden assumptions expressed in the final rule.
- A closer look at the Federal Strategic Sourcing vehicles available.
- What does the final rule mean for small businesses?
- Is the pilot program “voluntary”?
Finally, with summer upon us, the Coalition is hosting the 4th annual Joseph Caggiano Memorial Golf Tournament in honor of our good friend and colleague, Joe Caggiano. As many of you know, in addition to being a devoted husband and father, Joe, was a 23-year leader in the federal contracting marketplace. In addition, he served his country as a U.S. Navy officer on the USS Independence at the Navy Shipyards, in the Pacific, and at the Navy Personnel Command during the first Gulf War. It is fitting, then, that the proceeds from the tournament will support the Coalition’s endowment for a qualified veteran concentrating their studies in the field of Government procurement and pursuing the JD/LLM degree or the interdisciplinary Master’s degree at The George Washington University. I know that Joe would be so proud of this endowment to encourage and support the next generation of skilled professionals to lead this critically important sector of the U.S. economy. Registration is open now, and we ask that you take advantage of the many opportunities available to sponsor this worthy cause.
The Coalition remains dedicated to providing our members with the latest information to enhance their business strategies. It is my privilege to serve the organization in this endeavor, and although I will miss the cool South Carolina breeze, I cannot wait to hit the ground running on these important efforts once I return!
New Member Management Tool Launching Monday!
Attention members! The Coalition would like to alert you to some exciting, upcoming enhancements you will see regarding your interactions with our organization. This Monday, July 11, the Coalition will be launching both a new member management tool and a new website. The Coalition will continue to provide updates leading up to the launch and we will also send out a notification on July 11 to let you know the launch was successful and how to login to our new system. Here’s what you need to know about both enhancements:
Member Management Tool
- Allows the Coalition to better capture our communications with you as members, as well as better track your participation with the Coalition
- Allows member company administrators the ability to better track their roster, easily add employees to particular committee lists, and simply make changes when employees join/leave the company
- Allows a more streamlined way to renew your current membership and register for events and trainings (including automatically offering any discounts or complimentary registrations that may be available to your membership tier)
Website
- Content adjusts appropriately to any size screen or device you are viewing the Coalition website on (i.e. desktop, laptop, iPad, smart phone, etc.)
- Modern, efficient navigational panels and search function
- Your username will continue to be your email address, but everyone will have to reset their password in order to access the “members only” section of our website, register for events, etc. Specific details on how to do this will be sent to you on Monday, July 11th.
These changes reflect our continued commitment to always improving your member experience with the Coalition and we are looking forward to your feedback once they are live. If you have any questions or concerns in the interim, please do not hesitate to reach out to Matt Cahill (mcahill@thecgp.org or 202-315-1054) or Jason Baccus (jbaccus@thecgp.org or 202-331-0975). We are looking forward to these improvements and thank you for your continued support of the Coalition!