The Coalition is thankful for the opportunity this week to engage in two important discussions with senior government officials on the future of federal procurement.
On Wednesday, we were honored to meet with Chanel Bankston-Carter, Acting Executive Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). She provided members with an update on the Veterans First Contracting Program and highlighted the benefits of working with the VA OSDBU, including opportunities through the Direct Access Program and training resources. Ms. Bankston-Carter also emphasized the VA’s commitment to increased outreach with industry and other agencies. We are grateful to Holland & Knight for hosting this meaningful engagement at their Washington, D.C. office.
On Thursday, members heard from Larry Allen, Associate Administrator of the Office of Government-wide Policy, and Jeff Koses, Senior Procurement Executive at the General Services Administration (GSA). They provided insights on the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (RFO) initiative, outlining its primary goals of accelerating the procurement process, granting greater flexibility to contracting officers, and incentivizing innovation. They shared updates on recent key RFO deviations. A particular focus of the discussion was on the “Commercial item six-pack” of deviations covering FAR Parts 4, 8, 12, 38, 40 and 51. Among other items, these deviations establish a simplified System for Award Management registration process in FAR Part 4, address contract vehicle priorities in Part 8, establish new Federal Supply Schedule ordering procedures in the General Services Acquisition Regulation, and merge do-not-buy product lists into a single master list within Part 40. (For more analysis on FAR Part 8.4 (Federal Supply Schedules), see last week’s blog.)
We greatly appreciate their openness in addressing a wide range of member questions, which underscored GSA’s commitment to more outcome-based procurements. Thank you to CGI Federal for hosting this discussion at their Ballston Innovation Center.
These conversations are a clear reminder of the importance of open dialogue and communication between government and industry. Working together is essential to advancing common sense in government procurement and ensuring an efficient, effective acquisition system that delivers best value outcomes for agencies and the American people. The Coalition is proud to facilitate these discussions and will continue to bring our members together with key stakeholders across the procurement system.
Looking ahead, the Coalition is excited to offer the following events for our members this month:
- Sept. 9: The Gormley Group Insights – GSA MAS Schedule Compliance Vigilance and Essentials
- Sept. 18: Effective Responses to Government Fraud Investigations and False Claims Act Risks
- Sept. 23: General/Office Products Committee Meeting with GSA
We are also excited to announce that registration is officially open for the 2025 Fall Training Conference: The Revolutionary Federal Market on November 12-13! This year’s Fall Training Conference will build on the conversations from our Spring Training Conference, bringing together government and industry leaders for two days of discussions about the state of Federal procurement including the latest on critical contracting programs, Federal funding, and changes in customer requirements. We look forward to seeing you there.
Again, a special thank you to each of our guest speakers this week!