DOD Enters Agreement to Expand Capabilities for Domestic Graphite Mining

Source: DOD

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization office, entered an agreement with Graphite One (Alaska) to secure a reliable, sustainable supply of graphite materials within the U.S. to be used in the production of large-capacity batteries.

The $37.5 million agreement, entered into under Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III authorities and using funds appropriated by the Inflation Reduction Act, will aid Graphite One (Alaska) in developing a domestic advanced graphite supply chain solution anchored by the Company's Graphite Creek resource. Graphite One's supply chain strategy includes mining from Graphite Creek and processing the graphite ore through an advanced material and battery anode manufacturing plant expected to be sited in Washington State. Graphite One's strategy also includes plans for a recycling facility to reclaim graphite and other battery materials, to be co-located at the advanced materials manufacturing site; the third link in Graphite One's circular economy strategy. DPA Title III funding will allow Graphite One to fast-track their feasibility study by a full year, informing and expediting decisions to move the project further through their plans for a complete U.S.-based graphite anode supply chain.

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Small Business Government Contracting hits record high of $163B

Source: FEDSCOOP

The federal government awarded $162.9 billion in contracts with small businesses in fiscal year 2022, exceeding its goal for working with small vendors and setting a record high, the Small Business Administration said.

The figure represents a 5.6% year-over-year increase in the volume of small business contract awards made by the U.S. government, up from a total of $154.2 billion during fiscal year 2021.

Over a quarter of federal government contract dollars — 26.5% — were awarded to small businesses in the last fiscal year, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said Tuesday at an event hosted at NASA’s Washington headquarters. The Biden administration’s goal was 23%.

Guzman said the federal government overall received an “A” on the SBA’s scorecard for work with small businesses for the last fiscal year. A total of ten federal agencies received an “A+” for their work with small businesses.

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How inflation is impacting government contracting

Source: Federal News Network

New numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are adding to concern that inflation is going to be with us for some time. The impacts to individual pocketbooks are pretty obvious. The impacts to federal agencies and their contractors, though, are a bit more complex. To talk more about how inflation has impacted the contracting marketplace and how the government has responded so far, Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Stephanie Kostro, the executive vice president for policy at the Professional Services Council.

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