George Mason’s government contracting center is helping the Pentagon enter the 21st century

Source: GMU

When the Pentagon attempts to field innovative technology, its contracting decisions are largely dictated by a process that predates personal computing. Known as the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) resourcing system, it betrays its mid-20th-century origins in its extreme emphasis on long-range management and sequential planning over more agile and rapid program execution.

Calls for PPBE reform are nothing new in the halls of the Pentagon, but recent geopolitical threats have contributed to a general recognition within the federal government that change is badly needed to speed the development and acquisition of new military capabilities.

Hence Congress’s formation in 2022 of an independent commission tasked with closely assessing the current process and making specific recommendations for reform.

The Commission on PPBE Reform promptly engaged the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at George Mason University as a key research partner. The center was awarded a $645,000 Department of Defense (DoD) research contract consisting of two projects.

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Federal District Court Says Contractors Must Include Information Outside Tax Returns in Calculating Size

Source: SMALLGOVCON

When it comes to calculating a company’s receipts for size purposes, the procedure for is (or at least was) pretty simple: Look at the company’s tax returns. Indeed, it has long been SBA’s position that they can only consider tax returns, as noted in Nordstrom Contracting & Consulting Corp., SBA No. SIZ-5891 (Mar. 7, 2018) (“[T]here is no authority for an area office to consider any evidence apart from tax returns…when calculating a firm’s average annual receipts.”) among other cases. In other words, if something was not mentioned in a tax return, it couldn’t be considered by SBA. The only exception was if the tax returns were not filed, in which case SBA will review financial statements or similar information in lieu. 13 CFR § 121.104. Therefore, other than that exception, a contractor only needs to rely on the information in its tax return when making its size representation.

But the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia (DDC) thinks otherwise. On May 18, 2023, it entered a decision on opposing motions for summary judgment in a size protest that had become a False Claims Act case. In this decision, it concluded the opposite: Contractors must in some cases consider information outside their tax returns. Let’s take a deeper dive

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The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Releases New Guidance on Artificial Intelligence

Source: OFCCP

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released an Artificial Intelligence (AI) landing page with new guidance and information about the use of AI in federal contractors’ employment process.

Covered federal contractors are obligated by law to ensure they do not discriminate in employment and that they take affirmative action to ensure employees and applicants are treated without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. These EEO obligations extend to the federal contractor’s use of AI when making employment decisions.

While some federal contractors may use AI systems to increase productivity and efficiency in their employment decision-making, the use of AI systems also has the potential to perpetuate unlawful bias and automate unlawful discrimination, among other harmful outcomes. OFCCP’s guidance seeks to help federal contractors navigate these emerging technologies in employment.

OFCCP’s AI landing page includes these new resources:

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