Compliance Stuff

Today’s blog addresses two significant technology related changes at GSA.  First, GSA’s rollout of its  Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Catalog Program (FCP)  continues with minimal disruptions.  Second, reductions in IT staff are having an impact on GSA’s other, more established, tools. The FCP rollout is increasing in pace.  As a refresher, FCP is replacing GSA’s horribly outdated SIP program.   FCP is a web-based application, as opposed to the SIP desktop software.  It is more flexible, reliable, better integrated into other GSA tools ( e.g. , GSA Advantage and eMod), simpler, and provides access to GSA market research.  GSA is currently rolling FCP out to contractors with product catalogs and will move to service catalogs in FY2025.   We’ve received a lot of questions from clients regarding the onboarding emails, but very few questions once clients have begun the transition process.  In other words, the onboarding email is a little...

  UPDATED February 20, 2025 On February 15, 2025, the director of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), in his capacity as chair of the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC), issued a  CAAC Letter  authorizing executive agencies to deviate from existing provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and procurement practices in order to implement President Trump’s  Executive Order 14173,   Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity . This letter further clarifies the extent to which federal contractors are relieved from all obligations that applied under the now-revoked Executive Order 11246, including the maintenance of affirmative action programs for women and minorities and all related requirements established by the rules promulgated pursuant to Executive Order 11246. The letter first instructs the executive agencies to exclude from new solicitations or contracts the following clauses that have been in use to...