President's Corner
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WestSound NCMA Chapter - Sept 22, 2009
Where did the summer go? The glorious weather came upon us and hopefully will be with us for a little bit longer (I’m still hoping for what we used to call Indian summer well into October).
While we were off doing other things, the world of contracting did not slow down one bit. The FAR has numerous new subparts and clauses. Numerous regulations have been issued implementing the new statues such as the Recovery Act, changes to the Fraud statutes. The government’s e-verify system finally went into effect on September 8, 2009. The drumbeats continue to roll for more fixed price contracts awarded competitively and for more stringent justifications for any deviations from those requirements.
Numerous contractors, especially hunting for work in this economy, are looking to team with small businesses. Government people are still overworked. Fortunately (???), many of our older hands, the baby boomers who had planned to retire by now, are now looking at a few more years of work as we saw our 401Ks and other savings dwindle.
If a health care reform package passes, in whatever form, that will have drastic impacts on the government’s contracting apparatus. New agencies will be formed or old ones greatly expanded, which will be another avenue for upward mobility for contracting professionals.
More contracting positions keep opening but the number of qualified applicants is limited. So please bring your 'newbies' to our meetings to help in their education process.