USDA E-Travel Initiative and Contracting

In FY 2005 USDA Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) began transitioning to a new travel system known as e-Travel. During the transition to e-Travel and implementation of the e-Travel system, the USDA Office of Procurement and Property Management (OPPM), Procurement Operations Division will handle contracting centrally. OPPM has directed contracting officers not to renew or extend existing orders for travel management center services.

USDA OPPM Memo of December 10, 2004 Word

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs)

• List of Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses based on responses to a FedBizOpps source sought synopsis issued Word
• USDA-wide BPAs with SDVOSBs for IT hardware and periphrals (USDA Intranet)
• USDA Secretary's Memorandum (SM) 5090-001 dated July 12, 2005, USDA Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Strategic Initiative PDF
• Press Release 0192.05 of 6/1/05
• USDA Press Release 0192.05 of 6/1/05
• USDA Strategy to Implement the Contracting With Service-Disabled Veterans (Executive Order 13360) (Feb. 10, 2005) PDF
• Joint OMB/SBA Memorandum M-05-06 of December 12, 2004
  Subj: Contracting With Service-Disabled Veterans' Businessses (Executive Order 13360) PDF
• Executive Order 13360 Regarding Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Goals PDF
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - prepared by the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Office of Veterans Affairs about Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 19.14 changes, which implemented Section 308 of the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003, Procurement Program for Small Business Concerns Owned and Controlled by Service-Disabled Veterans. The law provides set-aside and sole source procurement authority for SDVOSB concerns. Word

Executive Compensation Benchmark Amount for FY 2006

Federal Register Notice 5/3/06, page 26114, OFPP Memorandum - Determination of Executive Compensation Benchmark Amount Pursuant to Section 39 of the OFPP Act, as amended PDF

GSA Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACS) - Executive Agent Authority

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) August 9, 2006 letter extending GSA's executive agent authority for GSA's GWACs through the end of each GWACs contract period, including options. A list of the affected GWACs is attached to the letter.

Subcontracting Plan Outline

Contract awards to other than small business concerns require a subcontracting plan. This outline of plan elements may be helpful for comparison to submitted plans. PDF | Word

Julian Date Calendars

Performance periods are often described by starting and ending dates. However, an accurate count of the number of days included is needed for contract administration. These perpetual Julian Date Calendars enable you to calculate the number of days between dates with ease. PDF

GAO Decision on Advanced Payments for Subscriptions

GAO approves the concept of payment now for subscription services for years in advance. GAO defers to the common public practice for the application of funds. Word

Metric System

The official system of measurements is the Metric System. The Federal Standard (units, descriptions, and conversion factors) is available at the National Institute of Standards and Technology website PDF

Refreshments at Conferences

The GAO says that the Federal Travel Regulations went too far in terms of refreshments at conferences. Generally funds are not available for refreshments for employees not in travel status. View Synopsis. See: GAO decision | PDF