What a week of college basketball!  I don’t think anyone could have predicted a world in which UMBC knocked out Virginia and Loyola-Chicago is knocking on the door of the Final Four, but that’s where we are.  Tonight, both of my teams–Duke and KU–are playing, so I’ll be spending my Friday evening watching some hoops.

But before March Madness kicks off, it’s time for the SmallGovCon Week in Review. In this week’s edition, the GSA and OMB are seeking legislative fixes as they move forward with the “Amazon Amendment,” protests against the major ENCORE III contract have been denied, a contractor admits to a bribery and gratuity scheme, and much more.

• The GSA and OMB are seeking legislative fixes as they seek to implement the so-called “Amazon Amendment.” [FederalNewsRadio]
• The major ENCORE III contract has survived four bid protests. [Nextgov]
• Speaking of protests, Professor Steven Schooner of George Washington University offers a timely take on the RAND Corporation’s recent bid protest report. [SSRN]
• A defense contractor has pleaded guilty to a bribery and gratuity scheme involving “valuable gifts” such as Apple products, luxury handbags, and Beats headphones. [U.S. Department of Justice]
• The DOE isn’t waiting around–it’s issued a class deviation adopting increases in the micro-purchase and simplified acquisition thresholds. [U.S. Department of Energy]
• The FBI has issued a timeline for the recompete of its $30 billion IT services contract. [Nextgov]
• The VETS 2 IT contract is open for business after several protests were denied. [Washington Technology]

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