Tony Bones

Yeah, what approach is that? The "Everyone's an Idiot but Me" style?

General agreement? Who agrees with this? Your contractor friends? I see no evidence provided to support this proposition, but I must accept that there is, apparently, a general agreement that this is the number one problem. Well, I don't accept this, so back to the drawing board for you, sir.

Posted twice... see below.

Oy, Well, it's only fair that I take some blame here. When I wrote my initial post, I assumed everyone knew that cut-off dates made perfect sense for industry. The question should have been: "Why does a cut-off date make sense for the Government?*" and then, "*'Earlier Award Date' is not an acceptable answer." I would include this caveat because the price for that earlier award date probably isn't worth it. If I was a contractor and the Government agreed to a cut-off date, my first thought would be, "I guess I'm in the market for yachts now?!" Perhaps that's why Mr. Edwards is promoting this idea? Do you need a yacht to fit in with all your contractor friends, sir? I mean, I have heard that people collect exotic animals to keep up with the extravagant purchases of their peers, so why not yachts? Or, maybe you have your eye on a certain, special giraffe? Random Thought: If the business practices of private industry are as efficient as everyone says they are, I am surprised that lag times pose such a huge problem. I know, I don't understand what industry is like, do I? I cannot even begin to imagine how hard it is to be a business in the U.S., especially those that work with the DoD. Is it the cash flow? Is the financing too good? The Government certainly doesn't do enough to accommodate industry, that's for sure. What's your concern, Contractor Vern? The memo is toothless. Contractors aren't going to start certifying within five business days. However, the memo, flawed as it is, draws attention to an issue that can have a huge impact on schedule to award. The attention given to the issue in this memo has allowed my program to begin having constructive conversations with our contractors on how data sweep timelines can be reduced. Maybe you're mad DPAP stated that maybe, just maybe, industry is responsible for some schedule delays? That schedule slips aren't always the Government's fault? Is that the problem? The outrageous idea that industry can have a negative impact on schedule, just like the Government? I wonder. You are an interesting fellow, Vern. Oh, and you spelled snarky wrong. There is no "e" in the word. Ha, I'm just joking around with you Vern... I hope you know this. You're awesome and I had a lot of fun.

I agree that five business days is aggressive. However, on my current program it takes 60 days or more for the contractor to certify, which is a significant amount of time. While I understand the contractor's reasons for conducting a sweep, our defective pricing shop has approximately one (maybe two?) individuals, so the likelihood of us opening a defective pricing case against the contractor is approximately nil. Sure, we would pursue this option if there was a particularly egregious incident, but the likelihood of that happening is, again, approximately nil. One of my concerns about the five business days is the Government's loss of leverage in negotiating a downward adjustment to price. Once the contract is awarded, the contractor would use their usual tactics to make sure this doesn't happen. Some of Vern's previous comments mention a cut-off date. Yes, that is the contractor's preferred way of speeding up this process, which explains why Mr. Edwards would advocate for this (Yes, Mr. Edwards, I know you used to work for the Government and know everyone better than anyone else; we get it. Going after Joel for his biographic information is a bit disingenuous, since you are constantly bringing up who you know... no offense, I just think you're being a bit unfair to him) However, I don't think a cut-off date makes sense at all. If the Government is going to give up its right to current data that could impact negotiations/final price, what do we get in return other than a faster award? Why should we compensate the contractor for their business deficiencies? Why does this make sense? I am curious, because I have never heard a good argument for a cut-off date. Yet, here we are. If anyone can make the case, it's Mr. Vern Edwards. Despite my earlier teasing, I respect you a ton, and I'm interested to hear what you have to say. That said, I really wish I had the chance to negotiate with a Vern Edwards back in the day... it is so easy to rile him up.