A recent Executive Order (EO) puts GSA in charge of most common goods and services, including all Governmentwide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs). This means agencies will hand over a large portion of their acquisition work to GSA to streamline and consolidate the acquisition process. Josh Greenbaum, the head of GSA's Federal Acquisition Service estimates this would effectively quadruple GSA's size to $400 billion annually. This will have a huge impact on contractors as GSA takes on more work from federal agencies across the board. Read more in ourlatest blog.
April is a Reporting Month
April is sales reporting month, so make sure you’re aware of your contract’s reporting requirements. Commercial Sales Practices (CSP) contractors must report their GSA sales from January to March by April 30th, while Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) contractors must report their GSA sales for March by April 30th. All contractors will need to remit the Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) by April 30th.
Reporting sales and remitting the IFF are both done through the FAS SRP. A quick reminder that TDR contractors need to report on 11 fields as part of their sales reporting, while CSP contractors report their total sales per Special Item Number (SIN).
Couldn't make it to our last webinar? Watch it here on demand. This webinar reviews Winvale's recommendations for a strategic approach to your transition to the FAS Common Catalog Platform (FCP).
GSA plans to hold a webinar on the recently announced Refresh #26. GSA will cover the planned changes to the MAS Solicitation and any other relevant Refresh updates. Join the webinar here.
In this webinar, you can learn how your cloud/software small business can get on the GSA Schedule and how to become one of GSA's Best-in-Class vendors to support various agency needs. Register here.
We're excited to announce that we'll be attending ISOA Europe Industry Days in Wiesbaden Germany in April. This conference will be centered around U.S. Government and NATO contracting opportunities in Europe to support U.S. national security interests. Within this conference, we are also attending a Business Match Making Session to have the opportunity to be introduced, collaborate, and partner with host companies. Learn more about the conference here.
CRITICAL INFORMATION
GSA Releases MAS Solicitation Refresh #25
GSA released Solicitation Refresh 25 in March. This Refresh includes updates and additions to various parts of the Solicitation, and must be accepted in the Mass Mod Portal by all contractors. These updates aim to bring GSA in line with the policy changes and Executive Orders (EOs) implemented by the new administration. Here's a highlight of the changes:
In accordance with EO "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” any products, services, or solutions that fund or promote “gender ideology” are excluded from the scope of the MAS program.
To comply with EO 14148, “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions,” the MAS program is removing all references to non-statutory sustainability requirements, programs, and preferences from its SIN instructions and descriptions.
Under EO 14208, “Ending Procurement and Forced Use of Paper Straws,” any products or services that are related to paper straws are excluded from the scope of the MAS Program. To align with these changes, several FAR clauses will be added and deleted.
In addition to these general updates, there are several changes to specific SINs and Large Categories. Many of these updates also relate to the Executive Orders mentioned above. Learn more in our blog.
GSA's Plans to "Rightsize" the MAS Program
GSA recently announced their plan to "rightsize" the MAS Program, meaning they will revamp the program to streamline acquisition and eliminate waste. What will this look like? In their Press Release, GSA said the initiative will entail:
Allowing MAS contracts that do not meet the sales thresholds in FSS Clause I-FSS-639, Contract Sales Criteria, to expire.
Addressing MAS contractor non-compliance, including performance concerns, which will help ensure that only productive and compliant contracts remain in the program.
Simplifying processes, eliminating inefficiencies, and ensuring proper alignment of management and oversight within the program -- making it more effective and user-friendly for both contractors and government agencies.
Eliminating items with insufficient market demand or where administrative costs outweigh procurement benefits, making them unsuitable for the MAS Program.
Reducing redundancies with other procurement channels across government.
Learn more about how you can prepare for these major updates in our blog.
QUICK TIPS
Preparing for MAS Refresh #26
Right on the heels of MAS Solicitation Refresh #25 is Refresh #26. This Refresh is expected to come out sometime in April with an accompanying Mass Modification, so it's important you know what's involved. Most of the updates are minor revisions to the Solicitation and applicable clauses, but GSA also plans to retire 31 SINs. The full list of SINs can be found here. A highlight of all the changes in this Refresh can be found here.
Selling to NATO through Your GSA Schedule
We are familiar with the GSA MAS Program for federal and state/local sales, but you can also sell to certain international organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This is possible through the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA), and is a great way to diversify your GSA Schedule sales. NATO is a GSA MAS customer and acquires civilian products and services through their main two arms of acquisition: NCIA and NSPA. Learn more in our recent blog.
EMERGING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
PMW 160 Automated Digital Network System (ADNS) Multiple Award Contract (MAC)
The Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) has released a pre-solicitation under NAICS Code 334210 (Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing) to provide notice of an upcoming Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) opportunity with an eight-year ordering period for procurement of Automated Digital Network System (ADNS) Systems to include CaaS hardware; cyber threat upgrades and mission focused upgrades; spares; and software. The Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected to be released during Q3 of Fiscal Year 2025 with an anticipated contract award date during Q1 of Fiscal Year 2026. More information can be found under Notice ID: N00039-25-R-9510.
Ticket Program Manager (TPM) contract
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has released a pre-solicitation under NAICS Code 541611 (Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services) to provide notice of an upcoming solicitation for Ticket Program Manager services with responsibilities including recruitment, activation, and support of Employment Networks (ENs) and providing support to beneficiaries to encourage and facilitate participation in the Ticket to Work program. The contract award will be a single, cost-plus award fee contract with a twelve-month base period, four twelve-month option periods, and a six-month transition-out period. The solicitation is expected to be released during April 2025 with responses due approximately 30 days after the solicitation release date. More information can be found under Notice ID: 28321326R00000001.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FAQs on the Buy American Act (BAA) vs. the Trade Agreements Act (TAA)
In the recent actions the Trump Administration has taken in regards to global trade, including the America First Trade Policy Executive Order, the Buy American Act (BAA) was addressed as a regulation of interest in carrying out their policy goals. With that in mind, now is a good time to answer some common questions on BAA vs. TAA:
Q: What’s the Difference in Scope Between These Regulations?
A: TAA and BAA are similar in that they both apply to federal procurement in the context of foreign versus domestic trade, so their scopes have some overlap. However, TAA’s scope has a focal point in regulating foreign procurement, while BAA seeks to balance foreign versus domestic procurement. In other words, TAA’s focus is on what countries the federal government can or cannot procure goods and services from, while BAA’s focus is on prioritizing domestic manufacturing and services over foreign in federal procurement.
Q: Does TAA and BAA Have the Same Goals?
A: Both TAA and BAA are designed to promote American interests in federal procurement, although they go about it in different ways. The goal of TAA is ensure that the federal government only does business with countries compliant with its set of regulations, while the goal of BAA is to promote American products by applying regulations on what can be categorized as a “domestic end product” for the purposes of what products can get a price preference.
Q: How Does Either Law Affect the GSA MAS?
A: Both laws have historically shaped federal acquisition strategies and guidelines, and so both play a role in GSA MAS today. Specifically, contractors will need to ensure that they’re in compliance with both BAA and TAA. For TAA compliance, that means ensuring all products and services you offer on your MAS contract are either domestic or sourced from TAA-compliant countries. For BAA compliance, that means ensuring that products you classify as “domestic” meet the minimum requirements set forth by BAA in that definition.
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