Testifying before a Senate subcommittee last week about efforts to deploy a sophisticated fraud-prevention tool developed through the Recovery Act across all federal agencies, a government official told senators that the "biggest impediment" to successful utilization of the technology is "the lack of a...governmentwide award number system." Adoption of such a system, which would provide a universal code to government contract awards, could transform federal contracting oversight.

As the months slide by and the sun begins to set on the Bush Tax Cuts, a feisty debate in Congress is ensuing on which tax cuts should be kept and which should be left to expire. Although there seems to be universal support for maintaining the middle class tax cuts, there are proponents of retaining the tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000 (i.e. the 33% and 35% brackets). They allege that letting these cuts expire would stifle job creation.

When President Obama signed this year's supplemental appropriations bill, he delivered a big win for the good government community, as a little known transparency amendment attached to the bill became law. The amendment, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), will require the General Services Administration (GSA) to make most of the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) publically available.

Last week, the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) Independent Panel, a four-year old body created by Congress to provide an "alternate view" of the Pentagon's periodic internal assessment, released its report on the 2010 QDR. Simply put, the panel, whose membership includes a majority of individuals in the defense contracting industry, said, "Yes, please" in response to the government's question about how to allocate its limited resources.