April 2023 – Vol. 12; Issue 𝜋

Procurement Reform Takes Center Stage in 2024 Budget Request

Current State of Affairs

We have seen the struggles. They are real. Since the advent of COVID-19 and with the move to remote work, procurement shops are having more and more difficulty getting their work done. These procurement shops are often understaffed and the technical teams that help them write and release RFPs are also working remotely, with their job and procurement demands far exceeding hours in the day. This has driven contract delays as procurement shops struggle to release RFPs on time and to release them with consistently high quality. Delays are compounded by the Sisyphean attempts to slow down and “protest proof” procurements, only to have many protested anyway. According to the FY22 GAO report, the number of protests has gone down year-over-year, likely as a result of delays. At the same time, the effectiveness rate where the protestor obtains some sort of relief has reached an all-time high of 51%. Nobody is happy.

Efficiency Gains

To combat these challenges, the government has attempted to drive efficiencies. Contract consolidations and scorecard evaluations are response to the need to lessen the burden on procurement teams, but these are mere band-aids over bullet holes. The 2024 Presidential Budget Request includes several initiatives aimed at achieving real efficiency gains. To combat the attrition in the contracting officer community, the 2024R budget proposes broad use of ChatGPT and other emerging AI/ML tools to automate RFP generation. While this promises to dramatically decrease RFP cycle times and improve writing quality, efficiency gains are most sorely needed in the proposal evaluation process. Where early OCR efforts to automate scoring met with mixed results, the 2024R budget proposes sweeping reforms to the evaluation process, to include crowd sourcing, web-based polling approaches, and – a particular favorite of the Biden administration – borrowing the Social Credit System that the PRC has proven to be a best practice.

Force reconstitution by source chart

Protest Reform

As no real procurement process improvement can be had without protest reform, the 2024R budget promises the most sweeping changes since establishing the OFPP in 1974. For starters, introducing “loser pays” terms to the protest ecosystem would dramatically cut down on the number of frivolous protests. Similarly, changing the default setting from allowing incumbents to continue performing work in the wake of a timely protest would erase the overwhelmingly positive net present value of a protest and make incumbents think twice. The 2024R budget goes further still, borrowing some commercial innovation from Roger Goodell and limiting bidders to a maximum of two “challenges” per fiscal year. Taking a page out of the Fairfax County Public Schools handbook, the 2024R budget proposes to cut down on protests by no longer notifying winning bidders, so as not to hurt the self-esteem of losing bidders and would-be protestors.

Reconstituting the Force

The third leg of the procurement improvement troika is immediately reconstituting the force. Unlike the false claim that the IRS would be hiring 87,000 agents, this surge is real. Procurement staffing is at 1970s levels and the 2024R budget calls out the need to hire nearly 100,000 contracting officers, COTRs, and legal specialists. Attracting this talent in a tight labor market – and ensuring they are the most diverse work force – will require tapping non-traditional talent pools. While Buy American mandates forbid offshoring, opportunities abound in sourcing procurement talent from the ranks of recently displaced tech workers and treasury managers at SVB. Relaxing citizenship requirements and prohibitions on felonies will also enable procurement nearshoring opportunities along the southern border, in Martha’s Vineyard, and from prison populations. Finally, the Administration will harness the power of the Gig Economy with on-demand staffing from the new procurement app, “Güber.”

2024R Initiatives to Improve Procurement

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Former President Trump Officially Indicted

Congress Heads to Two Week Recess after another Contentious Week

House Republicans managed to pass their signature energy package this week, H.R. 1 the Lower Energy Costs Act, which aims to expedite the development, importation, and exportation of energy resources by waiving certain environmental review requirements, rolls back Biden Administration bans on fracking, and expands energy permits on federal land. House Speaker McCarthy and Majority Leader Scalise had just a few hours to tout their signature accomplishment and capture headlines before the news cycle turned to former President Trump’s indictment by a Manhattan grand jury. He is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday and has already stated that this would in no way effect his run for the presidency.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

Partisan Tensions Continue on Key Committees and No Progress on Debt Limit Discussions. On Wednesday Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders questioned former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz under oath about what he views as the company’s union busting activities while Senate Republicans countered that the National Labor Relations Board has taken a partisan turn. In the House, in a hearing of the new House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, Democrat Members charged that they were denied the right to question witnesses. And just off the House floor, a heated argument broke out among a House Democrat and House Republican Member over the cause of the school shooting in Nashville, TN. President Biden and Speaker McCarthy also traded jabs on who is to blame on failure to begin negotiations on the debt limit.

The Senate repeals the AUMF. The Senate voted Wednesday to repeal the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that has stood for over 20 years and was signed under President George W. Bush and paved the way for the invasion of Iraq and the justifications for the broader War on Terror. Elsewhere in the Senate, Sen. Tuberville (R-AL) is holding up virtually all military promotions, over 160 currently pending which typically sail through the chamber, over a DoD policy permitting access to abortion procedures. Critics argue his efforts are impacting military readiness while supporters say it is a legitimate political tactic.

SCHEDULING NOTE: Congress is on spring recess for the next two weeks. As partisan pressures mount in Washington, Members are headed back home to their states and districts. Speaker McCarthy is tentatively scheduled to visit with the President of Taiwan in California amid increased tensions with China. CONGRESS RETURNS ON APRIL 17TH.

Local Government G-News March 27, 2023

March 27, 2023
Federal Funding Opportunities

U.S. Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service Composting and Food Waste Reduction Pilot Project applications due June 15, 2023
The Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) program assists local and municipal governments with projects that develop and test strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans.

U.S. Department of Agriculture; Rural Utilities Service Community Connect Grant Program applications due June 20, 2023
The Community Connect Grant Program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants that will provide service at or above the Broadband Grant Speed to all premises in rural, economically challenged communities where broadband service does not exist.

U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Decarbonization and Emissions Reduction Demonstration-to-Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement concept papers due April 21, 2023
This is an opportunity to catalyze high-impact, large-scale, transformational advanced industrial facilities to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in energy-intensive industrial subsectors. Activities funded under this funding opportunity are further expected to create good-paying jobs for American workers, offer opportunities for broadly shared prosperity in communities, and enable a clean, more equitable future for all Americans.

U.S. Economic Development Administration FY 2023 Public Work and Economic Adjustment Assistance (PWEAA) applications accepted on an ongoing basis
The goal of this grant opportunity is to address environmental justice priorities and improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities by providing pollution prevention technical assistance to businesses (e.g., information, training, expert advice) on source reduction. There are no application submission deadlines for this opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the publication of a new notice of funding 0pportunity (NOFO), cancellation of the FY 2023 NOFO, or all available funds have been expended.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FY 2023-2024 Pollution Prevention Grants: Environmental Justice in Communities applications due June 6, 2023
The goal of this grant opportunity is to address environmental justice priorities and improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities by providing pollution prevention technical assistance to businesses (e.g., information, training, expert advice) on source reduction.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FY 2023-2024 Pollution Prevention Grants: Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products applications due June 20, 2023
The goal of this grant opportunity is to address environmental justice by providing pollution prevention technical assistance to businesses (e.g., information, training, expert advice) to improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities by increasing the supply, demand, and use of safer and more sustainable products.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Children and Families – The Office of Refugee Resettlement Employer Engagement Program applications due May 8, 2023
The purpose of this funding opportunity is to strengthen employer engagement in the integration and self-sufficiency of refugees within the community. Program recipients will enter into formal partnerships with employees to develop training curricula, provide career counseling, and strengthen opportunities for workplace-based training, apprenticeships, and internships for refugee participants. Program recipients will provide support in identifying and funding workplace instructors and will supply liaisons to design work-oriented language and training curricula, schedule and announce services, and coordinate with employment case managers for referral and enrollment to support career advancement.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Health Resources and Services Administration Rural Health Care Coordination Program applications due May 15, 2023
The purpose of this program is to promote rural health care services outreach by improving and expanding delivery of health care services through comprehensive care coordination strategies in rural areas. This award is intended to serve as initial seed funding to implement creative community-based health solutions in rural communities to expand access to and coordination of care with the expectation that awardees will then be able to sustain the program after the federal funding ends.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Cooperative Agreements for School-Based Trauma-Informed Support Services and Mental Health Care for Children and Youth applications due May 8, 2023
The purpose of this program is to increase student access to evidence-based and culturally relevant trauma support services and mental health care by developing innovative initiatives, activities, and programs to link local school systems with local trauma-informed support and mental health systems, including those under the Indian Health Service. This program aims to further enhance and improve trauma-informed support and mental health services for children and youth.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Planning, Development, and Implementation Grant applications due May 22, 2023
The purpose of this program is to transform community behavioral health systems and provide comprehensive, coordinated behavioral health care by: assisting organizations in the planning for and development and implementation of a new Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC), providing a comprehensive range of outreach, screening, assessment, treatment, care coordination, and recovery supports based on a needs assessment, and supporting recovery from mental illness and/or substance use disorders (SUD) by providing access to high-quality mental health and SUD services, regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Improvement and Advancement Grant applications due May 22, 2023
The purpose of this program is to transform community behavioral health systems and provide comprehensive, coordinated behavioral health care by (a) enhancing and improving Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHCs) that meet the CCBHC Certification Criteria; (b) providing a comprehensive range of outreach, screening, assessment, treatment, care coordination, and recovery supports based on a needs assessment with fidelity to the CCBHC Certification Criteria; and (c) supporting recovery from mental illness and/or substance use disorders by providing access to high-quality mental health and substance use services, regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.

U.S. Department of Justice; Bureau of Justice Assistance FY 2023 The Smart Policing Initiative Grant Program Grants.gov deadline May 1, 2023, and JustGrants deadline May 8, 2023
Through this opportunity, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks applications for funding to support innovative and evidence-based policing practices, more effective information sharing, and multiagency collaboration under the Smart Policing Initiative Program to provide funding to law enforcement agencies seeking to improve their use of evidence-based policing practices, data, and technology.

U.S. Department of Justice; Community Oriented Policing Services FY23 Implementing Crisis Intervention Teams- Community Policing Development Solicitation Grants.gov deadline May 1, 2023, and JustGrants deadline May 8, 2023
The goal of FY 2023 Implementing Crisis Intervention Teams solicitation is to provide funding to support the implementation of crisis intervention teams, including embedding behavioral or mental health professionals with law enforcement agencies, training for law enforcement officers and embedded behavioral or mental health professionals in crisis intervention response, or a combination of these strategies.

U.S. Department of Justice; Community Oriented Policing Services FY23 Microgrants -Community Policing Development Solicitation Grants.gov deadline May 1, 2023 and JustGrants deadline May 8, 2023
The Fiscal Year 2023 Community Policing Development (CPD) Microgrants Program funds are used to develop law enforcement’s capacity to implement community policing strategies by providing funding to local, state, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies.

U.S. Department of Justice; Community Oriented Policing Services FY23 Community Policing Development Solicitation (COPS) Hiring Program Grants.gov deadline May 4, 2023, and JustGrants deadline May 11, 2023
The goal of the COPS Hiring Program (CHP) is to provide funding directly to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Anticipated outcomes of this program include engagement in planned community partnerships, implementation of projects to analyze and assess problems, implementation of changes to personnel and agency management in support of community policing, and increased capacity of agency to engage in community policing activities.

U.S. Department of Justice; Community Oriented Policing Services FY23 Community Policing Development Solicitation School Violence Prevention Program Grants.gov deadline May 10, 2023 and JustGrants deadline May 17, 2023
The goal of the School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) is to improve security at schools and on school grounds through the implementation of evidence-based school safety programs and technology. SVPP awards will contribute to this goal by funding projects which include funding of civilian personnel to serve as coordinators with local law enforcement, training for local law enforcement officers, purchase and installation of certain allowable equipment and technology, and other measures to significantly improve school security.

U.S. Department of Justice; Office for Victims of Crime FY 2023 Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Grants.gov deadline May 4, 2023 and JustGrants deadline May 11, 2023
Office for Victims of Crime leads the Nation in supporting victim-centered and trauma-informed programs, policies, and resources that promote justice, access, and empowerment to enhance capacity to identify, assist, and provide services to all victims of human trafficking. With this solicitation, Office for Victims of Crime seeks to provide funding for services to victims of severe forms of human trafficking.

U.S. Department of Justice; Office on Violence Against Women Grants to Prevent and Respond to Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking, and Sex Trafficking Against Children and Youth Program Grants.gov deadline March 24, 2023 and JustGrants deadline March 28, 2023
This funding opportunity supports comprehensive, community-based efforts to develop or expand prevention, intervention, treatment, and response strategies to address the needs of children and youth impacted by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking.

U.S. Department of Justice; Office on Violence Against Women Grants to Engage Men and Boys as Allies in the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls Program Grants.gov deadline March 24, 2023 and JustGrants deadline March 28, 2023
This funding opportunity supports projects that create educational programming and community organizing to encourage men and boys to work as allies with women and girls to prevent domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking.

U.S. Department of Justice; Office on Violence Against Women Fiscal Year 2023 Grants to Improve the Criminal Justice Response Grants.gov deadline April 20, 2023, and JustGrants deadline April 27, 2023
The Grants to Improve the Criminal Justice Response Program encourages state, local, and tribal governments, and courts to improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as serious violations of criminal law, and to seek safety and autonomy for victims, by requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire criminal justice system.

U.S. Department of Transportation; Federal Highway Administration Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program applications due May 30, 2023
The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program (CFI Program) is a new competitive grant program created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in the places people live and work, urban and rural areas alike, in addition to along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors. CFI Program investments will make modern and sustainable infrastructure accessible to all drivers of electric, hydrogen, propane, and L gas vehicles.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program applications due May 19, 2023
The Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program enables Veterans Affairs to provide resources toward community-based suicide prevention efforts to meet the needs of Veterans and their families through outreach, suicide prevention services, and connection to Veterans Affairs and community resources.

Next Phase of FY24 Appropriations Process Begins

Administration Officials Head to the Hill to Make FY24 Budget Case

With most Member deadlines for constituent requests for the FY24 appropriations cycle coming to a close this week and next, Members and staff must now sort through the hundreds if not thousands of requests and recommendations received and decide which to put forward to the Committee and Subcommittee by those deadlines over the course of the next few weeks. While that internal process is taking place, Administration officials are headed to Capitol Hill to appear in front of both authorizing and appropriations committees to justify their FY24 budget requests. Among them, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra appeared this week. Your WSW team will be reporting out to you directly on hearings impacting your key areas of interests. All of these activities come in advance of the mark-up of FY24 appropriations bills which we expect could begin as early as this spring or early summer in both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

President Biden issues first veto. President Biden issued the first veto of his presidency this week to protect an administrative initiative promoting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies for retirement fund managers. Republicans oppose ESG practices, claiming such practices can be contrary to the interests of investors. Their attempt to override the president’s veto failed in the House on Thursday.

Recent bank failures add pressure to debt limit negotiations. The Congressional agenda is only getting more challenging with recent bank failures adding to significant economic uncertainties and making the stakes around raising the nation’s debt ceiling even higher. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates again this week in continued attempts to drive down inflation while expressing confidence that the U.S. banking system was sound. House Leader McCarthy continues to call for major concessions on reducing overall levels of federal spending while President Biden continues to call for early action on a clean measure to raise the debt limit and to do so sooner rather than later to add certainty to an otherwise uncertain landscape. This standoff shows no signs of abating in the near-term. In the weeks to come, the Biden Administration is expected to hit the road to continue to highlight major economic investments resulting from the work of the last two years including the Infrastructure Act and the CHIPS Act.

High profile Congressional hearings continue. The parade of CEOs before Congress continued this week with TikTok’s CEO facing bipartisan fire over the social media company’s Chinese ownership and invasive presence in the private lives of Americans and the security threat posed by the Chinese Communist party’s access to the company. Both Executive Branch and Legislative action restricting and even barring access to TikTok in the U.S. is anticipated. Next week, recently retired Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will face Senate HELP Chairman Bernie Sanders over what Sanders views as the company’s anti-union practices.

IHE G-News: Federal Funding Opportunities

U.S. Department of Agriculture Scientific Cooperation and Research applications due May 10, 2023
The Scientific Cooperation Research Program supports joint research, extension, and education projects — lasting up to two years — between U.S. researchers and researchers from selected emerging market economies. The projects address issues including agricultural trade and market access, climate-smart agriculture, animal and plant health, biotechnology, food safety and security, and sustainable natural resource management. Since 1980, the program has supported hundreds of projects, enhancing the technical skills of agricultural professionals and helping beneficiary countries to be more competitive consumers of U.S. agricultural products.

U.S. Department of Defense; Department of the Army – Materiel Command U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavior and Social Sciences Broad Agency Announcement for Basic Research applications due July 15, 2023
The mission of the Basic Research Program is to execute high-risk, high-reward foundational research to develop state-of-the-art theory, methods, and models to create the innovative concepts required to support the Army’s future capabilities and needs related to personnel readiness. The Basic Research program employs four strategic focus areas for advancing science.

1. Science of Measurement of Individuals and Collectives: Advanced psychometric theory for deriving valid measurements from complex assessments and continuous streams of data.
2. Understanding Multilevel and Organizational Dynamics: Multilevel theory and methods for understanding dynamic restructuring, coordination, and composition processes in complex organizations.
3. Formal/Informal Learning and Development: Holistic models of individual and collective learning across work settings and contexts throughout the career span.
4. Context of Behavior in Military Environments: Integrative theory specifying the interactive relationships between individual characteristics and contextual drivers in predicting human behavior.

U.S. Department of Energy; Office of Science Quantum Testbed Pathfinder pre-applications due March 31, 2023
The mission of this program is to discover, develop, and deploy computational and networking capabilities to analyze, model, simulate and predict complex phenomena for the advancement of science. Applications should address the following questions:

1. What can fundamental physical limits on quantum processors tell us about what quantum computers can and cannot do?
2. How can we use Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices to move our understanding of when and how quantum computers might be useful as far forward as possible?
3. How can we best assess the utility of a given (existing or hypothetical) quantum processor for advancing the frontiers of computational science?

U.S. Department of Energy; Office of Science Scientific Discovery Through Advanced Computing pre-applications due April 7, 2023
This funding opportunity invites new applications for the Scientific Discovery Through Advanced Computing (SciDAC-5) Partnerships that enable or accelerate scientific discovery and programmatic objectives, aligned with the Fusion Energy Sciences mission and the Department of Energy’s vision for fusion energy, through effective collaborations between fusion/plasma scientists and applied mathematicians and/or computer scientists from the SciDAC Institutes that fully exploit the capabilities of the Department of Energy’s High Performance Computing facilities.

U.S. Department of Energy Industrial Decarbonization and Emissions Reduction Demonstration-to-Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement concept papers due April 21, 2023
This funding opportunity offers a critical opportunity to solidify a “first-mover” advantage for U.S. industry, bolstering its competitiveness globally for decades into the future. Activities funded under this funding opportunity are expected to create good-paying jobs for American workers, offer opportunities for broadly shared prosperity in communities, and enable a clean, more equitable future for all Americans. Demonstrating the technical and commercial viability of industrial decarbonization approaches will promote widespread technology implementation and drive a U.S. edge in low- and net-zero carbon manufacturing while helping to substantiate a market for low-carbon products.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health Exploratory Grants for Climate Change and Health Research Center Development applications due May 1, 2023
This program will support the development of a transdisciplinary research environment to sustain a program of fundamental and applied research to examine the impacts of climate change on health and to develop action-oriented solutions to protect the health of individuals, communities, and nations from the hazards posed by climate change. This opportunity will allow development of new research teams collaborating with communities and other partners to develop projects that generate data that will build or expand research capacity across a range of thematic scientific areas in support of the four core tenets of the National Institute of Health’s Initiative in climate heath research: health effects research, health equity, intervention research, and training and capacity building.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health Short Courses for Mental Health Related Research letters of intent due May 25, 2023
This program supports research education activities in the mission areas of the National Institutes of Health. The over-arching goal of this program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nations biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health Mentoring Networks for Mental Health Research Education letters of intent due April 25, 2023
This program supports research education activities in the mission areas of the National Institutes of Health. The over-arching goal of this program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nations biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health Research Education Programs for Psychiatry Residents applications due May 25, 2023
The over-arching goal of the Health Research Education Programs for Psychiatry Residents program is to support educational activities that help recruit individuals with specific specialty or disciplinary backgrounds to research careers in biomedical, behavioral and clinical sciences.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Minority Fellowship Program applications due May 9, 2023
The purpose of this program is to recruit, train, and support master’s and doctoral level students in behavioral health care professions by: increasing the knowledge of mental and/or substance use disorder behavioral health professionals on issues related to prevention, treatment, and recovery support for individuals who are from racial and ethnic minority populations and have a mental or substance use disorder; increasing the number of culturally competent mental and substance use disorders professionals who teach, administer services, conduct research, and provide direct mental and/or substance use disorder services to racial and ethnic minority populations; and improving the quality of mental and substance use disorder prevention and treatment services delivered to racial and ethnic minority populations. With this program, SAMHSA aims to reduce behavioral health disparities, advance the quality of mental and substance use disorder prevention and treatment services, and improve health care outcomes for racial and ethnic minority populations.

U.S. Department of Justice; National Institute of Justice Research on Juvenile Justice Topics Grants.gov deadline May 29, 2023 and JustGrants deadline June 12, 2023
This solicitation seeks proposals for studies that advance knowledge and understanding in the following three categories:
1. Research and evaluation of legislative and administrative policy changes affecting youth involved in the justice system. Applicants must address one or more of the following three specified juvenile justice issues:
providing community-based alternatives to youth incarceration, with a focus on very high need/risk youth who have traditionally been held securely; sealing and expungement of juvenile justice records; and/or reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system.
2. Research to assess dual system youth data capacity and service delivery across juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
3. Analysis on the use of the valid court order exception.

U.S. Department of Justice; Office on Violence Against Women Strengthening Culturally Specific Campus’ Approaches to Address Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Initiative Grants.gov deadline April 27, 2023 and JustGrants deadline May 2, 2023
This grant encourages institutions of higher education to develop and strengthen effective security and investigation strategies to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus, develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving such crimes on campus, and develop and strengthen prevention education and awareness programs.

U.S. Department of Justice; Office on Violence Against Women Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program Grants.gov deadline May 4, 2023 and JustGrants deadline May 9, 2023
The Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus encourages institutions of higher education to develop and strengthen effective security and investigation strategies to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus, develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving such crimes on campus, and develop and strengthen prevention education and awareness programs.

U.S. Department of Transportation; Federal Highway Administration Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program applications due May 30, 2023

*Public Institutions of Higher Education could be eligible as an agency of the State*

The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program (CFI Program) is a new competitive grant program created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in the places people live and work, urban and rural areas alike, in addition to along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors. CFI Program investments will make modern and sustainable infrastructure accessible to all drivers of electric, hydrogen, propane, and natural gas vehicles. This program provides two funding categories of grants: Community Charging and Fueling Grants; and Alternative Fuel Corridor Grants.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pollution Prevention Grants: Environmental Justice in Communities applications due June 6, 2023
The goal of this grant opportunity is to address environmental justice priorities and improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities by providing pollution prevention technical assistance to businesses (e.g., information, training, expert advice) on source reduction. Implementing pollution prevention approaches can help businesses reduce the use and release of hazardous substances that can adversely impact human health and the environment while at the same time help businesses save money by reducing their resource use, expenditures, waste, and liability costs.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pollution Prevention Grants: Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products applications due June 20, 2023
The goal of this grant opportunity is to address environmental justice by providing pollution prevention technical assistance to businesses to improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities by increasing the supply, demand and use of safer and more sustainable products, such as those that are certified by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice Program, or those that conform to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Recommendations for Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing.

President Biden’s FY24 Budget Proposal Released

Members’ FY24 Appropriation Request Deadlines Ongoing

On Thursday, President Biden released his $6.8 trillion FY24 budget proposal, officially kicking off the budget negation process with Congress which will take place over the course of the rest of this year. Among the President’s wish list are a 7.3 percent increase in domestic spending, plans to extend the solvency of Medicare and Social Security entitlement programs and additional defense spending, all to be offset by higher taxes for the rich, including a so-called “billionaire” minimum tax, which the administration claims will also reduce the deficit by $3 trillion over the next 10 years. Republicans have already panned this proposal as unserious, stating that the deficit reduction is unreal, increasing taxes would hurt the economy and the proposed increases to defense spending are not enough while domestic spending should be cut back significantly, not rise. This proposal, like most presidential budgets, is considered largely “dead on arrival” but does serve as a starting point for House and Senate work on their own budgets to begin.

In related news, many Congressional offices were waiting to accept constituent requests for the annual appropriations requests until the President’s budget was announced, so most of those forms are now live with extremely short deadlines. Please continue working with your WSW Team to stay up to date of all developments in the appropriations process.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

House Republicans will promote their signature energy bill next Tuesday. In advance of planned floor votes at the end of the month, Majority Leader Steve Scalise will lead efforts next week to begin promoting House Republican’s signature energy bill, H.R. 1, The Lower Energy Costs Act, which includes provisions to open up the permitting process for energy infrastructure like pipelines, forcing more lease sales on untapped energy sources, and easing access to mine rare-earth minerals, in contrast to the Biden’s Administration’s energy and climate policies.

31 Democrats join Senate Republicans in striking down a DC Crime Bill. In a rare bipartisan move, Democrats joined Republicans to resoundingly defeat a modification to laws in the District of Columbia which would have reduced penalties for some violent criminals in the nation’s capital. Congress has veto authority over changes to DC city laws and President Biden, despite complaints from within his own party, had also signaled he would not support the proposed changes to the DC law. Republicans quicky seized the opportunity to showcase their tough on crime credentials.

Hearing witnesses face hostile panels in House and Senate. Invitations to appear before House and Senate Committees may have once been considered a coveted invitation by industry leaders but of late, these invitations have had more risk than reward. The CEO of Norfolk Southern issued an apology before a Senate committee for his company’s train derailment in a small Ohio community, while Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown (D) and JD Vance (R) of Ohio, as well as many other Senators, pressed the CEO to make specific and long-term commitments to address the economic and health care impacts of the community now and over the longer-term. A Senate HELP hearing has now been scheduled with CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, for the end of March after Chairman Bernie Sanders threated to subpoena him for his testimony about his company’s actions against labor organizing. In the same committee this week, Sen. Markwayne Mullin got into a screaming match with Teamsters President Sean O’Brien who called the Senator a “greedy CEO” and the Senator responded by telling the Union leader to “shut up.” We can expect many more high profile and tension filled hearings as Administration officials head to Capitol Hill in the weeks to come to discuss and defend the President’s budget proposal and as more hearings are held on topics and events of high national profile.

Local Government G-News March 8, 2023

March 8, 2023
Federal Funding Opportunities

U.S. Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2023 – New Jersey applications due May 7, 2023
Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) support supports early-stage development and piloting of new tools, practices, and technologies to further natural resource conservation on New Jersey private lands. The Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation (NRCS) invites proposals that support one or more of New Jersey’s priorities, including Urban Agriculture, Climate Smart Agriculture, and Forestry/Wildlife.

U.S. Department of Energy Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program Funding Opportunity Announcement letters of intent due March 28, 2023
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) is issuing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in collaboration with the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) for integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects that demonstrate substantial improvements in the efficiency, effectiveness, cost, and environmental performance of carbon capture technologies for power, industrial, and other commercial applications.

U.S. Department of Energy Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilot Projects Funding Opportunity Announcement concept papers due April 5, 2023
The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support carbon capture large-scale pilot projects designed to further the development of transformational technologies that capture carbon emissions from existing coal or natural gas electric generation facilities and existing industrial facilities not purposed for electric generation.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) Program applications due April 28, 2023
The purpose of this program is to develop a sustainable infrastructure for school-based mental health programs and services. Recipients are expected to build collaborative partnerships with the State Education Agency, Local Education Agency, Tribal Education Agency, the State Mental Health Agency, community-based providers of behavioral health care services, school personnel, community organizations, families, and school-aged youth.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Transforming Lives Through Supported Employment Program applications due May 1, 2023
The purpose of this program is to support state and community efforts to refine, implement, and sustain evidence-based supported employment programs and mutually compatible and supportive evidence-based practices (e.g., supported education) for adults with serious mental illness (SMI) or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders (COD).

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Mental Health Awareness Training Grants applications due May 1, 2023
The purpose of this program is to train individuals (e.g., school personnel and emergency services personnel including fire department and law enforcement personnel, veterans, armed services members and their families, etc.) to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders and how to safely de-escalate crisis situations involving individuals with a mental illness and provide education on resources available in the community for individuals with a mental illness and other relevant resources, including how to establish linkages with school and/or community-based mental health agencies.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Treatment for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness, Serious Emotional Disturbance or Co-Occurring Disorders Experiencing Homelessness Program applications due May 5, 2023
The purpose of this program is to provide comprehensive, coordinated and evidenced-based services for individuals, youth, and families with a serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance or co-occurring disorder who are experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness (e.g., people exiting jail or prison without a place to live). Recipients will be expected to engage and connect the population of focus to behavioral health treatment, case management, and recovery support services; assist with identifying sustainable permanent housing by collaborating with homeless services organizations and housing providers, including public housing agencies; and provide case management that includes care coordination/service delivery planning and other strategies that support stability across services and housing transitions.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Healthy Transitions: Improving Life Trajectories for Youth and Young Adults with Serious Mental Disorders Program applications due May 8, 2023
The purpose of this program is to improve and expand access to developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate services and supports for transition-aged youth and young adults (ages 16-25) who either have, or are at risk for developing, serious mental health conditions. Award recipients will be expected to identify and provide appropriate behavioral health interventions to transition-aged youth and young adults who are at risk for a serious emotional disturbance or serious mental illness.

U.S. Department of Justice; Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention FY 2023 Community-Based Alternatives to Youth Incarceration Initiative Grants.gov deadline April 11, 2023, and JustGrants deadline April 25, 2023
The initiative will support the development and implementation of innovative strategies for closing youth detention and correctional facilities and reinvesting cost savings in community-based solutions that promote positive outcomes for youth, increase public safety, and strengthen neighborhoods.

U.S. Department of Justice; Bureau of Justice Assistance FY 23 Office of Justice Programs Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative Grants.gov deadline May 18, 2023, and JustGrants deadline May 25, 2023
Supports efforts to address gang and gun violence, based on partnerships among community residents, local government agencies, victim service providers, community-based organizations, law enforcement, hospitals, researchers, and other community stakeholders.

U.S. Department of Justice; National Institute of Justice FY23 Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative Research, Evaluation, and Associated Training & Technical Assistance Support Grants.gov deadline May 22, 2023, and JustGrants deadline June 5, 2023
The Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) provides resources to support evidence-informed violence intervention and prevention programs in communities across the United States. This solicitation includes four funding categories: 1) Training and Technical Assistance to Support CVIPI Evaluation Capacity Building and Researcher and Practitioner Partnerships; 2) Training and Technical Assistance to Support Violent Crime Problem Analyses of Jurisdictions not Funded under the OJP FY22 and FY23 CVIPI Solicitations; 3) Site-Based Evaluations of Programs Funded under the OJP FY22 and FY23 CVIPI Solicitations, and 4) Other Community-Violence Research and Evaluations.

House Republicans Issue Updated Guidance on Community Funding Projects

President’s Budget Comes Out Next Week

House Republicans announced new restrictions on Community Project funds just weeks before deadline for constituents’ submissions. Even as the new House Republican majority agreed to continue the practice of funding Community Projects through the annual appropriations process, the House Appropriations Committee issued new guidance this week that significantly limits the scope and type of projects that House Members may request, including a ban on any projects in the popular Labor, HHS, and Education bill and the Financial Services and General Government bill. These newly announced House restrictions will also inevitably increase constituent requests to Senate offices, where the guidance remains unchanged. This will set up an interesting dynamic where the Senate Labor-HHS-Ed and FSGG bills will include projects, and the House bills will not. Those differences will need to be reconciled in any final measure. WSW is working directly with clients to make the necessary adjustments in the very short window before House and Senate deadlines. You can read more here. These restrictions will add yet another complicating factor in a year where finalizing FY24 appropriations bills in a divided Congress was already going to be extremely difficult, with major disagreements on overall spending for defense and domestic programs.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

President Biden’s budget will be released on March 9th. This will officially kick off the annual budget and appropriations process in the House and Senate with Administration officials heading to Capitol Hill for high profile budget hearings. They will be defending their budget requests for both defense and discretionary spending and setting the stage for broader battles between the Administration and Congress on topline spending, entitlement programs, and underscoring the need to raise the debt limit in the months to come. As reported, Biden’s budget will cut the federal deficit by $2 trillion over the next 10 years, but House Republicans have already signaled that they will not accept a budget that does not include more significant cuts. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy publicly agreed to take Social Security and Medicare entitlement programs off the table after Biden called out fringe Republican plans to sunset those programs. That leaves plenty of other items in the budget for Congress to negotiate over, and with a looming debt ceiling crisis, appropriators may have to pick and choose which funding is prioritized.

The newly established House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party held its first hearing on Tuesday. Led by Chairman Mike Gallagher this inaugural hearing for the bipartisan committee took place during primetime on Tuesday evening. Chairman Gallagher took particular care to focus the committee on addressing issues like human rights and strategic competition between the Chinese government and the United States. He characterized this competition as “an existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century.” The hearing included testimony from former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and former Deputy National Security Adviser and China expert Matthew Pottinger who compared this strategic competition as akin to the Cold War. Democratic Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi said that efforts to democratize and liberalize the Chinese government through open trade and investment had been miscalculated and had instead provided the Chinese government with a treasure trove of U.S. business and government intelligence. The hearing touched on a variety of interrelated issues, including China’s militant posture towards Taiwan, the possibility that they would support Russia’s war against Ukraine, the recent shootdown of the Chinese spy balloon, and the data concerns over the app TikTok. WSW will continue to monitor these hearings and provide periodic updates.

The Supreme Court heard arguments about Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan this week. Tuesday began oral arguments for the president’s plan which if upheld would cancel $10,000 or $20,000 for all applicants which currently have outstanding student loans. The administration’s argument to provide this unprecedented amount of student loan forgiveness is based on the 2003 HEROES Act which grants broad authority to the Secretary of Education to unilaterally “modify” or “waive” federal student aid programs in response to a national emergency. 5 of the 9 justices expressed some amount of skepticism of the administration’s authority to use the law in this way, but the outcome of this decision is still up in the air until there is a ruling in June. The immediate impacts from this program, either if it is upheld or blocked, could be to the national debt when the government is suddenly saddled with another obligation.

March 2023 – Vol. 12; Issue 3

The Big Dance Returns: 2023 Federal M&A Bracket

Analyzing Our 2022 Bracket

Grab your pen and paper and crack open a cold one: it’s time to fill out the 2023 federal M&A March Madness bracket. Unlike most professional “Bracketologists,” let’s reflect on what we got right and wrong in 2022. We correctly predicted strong recruiting for the hottest talent (AI/ML, Cyber, Cloud), which is likely to hold steady. However, this year we expect M&A efforts to focus on critical vehicles over capabilities or customers. As NCAA TV contracts end and key recompetes loom, teams will be looking for deals to join big money BIC/IDIQ conferences (e.g., Alliant 3, OASIS+, CIO-SP4). We incorrectly predicted lower public company valuations as recessionary fears drove investors to the security of ADG stocks, pushing these shares to close 2022 at or above 2021 price levels.

M&A Transfer Portal

Beyond acquiring critical contract vehicles, we expect strategic acquirers to turn to the M&A transfer portal to obtain strong players to pull growth forward into 2023, rather than disappointing boosters. Legacy consulting firms remain the most aggressive recruiters of scarce/in-demand capabilities to enhance their federal IT roster. We also expect international players to work their ways onto U.S. rosters, as geopolitical concerns drive the desire to increase exposure to the world’s largest defense budget. While the M&A transfer portal peaked in 2021, there continues to be high activity consistent with previous years. However, remember that the NCAA likes fair competition. Power conference teams should be aware that they are being scrutinized for any potential recruiting (antitrust) violations, which could lead to severe penalties for those who aren’t closely following the rules.

2022 vs. 2023 volume and valuations impact infographic

Delayed Graduation to the Big Leagues

Extended eligibility for small businesses will likely increase future draft stock and disincentivize would-be sellers from entering the draft early. Now that the NIL offers players endorsement opportunities and the government provides heightened SBSA ceilings, small businesses are incentivized to stick around for an extra year or two. In 2023, we predict would-be sellers to delay coming to market for another year to maximize their NBA draft stock. As small businesses gain more playing experience in the form of past performances, and as they mitigate small business transition risk, their draft stock will increase with investors. Additionally, a split Congress is unlikely to pass any tax changes, which in former years would have sent sellers rushing into the draft prematurely.

PE Bracketology

Given the lack of actionable mid-major (>$100M) assets, we predict private equity brackets to be bifurcated between paying premiums for less risky, F&O “blue blood” teams or picking several lower-seed SBSAs to outperform their peers in the tournament challenge. In strict “Calcutta” terms, investors can spend the same money to get the #1 seed or get all four #9 seeds. Neither strategy guarantees success, though private equity owners must be cognizant of the SBA’s affiliation rules when betting on a confederation of small business teams, as they might ultimately face a tougher draw than anticipated. This year, we expect private equity funds to continue to pay up for their initial entry into the bracket – especially for those scarce nine-figure platforms – and then dollar-cost average their investment through bolt-on and tuck-in acquisitions to craft a winning bracket.

Top Questions Facing the 2023 Federal M&A Court

Marty Brennan
703-587-7454
Marty.Brennan@deepwaterpoint.com

Charlotte Brewer
404-858-6974
Charlotte.Brewer@deepwaterpoint.com

Kevin Robbins
202-841-1085
Kevin.Robbins@deepwaterpoint.com