Special: Covid-19 impact on government contracting with Jerry McGinn

In this special episode of Acquisition Talk, we listen in on a conversation about the effects of COVID-19 on government contracting, including (1) the Defense Production Act, (2) emergency relief stimulus, (3) government contract data in response to coronavirus and business opportunities, and (4) guidance from government on navigating the crisis. It was recorded for George Mason University's new series, the Mason Executive Podcast. The episode features Dr. Jerry McGinn, executive director at the Center for Government Contracting, Dr. Bret Josephson, podcast host and Professor of Marketing, and myself. We discuss a recent report we released at the Center. It describes how more than $200 million has been obligated to contracts specifically for COVID-19 as of March 24. This includes $153 million for research and development, $34 million for medical equipment and services, $13 million to ventilators, $3.5 million for tests/panels, $2.5 million for personal protective equipment. Jerry is an expert on the Defense Production Act (DPA), having overseen the program during his time in the Pentagon as Principal Deputy Director of the Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy. resident Trump delegated DPA authorities to Health and Human Services. As Jerry explained, "it gives HHS the authority to change the rating of company contracts and put the government order at the top of the line." While the program usually has about $100 million in the fund, the new $2 trillion stimulus package that just passed the Senate includes $3 billion for the DPA. P This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. Soundtrack by urmymuse: "reflections of u". You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.