Industry experts and former White House officials have urged government contractors to start discussing the effects of a potential federal shutdown in October with contracting officers, Government Executive reported Monday.
David Berteau, president of the Professional Services Council, said Monday at a PSC-hosted event in Virginia that GovCon companies should maintain relationships with agency employees to continue to seek information from them in the event of a shutdown if Congress fails to approve a spending package for fiscal 2018.
Industry experts said contractors should consider several factors in the wake of a shutdown, such as the need to notify employees of a stop work order and capacity to pay staff if companies fail to receive reimbursements from agencies.
“Now is the right time to understand the nature of your contract,†said Alan Chvotkin, an executive vice president and counsel at PSC.
The panelists also advised GovCon firms to take into account their expenses related to stop work orders and renewal option on their contracts, the report added.