Tomeka B. Scales, Ph.D.
Director, Media Engagement & Communications
703.875.8974
media@pscouncil.org

PSC Acquisition Conference Stimulates Robust Exchanges on Supply Chain, Intellectual Property, and FAR Reforms

Arlington, Va. (June 9, 2025) -- The Professional Services Council (PSC) welcomed more than 200 attendees to its 9th annual Federal Acquisition Conference on June 5, 2025, at the Westin Arlington Gateway. The event brought together acquisition leaders from across the federal public and private sectors to discuss how best to navigate the transforming federal marketplace and foster resilience and growth in government contracting.

“This conference underscores the vital ‘convening’ role PSC plays in creating opportunities for government leaders and industry professionals to work together to find the best solutions for America’s most pressing challenges,” said PSC’s CEO Jim Carroll.

Attendees engaged in critical conversations around recent executive actions, funding uncertainties, and supply chain risks. Key takeaways are below.

• In a keynote address on “Incorporating Supply Chain Risk Management into Acquisition Innovation,” the Department of Defense’s Chief of Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Cybersecurity Stacy Bostjanick highlighted key Trump Administration actions to ensure innovation in and adoption of effective cybersecurity measures throughout the government, its industry partners, and the nation. “Adversaries are looking for our data,” she said. “We are currently at war in cyberspace.” 
  
  Ms. Bostjanick also addressed misperceptions that DoD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program—a 2019 initiative to enhance DIB cybersecurity throughout supply chains—has stalled. “CMMC was begun under the first Trump administration, so I don't think that it's going to go away. I think the recognition of this administration of the need for cybersecurity grows every day as we continuously have ransomware attacks, we have malware attacks, we have exfils, we have all those kinds of things that are hidden constantly.”
  
   

• A lively panel discussion on “Executive Actions: Impacts and Implications for Industry” reflected critical insights from former Office of Federal Procurement Policy administrator Allan Burman and former General Services Administration head Emily Murphy. They both emphasized the urgency and timeliness of the ongoing Revolutionary FAR Overhaul and discussed the private sector implications of recent class deviations, which do not require the transparency availed by public comment periods.

  On the regulatory rewrite, Ms. Murphy predicted that the revised FAR would be a “much smaller document, much less prescriptive. It's going to go back to just the pure statutory roots of what needs to be in the FAR. And hopefully, it means we're going to have a lot more freedom and discretion.” Both she and Mr. Burman spoke about the government’s shift toward “outcomes-based” contracting that emphasizes high-quality, timely results—rather than inputs or process. Mr. Burman added, "It seems like what the administration is pushing is ‘how do we get results?’—speed, innovation, these kinds of things—and make them happen fast.”

• In a panel on “Federal Funding Uncertainties Dealing with the Appropriation Rollercoaster,” industry leaders focused on the need for agility during a period of instability. ICF’s Senior Vice President for Health, People, and Human Services Jennifer Welham noted, “We're still all searching for what the new normal is, and we're not there yet. So that compounded level of uncertainty is definitely forcing us to be even more flexible, more agile.” She credited the government contracting space for its adaptability and resilience in the face of uncertainty. Abt Global’s Chief Growth Officer Baris Yener added, “You can't control everything in the industry, but great organizations are always resilient.” Amentum’s Chief Technology Officer Jill Bruning offered a silver lining—a level of disruption can lead to innovation and opportunity, recognizing the interest from government customers in AI tools.

• Speaking about “The Weakest Link: Supply Chain and IT Risks,” Greg Bowman (Chief Strategy Officer, Siemens Government Technologies), Peter Battaglia (Deputy Director, Mission Assurance Division, Defense Logistics Agency), Alexis Lasselle Ross (President, Apex Defense Strategies, LLC), and Cameron Holt (President of Strategic Markets, Exiger) engaged in a lively discussion on the status of the industrial base, the importance of understanding supply chains, and the nuances regarding intellectual property and technical data rights.

   

  • Dr. Ross stated, “17,000 companies exited the defense market in the last five years. Another 15,000 companies were slated to leave in the next 10 years, which is 15%. The participation by small business in the defense industrial base has gone down by 40% in the last decade.” This shrinking of the industrial base has significant implications for the nation’s critical supply chains and surge capacities.
  • General Holt noted that “supply chains have become a new domain of warfare,” underscoring the dangers posed by potential adversaries who seek to exploit supply chain vulnerabilities to undercut U.S. national and economic security.
  • Mr. Battaglia highlighted regarding supply chains, “One size doesn't fit all, and you need that flexibility.” He also recognized the important government-industry partnership and the need for innovation.
  • Mr. Bowman stated, “Technical-data-as-a-service is the future of how you're going to do sustainment for long-term projects. You don't want to be stuck in a generation behind the current generation.” He encouraged the audience to think through new ways to provide intellectual property and data rights on a temporary or short-term basis—for the more efficient, effectiveness utilization of private sector capabilities and capacities for the benefit of the warfighter.

     

• Larry Allen, the Associate Administrator of the Office of Government-wide Policy at the General Services Administration, offered closing remarks entitled “What Service Contractors Can Expect from FAR Reform and Acquisition Consolidation”—two topics of extremely high interest to conference attendees. He proclaimed that he wants to “create an acquisition system that truly functions better, that reduces the burden on industry to attract more industry participants. He added, “We have a timeline on what we want to do with the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul. The general idea is to try and get some of these things done by the end of the fiscal year and then go out afterwards for a series of public comments.”

Mr. Allen revealed that his office, the Office of Government-Wide Policy, is “working on the strategy and the protocols for acquisition consolidation, while the Federal Acquisition Service is doing some of the tactical day-to-day work actually engaging customer agencies with what we can do for them.”

He lamented the loss of “thousands of people to deferred retirement programs, to RIFs, to other retirement-related programs,” stating, “We need to replace a lot of the acquisition workforce that left and we're going to do that by bringing in the acquisition workforce from some other agencies. We're bringing over 300 people from the public building service inside GSA.” He recognized that the most successful government contractors understand the process and relationship side of this business.

The Federal Acquisition conference had record attendance. “The energy and engagement at today’s conference highlighted our community’s shared commitment to improving the speed, impact, and effectiveness of federal acquisition,” said PSC’s Acting President Stephanie Kostro. “Collaboration across government and industry is essential, especially as agencies seek innovative, agile solutions that leverage the best use of taxpayer money. We can only do this together.”

For more information and to access conference recaps, please visit the official conference website: https://acquisition.pscouncil.org/.

Download a PDF of this press release.


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About PSC
PSC is the leading trade association and voice of the government technology and professional services industry, with more than 400 small, medium, and large member companies that support federal agency missions and functions. Learn more at www.pscouncil.org.