I am a LPTA consumer. My drink of choice is caffeine-free Diet Coke, when I shop the "lowest price" I can normally buy a 64 ounce bottle with prices of between ninety-nine cents and $1.99. Some large box grocery stores use a pricing technique of buy 4 for a price of $5. They make us do math and make us think you have to buy in volume to get the $1.25 price which is mostly never true.

On Tuesday, March 26, the president signed a continuing resolution (CR) that provides definitive appropriations for all federal agencies for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2013. It matters not so much that this CR retains the full $85 billion sequestration. What matters most is that all the federal agencies and military services now have their appropriations in hand.

Now that the agencies and services know the exact amount of dollars they have to spend, the period of confusion and indecision is over. Procurement personnel, from the contract specialists to the assistant secretary level, can now move forward with confidence. As a result, proposal activity should begin to flow at a rate approaching normal speed for the season.