Under Contract

By The Hill Staff - 12/13/12 08:07 PM ET

• The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has awarded a contract worth about $25,000 to InFocus Research Group to provide focus-group and mock-trial services for the agency. The contract is set to run from Dec. 11, 2012, to March 31, 2013, and will consist of the firm screening, choosing and moderating a mock jury before the agency’s Trial Unit. Following opening and closing statements by the agency’s Trial Unit, the contractor will videotape the juror feedback for the SEC to review. The Trial Unit “is responsible for litigating actions to enforce the federal securities laws in federal district courts across the nation and administrative proceedings before the SEC.”

• The Army has awarded Harris Corp. — a Florida-based international telecommunications company —a half-million-dollar contract for “drones,” according to federal contract documents. There is no pre-solicitation contract or further detail on record, but Harris Corp. has a history of receiving government contracts and recognition. In 2011, Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) awarded Harris Corp. with the Congressional Medal of Merit for innovative technology for its KnightHawk 3G, which allows troops to “maintain cellular services in locations with limited or no cellular connectivity.”

• The Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded MWH Americas an eight-month, $7.2 million contract to conduct environmental assessments and other reports to the government of Pakistan regarding a proposed dam to be constructed on the Kurram River. Although the program will “technically be managed” by Pakistan’s Office of Energy and USAID, the firm will ensure that the project — which is intended to increase electric energy production, improve irrigation and reduce the risk of terrorism with its generation of economic opportunities — follows both USAID’s and the government of Pakistan’s codes.

• The Army has awarded California-based ITSI Gilbane a $25.7 million contract to construct an Afghan National Civil Order Police Patrol Battalion. The work will be conducted in Afghanistan with an estimated end-date of Dec. 30, 2014.

Contract information compiled from General Services Administration data and government press releases. Send announcements about government contracts to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .