Follow all the latest news from NOPAhttp://www.ofdanet.org/iopfda/files/ccRSSFeeds/LOGOFILENAME/000000000004/NopaTop.jpgFollow all the latest news from NOPA By a vote of 94-1, the Senate on November 7 approved Majority Leader Reid’s motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to consideration of H.R. 674. This vote clears the way for the Senate to begin consideration of H.R. 674 and possible amendments. NOPA is a member of a business coalition that is pushing for full repeal of U.S. law, enacted in 2006, which would require all federal, state and certain (large) local governments to automatically withhold 3% of their total payments to government contractors for all goods and services starting January 1, 2013. Repeal legislation, along with a companion bill to offset the projected tax revenue loss from the repeal in ways acceptable to both the Obama Administration and more than 400 House Members, passed the U.S. House of Representatives by an overwhelming bipartisan majority last week. NOPA urges members to continue to press their U.S. senators to pass H.R. 674 without any "poison pill" amendments, now that Senate floor action is imminent. NOPA urges everyone in our industry to visit www.senate.gov to obtain phone numbers and website contact information for your U.S. senators to reiterate this message. Contact Chris Bates via email or at 703.549.9040, x 100 with any questions on this critical legislation. 11/7/2011 7:30:00 PMhttp://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2825&formid=400 NOPA’s sister association, the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA), has lined up an exceptional program for its annual Dealer Strategies Conference event designed to Transform Your Business For Future Success. Office products dealers who offer commercial interior solutions will benefit from attending this year's OFDA’s Dealer Strategies Conference scheduled for September 25-27 in Tucson, AZ! Select "Read More" for additional information and links to this year's conference. 6/7/2011 7:30:00 PMhttp://iopfda2.kma.net/index.asp?bid=1425&issuepage=2528&formid=400 Office Depot has announced that its Board of Directors has named Neil Austrian as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Austrian previously served as Interim Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Office Depot. He has been in that role since November 1, 2010, leading the Company while the Board conducted a search for a permanent CEO. 5/24/2011http://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2481&formid=400 NOPA’s sister association, the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA), has lined up an exceptional program for its annual Dealer Strategies Conference event designed to Transform Your Business For Future Success. SAVE $50 when you register now through May 31st to attend the OFDA’s Dealer Strategies Conference scheduled for September 25-27 in Tucson, AZ! Keynote Speaker Jaynie Smith Sunday Workshop Sessions featuring Gil Cargill, Paul Barr, Valerie Atkin and Debbie Junge Three General Session Panel Discussions Guest/Spouse Program Sponsored by The HON Company Welcome Reception Sponsored by Global—The Total Office Evening Events & Networking Opportunities Tabletop Displays 15 Breakout Sessions Including: Customer Loyalty Management Benchmarking for Higher Profits Social and Local Media Marketing Dealer Succession Trends & Experiences Best Practices in Streamlining Operations Finding, On-Boarding & Managing Top Talent Manufacturer Presidents Panel on Industry’s Future ...and much more! Visit www.ofdanet.org/conference for more information and to register today! 5/17/2011 7:00:00 AMhttp://www.iopfda.org/index.asp?bid=1425&issuepage=2480&formid=400The board of directors of United Stationers Inc. has announced the election of P. Cody Phipps (49) as president and chief executive officer effective as of the annual meeting of stockholders held today. He succeeds Richard W. Gochnauer, who announced in December his plans to retire after nine years with the company. Mr. Phipps has also been elected to the company’s board of directors. 5/17/2011 7:00:00 AMhttp://www.iopfda.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2478&formid=400 Ghent Manufacturing, Inc. has changed its corporate name to GMi Companies. According to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Leasure, the new GMi Companies name more suitably positions the organization for future growth and helps trade and local communities better distinguish the corporation relative to its primary product brands, namely Ghent, Waddell, VividBoard and WoodWare. Previously, the term “Ghent” appeared in corporate communications, as well as product sales and marketing materials in support of its Ghent brand of visual communication products. 5/11/2011 7:00:00 AMhttp://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2458&formid=400 eCommerce Industries, Inc. (ECi), a leader in industry-specific information technology solutions, has expanded its strategic relationship with MWA Intelligence, Inc. (MWAi), a leader in mobile service solutions for dealers in the office industries. MWAi’s Intelligent Service (IS) solution is the exclusive remote services offering made available to ECi customers and is currently integrated with ECi’s OMD and La Crosse business system software. The expanded relationship will extend integration to the ECi Britannia and DDMS software solutions serving the vertical markets for office products, furniture and equipment dealers. 5/11/2011 7:00:00 AMhttp://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2456&formid=400 Supplies Network, a leader in Managed Print Services and wholesaler of IT consumables, and the newly renamed Independent Stationers (is. group) office products buying group, have partnered to provide dealers with an efficient drop-ship wholesaler. With Independent Stationer's value-added programs and services and Supplies Network’s ability to deliver product in a time effective manner, the partnership will enable independent office products dealers a competitive advantage in the marketplace. 5/11/2011 7:00:00 AMhttp://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2455&formid=400 BPGI and TriMega wish to jointly advise the industry that effective January 1, 2012, TriMega will resign their membership in BPGI. The resignation is the result of differences in strategic direction by the two organizations and TriMega’s view that they are no longer in a position to jointly negotiate contracts effectively under the BPGI model. 5/11/2011 7:00:00 AMhttp://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2454&formid=400 More than 11 months ago, on April 29, 2010, Congressman Dan Lungren (R-CA) introduced a bill to repeal a then, little-known paperwork reporting provision in the new health care law. Since then, there have been favorable bi-partisan House votes, Senate votes, and numerous mentions by President Obama and senior Administration officials calling for the repeal of the paperwork behemoth known as the 1099 IRS reporting provision. Today, the Senate finally overcame its log-jam over distinct approaches in the previously approved House and Senate bills to fund the repeal and passed H.R. 4 by an 87 to 12 margin to repeal the expanded 1099 reporting mandated in the 2010 healthcare act. Twelve Democrats in the Senate voted against the repeal. NOPA, through its participation in the Small Business Coalition for Affordable Healthcare, has urged that this provision be repealed since it included in the healthcare bill last March. President Obama is expected to sign H.R. 4 later this week. 4/5/2011http://www.iopfda.org/index.asp?bid=1963&issuepage=2384&formid=400The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued interim guidance March 29 for employers on how to report on each employee’s annual W-2 the cost of the health insurance coverage they sponsor for their employees. The IRS emphasized that this new reporting to employees is for their information only, to inform them of the cost of their health coverage, and does not cause excludable employer-provided health coverage to become taxable. For more information and an IRS link to the Frequently Asked Questions about this reporting requirement select read more. 4/5/2011http://www.iopfda.org/index.asp?bid=1425&issuepage=2383&formid=400The National Office Products Alliance (NOPA) will host its biennial ‘Capitol Hill Day’ Fly-In for members on Wednesday, April 27-28. The program will include a working lunch briefing on key public policy issues and goals of top concern to NOPA, and members who participate will receive assistance in scheduling meetings with congressional staff and elected officials where feasible. Click here for more information and to register. 4/4/2011http://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2370&formid=400On March 16, the General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Defense (DoD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) jointly issued an interim rule requiring contracts in excess of $20 million to firms in the 8(a) program to be justified in writing and approval by a senior agency leader. The justification must outline agency needs and confirmation that the contract is in the government’s best interest and that costs will be fair and reasonable. 4/1/2011http://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2360&formid=400On March 16 (76 FR 14566-68) the General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Defense (DoD) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) jointly issued an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement section 1347 of the “Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.” Section 1347 clarifies contracting officers’ ability to use discretion when determining whether an acquisition will be restricted to small businesses participating in the 8(a) Business Development Program, the HUBZone Program, or the Service- Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) program. The interim rule is effective on March 16. This interim rule is intended to address the recent statutory clarification that there is no order of precedence among the 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs. However, if a requirement has been accepted by SBA under the 8(a) program, it must remain in the 8(a) program unless SBA agrees to its release in accordance with 13 CFR 124-126. NOPA advocacy consultant Paul Miller has prepared a special report on this rulemaking and its potential impact on how set-aside decisions are made by contracting officers. 4/1/2011http://www.ofdanet.org/index.asp?bid=2172&issuepage=2359&formid=400