03/24/2020
The Department of the Navy leadership has noted the need to eliminate barriers impacting the performance of government contractors comprising the Defense Industrial Base. In a memo issued on 20 March 2020 (available here) the Navy’s Acquisition Chief, “Hondo” Geurts, directed the Navy’s System Commands (including NAVFAC, NAVSEA, NAVAIR, and MSC, among others) to implement… Read more »
03/24/2020
As we all continue to deal with the rapidly evolving Coronavirus/COVID-19 situation, government contractors should be aware of policy guidance issued by government and DoD leadership that may impact them. On 19 March 2020, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director issued guidance announcing CISA’s initial advisory list of “Essential… Read more »
12/12/2019
The Berry Amendment Example Hopeful government contractors must be aware of all the requirements of a solicitation to avoid being deemed non-responsive. This is rarely a simple task; however, when multiple clauses govern the same subject, the risk of error in following such requirements increases. This article demonstrates such an issue by explaining the interworking… Read more »
10/28/2019
Can contractors “shop” bids after obtaining and using them to obtain contract awards? Generally speaking, the answer is yes under Virginia law. However, the law varies in other jurisdictions. While this may not seem necessarily fair, jurisdictional views vary. For example, Virginia holds that bids are a means by which the prospective subcontractor (SC) and… Read more »
09/27/2019
Contractors have frequently been heard to complain about the government’s persistent use of “Lowest Price Technically Acceptable Procurements,” or “LPTA” as a race to the bottom in both price and quality. While the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) has provided that price may play a dominant role in source selection where “the requirement is clearly definable… Read more »
09/27/2019
If your contract includes Buy American Act (BAA) or Trade Agreement Act (TAA) requirements you need to know the approved list of source countries. On September 10, 2019, the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published in the Federal Register a final rule, FAC 2019-06; FAR… Read more »
10/11/2017
Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7012 goes into effect on December 31, 2017. This “Cyber Clause” applies to most companies that do business directly with the Department of Defense as well as subcontractors and vendors. The Cyber Clause applies to Covered Defense Information (CDI), which is broadly defined to include almost all nonpublic information…. Read more »
01/31/2017
Imagine doing emergency repair work worth over $500,000 for a school board, only to have the school board later take the position that it had illegally contracted with you, and so was not going to pay you for your work. Shouldn’t there be some way for you to get paid? Recently, a Federal Court in… Read more »
01/08/2017
Overview Earlier this year, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Final Rule adding a new clause to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) — FAR 52.204-21, which, in short, imposes fifteen specific requirements for contractor information systems possessing or transmitting “Federal contract information.” FAR 52.204-21 defines “Federal contract information” as any acquisition-related information not public… Read more »
12/02/2016
The False Claims Act (FCA) has long been the United States Government most effective tool for dealing with fraud in government contracting, and that tool is now more powerful than ever. Originally enacted during the Civil War to combat war profiteers, it allows the government to seek criminal and civil penalties. As a reward to… Read more »
