Articles

COVID-19 IMPACT The Covid-19 virus potentially disrupts performance under government contracts in many ways, including employees unable to go to work, supply chain interruptions, travel impacts, etc. These issues can result in late performance or other potential contract defaults. We have been getting client questions on whether coronavirus cost and... Read More

Small Business Regulations Under Review       On November 8, 2019, the Small Business Administration issued an extensive list of proposed changes to the regulations governing small business programs. The changes would overhaul several SBA programs and their respective requirements. Some of the major proposed changes and comment areas proposed by... Read More

New DOJ Policy Encourages Voluntary Self-Disclosure Export Controls Compliance Any company considering exporting goods or services quickly discovers the export control regulations are a confusing and interlocking set of complex requirements that are a potential minefield. Even the most diligent companies with tight control processes can have compliance violations and... Read More

Background — DCAA Incurred Cost Audit Emphasis Areas The DCAA and government contractors have battled the last few years over whether costs can be expressly unallowable–and therefore subject to penalties–even when the regulations do not state in direct terms that the cost is unallowable. On October 18, 2019, the US... Read More

Executive Order 13881 America First On July 15, 2019, President Trump issued a third Executive Order (EO) to strengthen the Buy American Act. EO Number 13881, Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials, directs the FAR Council to propose FAR revisions within 180 days to maximize the acquisition of... Read More

Debriefings       Debriefings are an important tool that unsuccessful bidders can, and should, use to gain valuable information. The insights obtained during a debriefing can help contractors understand the customer better, strengthen future proposals, and provide information for a potential protest. Enhanced Debriefings       The DoD and GSA recently issued... Read More

Chances to Win a Claim or Protest The first question most clients ask when we are discussing whether it makes sense to file a claim or bid protest is: “What are my chances of winning?” No one wants to file a claim or bid protest unless there is a reasonable chance of winning something out of... Read More

The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) A contractor’s past performance is a required assessment factor in source selection evaluations for all contracts that exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. The CPARS is designated as the federal government-wide system for collection of government contractor information. The CPARS helps track contractor performance,... Read More

The Bonding Requirement The Miller Act, passed by Congress in 1935, requires contractors on all federal construction projects over $150,000 to post two surety bonds as a condition of awarding the contract: a performance bond and a payment bond. The payment amount of both bonds is the full contract price,... Read More

The Context It is the long-standing US procurement policy to purchase goods, products, and materials produced in the United States when possible. The Trump administration has strongly reaffirmed and strengthened the policy. The preference to purchase American goods is established in the Buy American Act (“BAA”) and FAR 25. The... Read More

Establishment of the JAIC The Department of Defense issued a memorandum on June 27, 2018 establishing the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) to oversee nearly all Artificial Intelligence (AI) development across a broad range of government agencies. According to the memorandum, DoD will establish the JAIC with the intent to... Read More

The Hot Topic Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) has been a hot legal topic in government contracts for a number of years. The basic rules are in FAR Subpart 9.5. OCI rules are intended to prevent unfair competitive advantage. Unmitigated OCI can make a contractor ineligible for contract award. There... Read More

Cybersecurity—A Growing Challenge The rise of cyber attacks and security compromises dramatically illustrate the vulnerability of unclassified, but sensitive, data. As holders of some of the government’s most sensitive data, contractors face increasing obligations for protecting against cyber attacks. Regulatory overview. The most comprehensive cyber protections currently apply to DoD... Read More

Selling and developing products for the federal government is an important piece of many clients’ business and growth plans. How well the client’s intellectual property is protected may well mean the difference between success and failure in the highly competitive government market. To be most successful, clients must both maintain... Read More