By failing to object to solicitation terms before the close of bidding, a protester typically waives those objections in a post-award bid before the Court of Federal Claims (COFC). An exception exists, however, where a...more
The Department of Defense (DoD) has now finalized its new cybersecurity standards, which we discussed last year. The new cybersecurity standards, which are intended to protect controlled unclassified information, will be...more
The government fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30, and at the end of each fiscal year federal agencies rush to award contracts and commit funding before that funding expires. As a result, our Government Contracts...more
Given the continued high volume of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions in the federal marketplace, buyers and sellers need to be aware of the developing body of case law at Government Accountability Office (GAO) and...more
10/29/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Bid Protests ,
Buyers ,
COFC ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Mergers ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sellers ,
Standing
As we noted in a blog post in December 2016, “LPTA Out, Fixed Price Contracts In,” the Department of Defense (DoD) has been moving to restrict the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) evaluation methodology, which...more
10/10/2019
/ Bid Protests ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Final Rules ,
LPTA ,
NDAA ,
New Rules
At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) decision that decreases the burden on contractors seeking to protect confidential information. As most contractors are aware,...more
7/25/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidential Information ,
Congressional Intent ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Contractors ,
FOIA ,
Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media ,
Motion to Compel ,
Private Commercial or Financial Information ,
Protected Disclosures ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
SNAP Program ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Substantial-Competitive-Harm Test ,
Trade Secrets ,
USDA
On February 15, 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a consequential decision for those contractors who will compete for federal contracts as part of a mentor-protégé joint venture. In Ekagra Partners, LLC,...more
This year’s annual GAO Bid Protest Report to Congress, which was submitted on November 27, shows that the number of protests remained approximately the same as last fiscal year – up to 2,607 versus 2,596 for FY17. But, for...more
On July 31, 2018, the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee delivered its annual report to Congress on the status of the suspension and debarment system. The report shows a continued high level of activity relative...more
In early April, the GAO issued a final rule revising the existing bid protest process—the major revisions being the introduction of an Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS) and a protest filing fee. When the rule takes...more
Two Washington, D.C. area government contractors have agreed to pay the government for their respective roles in defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in schemes to fraudulently obtain government contracts...more
3/1/2018
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Damages ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Misrepresentation ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Small Business
Teaming Arrangements under the FAR -
Under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 9.6, a contractor teaming arrangement is when:
1. Two or more companies form a partnership or joint venture to act as a potential prime...more
The Government recently indicted an Army veteran for allegedly using his status as a service-disabled veteran to help a company qualify as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business and falsely obtain nearly $40 million...more
Congress recently concluded the conference on the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), resolving the differences between the House and Senate versions of the FY18 NDAA passed earlier this year.
Pilot Program...more
As recent malware, ransomware and distributed denial of service attacks have made clear, the cyber threats posed to governments and commercial entities are real and growing. Critical infrastructure such as power plants,...more
The GAO recently denied Leidos Innovations Corporation’s protest of a determination that Leidos was ineligible to receive a $272 million award by the U.S. Army despite Leidos having both the highest-rated technical proposal...more
On April 18, 2017, Donald Trump signed a Presidential Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American (EO). As we reported at the time, Section 3 of the EO directed the heads of all federal agencies to, among other things:...more
On April 18, President Trump signed the “Presidential Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American” (the Order), which declares the Executive branch’s policy to buy American goods and rigorously enforce and administer...more
4/24/2017
/ Buy America ,
Buy American Act ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Reform ,
Trade Agreements Act ,
Trump Administration ,
USTR ,
WTO
As we previously reported, Congress has taken its final steps in repealing Obama’s Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces rule, one of the most controversial rules enacted by the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council under...more
3/28/2017
/ Blacklist ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
First Amendment ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Obama Administration ,
Repeal ,
Trump Administration
As we previously reported here and here, between October 1 and December 14, 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) lacked jurisdiction to hear most civilian agency task order protests (its jurisdiction over protest...more
As we previously reported, following the start of the Trump Administration, Congress has moved aggressively to overturn regulations passed in the final days of the Obama Administration through the rarely-used powers in the...more
3/7/2017
/ Blacklist ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Obama Administration ,
Subcontractors ,
Transparency ,
Trump Administration
On February 2 the House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 37, which would nullify the Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces rule issued on August 25, 2016. If the identical pending joint resolution is passed by the...more
2/6/2017
/ Congressional Intent ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Deregulation ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Obama Administration ,
Paycheck Transparency ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Disclosure ,
Rescission ,
Trump Administration
For companies frustrated with the increasingly complex and burdensome compliance obligations imposed on government contractors, the elimination of some or all of the burdensome rules, which are both expensive and distinct...more
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17 NDAA), signed into law by President Obama on December 23, includes limitations on a low price evaluation methodology and a preference for fixed price contracts...more
As we reported on December 14, 2016, on December 8, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2017, which calls for changes to the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) jurisdiction over civilian...more