Government Contracts MonitorAgency Must Update Solicitation When It Changes Its Buying StrategyJanuary 20, 2015 The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently sustained a protest where the Navy’s evaluation did not reasonably reflect its planned purchases. Specifically, GAO found that the Navy should have updated its solicitation for a $2.4 billion information technology modernization contract as soon as the Navy changed its buying strategy. “Where an agency’s requirements materially change… Short Take: Treasury Increases Prompt Payment & Contract Disputes Interest RatesJanuary 12, 2015 The Treasury Department has announced that the Prompt Payment Act interest rate is being increased to 2.125% per annum for the period of January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2015. 79 Fed. Reg. 78950 (Dec. 31, 2014). This interest rate is used to calculate the penalty paid by the Government when it fails to timely pay contractors for goods and services as well as interest due under the… Agency Did Not Properly Consider Awardee\'s Access to Inside InformationJanuary 12, 2015 Beware the revolving door. It can hit you or those with you on the way in or the way out. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reminded us of this fact when it sustained a protest by International Resources Group (IRG) regarding an organizational conflict of interest. The problem? The Agency (USAID) failed to properly investigate the awardee AECOM’s hiring of a… New Year’s Resolutions – Reassess Your Size Status, Update Your DSBS and SAM Listings and Check Your Past Performance RatingsJanuary 12, 2015 Happy New Year! The start of a new year is a time for New Year’s Resolutions. Here are several we strongly urge you to follow-through on early in 2015. 1. Reassess Your (and Any Subcontractors’) Small Business Size Status: Most companies operate on a calendar year for tax reporting purposes. For such companies the start of a new tax year, and the end of the prior year, means a change… Short Take: NIST Special Publication 800-171 Proposes New Cybersecurity Guidelines for ContractorsDecember 16, 2014 The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently issued a draft of Special Publication 800-171, “Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations.” The new document contains security requirements applicable “to nonfederal information systems (or components of nonfederal systems) and organizations that process, store, or transmit… Don’t Overlook the Importance of Getting Your Joint Venture RightDecember 16, 2014 Ben Franklin famously advised, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision in InSpace 21 LLC, B-410852; B-410852.3 (December 8, 2014) demonstrates that those words remain as relevant today as when they were first uttered, at least in the context of joint ventures (JVs). The case reminds us once again of the dangers of… OFCCP Issues Final Rule Implementing Executive Order 13672December 16, 2014 Last week, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a final rule revising its regulations to implement amendments to Executive Order (EO) 11246 and EO 11478 made by EO 13672, which was signed by President Obama on July 21, 2014. Reflecting the recent Executive Order, the new rule adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the prohibited bases of discrimination… Short Take: The Continuing Rise of False Claims Act RecoveriesDecember 9, 2014 On November 20, 2014 the Department of Justice announced that it recovered nearly $6 billion from False Claims Act cases during Fiscal Year 2014, cresting $5 billion for the first time ever. Acting Associate Attorney General Delery stated that "these figures result not only from large individual matters, but from a continuous commitment year after year to pursue those who defraud taxpayers… 2015 NDAA Likely to Require Reporting of Cyber Incidents by Certain Contractors; Potential Impact Remains UnclearDecember 9, 2014 Last week, members of the House and Senate agreed to retain draft language in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (2015 NDAA) bill that would amend Title 10 of the U.S. Code to require “operationally critical” Defense contractors to promptly report “cyber incidents” to the Department of Defense (DoD). The proposed statutory change comes as a result of a yearlong Senate committee… Successful Protest Requires More than Unclear ProposalDecember 9, 2014 As previously noted in this blog, GAO has repeatedly made clear that protests alleging that the awardee’s proposal violates the applicable limitation on subcontracting cannot succeed unless the protester can demonstrate that the quotation shows, on its face, that awardee will not comply with the clause. In the recent case of Archer Western Federal JV, B-410168.2/B-410168.3 (November 12,… Big Changes on the Horizon for ZPIC ContractorsDecember 2, 2014 Two years after a report critical of how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addresses potential conflicts of interest (COIs) when choosing Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs), the chickens are finally coming home to roost – with extreme prejudice. In July 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report… Defending Size Protests, Part I: OverviewDecember 2, 2014 Much has been written, including on this blog, about filing size protests. However, less attention is paid to an equally important subject – namely, defending size protests. This article, the first in what will be a five-part series on defending size protests, provides an overview of size protests. Future articles will address (i) the importance of advance consideration and… |
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