In a recent case, United States v. Precision Image Corporation, Inc. and Chih-Kwanh Hwa, No.13-CR-00226, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, the owner of a circuit board supplier was sentenced to prison for selling Taiwanese-manufactured circuit boards to the U.S. Navy. Chih-Kwanh Hwa, Precision Image’s owner, successfully bid on $180,034 of Navy contracts for circuit…
In the recent case of TrustComm, Inc.,
B-408456
(Comp. Gen. Sept. 20, 2103), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) provided
another reminder that prevailing on a size protest before the Small Business
Administration (SBA) may not alter the contract award if SBA’s size protest
decision comes too late.
The case involved a 100% small business set-aside
for communications equipment for Coast…
The answer: because the Wage and Hour Division
says so. In what could be construed as a deliberate attempt to over-inflate
wage rates for Davis Bacon Act (“DBA”) wage determinations, the Department of
Labor’s Administrative Review Board (“ARB”) – in Coalition for Chesapeake
Housing Development, ARB
No. 12-010 (Admin. Rev. Bd. Sept. 25, 2013) - recently approved the use of
“super groups” of…
In a recent criminal case, a former Boeing
Procurement Officer and the subcontractors he worked with were charged with mail
and wire fraud in connection with the government contracts version of an
“insider trading” scheme. In United States v. Anderson, et. al. No.
4:13-CR-403, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the
government alleged that Deon Anderson, Boeing’s former…
On October 29, 2013, the National Aeronautic and
Space Administration (NASA) issued a proposed
rule incorporating a newly created “Proposal Adequacy Checklist” into the
NASA FAR supplement (NFS). NASA intends for the rule to ensure that offerors
submit thorough, accurate and complete proposals by self-validating the adequacy
of those proposals and improve the quality of initial submissions. The…
A recent decision of the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) provides a reminder of how protesters can win the
battle but still lose the war – through no fault of their own. The case,
Strategic Technology Institute, Inc., B-408005.2 (Comp.
Gen. Oct. 21, 2013), involves the United States Coast Guard’s cancellation of a
solicitation for analytical support services under a very unusual set of…
In a recent case, a former Assistant Director of
the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division pled guilty to making prohibited
post-employment contacts with government officials after he was hired as a
consultant for a company under investigation by the FBI. In United States
v. Kenneth Kaiser, No.
13-CR-10264, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Mr.
Kaiser pled guilty to one count…
Relevant experience and past performance are key
ingredients in the evaluation of proposals. In this world of constant mergers,
acquisitions (asset purchases and stock purchases) and related novations of
government contracts, the question is often exactly what
experience can and should be counted by an agency when it evaluates
proposals? The answer is not always clear. Take for example, two…
As previously reported here, President Obama issued an Executive Order on Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity which, among other things, directed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to a develop a Cybersecurity Framework that would reduce cyber risks to the nations critical infrastructure. NIST recently released its Preliminary Cybersecurity…
In a recent case that received national media attention, a Commander and Captain-select in the U.S. Navy was arrested on an allegation of conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with lucrative port contracts overseas. The case is United States v. Leonard Glenn Francis and Michael Vannek Khem Misiewicz, No. 13-MJ-03457, United States District Court for the Southern District of California…
The Court of Federal Claims recently reminded us that courts do not answer
abstract legal questions. They only adjudicate concrete disputes involving at
least two opposing parties – parties that are adverse. “Something real must be
at stake, and the parties’ interests with respect to that real thing must be
antagonistic.” Brookfield Relocation, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-592 (Fed.
Cl. Oct. 4,…
A new interim
rule amends the FAR cost principles to implement a section of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA FY13) addressing the
allowability of legal costs incurred in connection with legal proceedings based
on whistleblower complaints. More particularly, the rule revises the cost
principle at FAR 31.205-47 (Costs related to legal and other…