By Hon. Jack Delman
Last week, the Federal Circuit rejected a protest filed by Oracle that challenged the legality of the multi-billion dollar Defense Department JEDI Cloud solicitation. An overview of the key issues follows.
THE SOLICITATION
The DOD issued a solicitation known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud procurement. The solicitation contemplated a single award for a ten-year IDIQ contract for the provision of enterprise-wide cloud computing services.
The s
By Hon. Jack Delman
Last week, the Federal Circuit rejected a protest filed by Oracle that challenged the legality of the multi-billion dollar Defense Department JEDI Cloud solicitation. An overview of the key issues follows.
THE SOLICITATION
The DOD issued a solicitation known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud procurement. The solicitation contemplated a single award for a ten-year IDIQ contract for the provision of enterprise-wide cloud computing services.
The s
By Edward W. Bailey,
A recent decision from the GAO serves as an important reminder to contractors that, while agencies typically have broad discretion in determining the scope of any corrective actions they take, contractors may nonetheless challenge an agency’s corrective action if its scope is unreasonably narrow.
In Matter of: Peraton Inc., B-416916.8, Peraton challenged the State Department’s award of a task order to a competitor on a number of grounds including that the letters of commit
By Edward W. Bailey,
A recent decision from the GAO serves as an important reminder to contractors that, while agencies typically have broad discretion in determining the scope of any corrective actions they take, contractors may nonetheless challenge an agency’s corrective action if its scope is unreasonably narrow.
In Matter of: Peraton Inc., B-416916.8, Peraton challenged the State Department’s award of a task order to a competitor on a number of grounds including that the letters of commit
Written by: Heather Mims, Associate Attorney, Centre Law & Consulting
Each year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) publishes an annual scorecard to assess how well federal agencies are performing against their small business and socio-economic prime contracting and subcontracting goals. In addition to reporting agency-specific progress, the scorecard provides accurate and transparent contracting data.
The SBA works with each agency specifically to set their prime and subcontracting g
Written by: Heather Mims, Associate Attorney, Centre Law & Consulting
Each year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) publishes an annual scorecard to assess how well federal agencies are performing against their small business and socio-economic prime contracting and subcontracting goals. In addition to reporting agency-specific progress, the scorecard provides accurate and transparent contracting data.
The SBA works with each agency specifically to set their prime and subcontracting g
By David Warner,
In XTec, Inc., B-418619 (July 2, 2020), the GAO rejected the incumbent contractor’s assertion that the Department of State erred in assessing technical weaknesses that were at odds with the agency’s purported familiarity with XTec’s solution given its performance of the incumbent contract. The GAO decision is a reminder for federal contractors suffering from “incumbent-itis” that agency knowledge of the contractor is no substitute for compliance with solicitation requirements a
By David Warner,
In XTec, Inc., B-418619 (July 2, 2020), the GAO rejected the incumbent contractor’s assertion that the Department of State erred in assessing technical weaknesses that were at odds with the agency’s purported familiarity with XTec’s solution given its performance of the incumbent contract. The GAO decision is a reminder for federal contractors suffering from “incumbent-itis” that agency knowledge of the contractor is no substitute for compliance with solicitation requirements a
By JW Butler
Effective August 1, 2020, the General Services Administration (GSA) has provided contractors the ability to update their offering classifications by adding subgroups for products and services under specific Special Item Numbers (SINs).
Under the GSA MAS, SINs play a critical role in the organization of vendors and their offerings. SINs serve to clarify the product and services offered by specific vendors. Subgroups allow contractors to better classify where their offerings fit wit
By JW Butler
Effective August 1, 2020, the General Services Administration (GSA) has provided contractors the ability to update their offering classifications by adding subgroups for products and services under specific Special Item Numbers (SINs).
Under the GSA MAS, SINs play a critical role in the organization of vendors and their offerings. SINs serve to clarify the product and services offered by specific vendors. Subgroups allow contractors to better classify where their offerings fit wit
Written by: Heather Mims, Associate Attorney, Centre Law & Consulting
As we’ve previously written, COVID-19 funding for government contractors is fraught with enforcement and audit risks (while False Claims Act penalties continue to increase). To document this funding, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) recently issued a report to Congress titled COVID-19: Opportunities to Improve Federal Response and Recovery Efforts. In the Report, the GAO gathered available obligation and expen
Written by: Heather Mims, Associate Attorney, Centre Law & Consulting
As we’ve previously written, COVID-19 funding for government contractors is fraught with enforcement and audit risks (while False Claims Act penalties continue to increase). To document this funding, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) recently issued a report to Congress titled COVID-19: Opportunities to Improve Federal Response and Recovery Efforts. In the Report, the GAO gathered available obligation and expen
By Barbara Kinosky,
I finally retrieved my dry cleaning that I had deposited at the cleaners in March. Then Virginia shut down with my dry cleaning hostage in a remote dry cleaning storage location. I was reunited with my clothing this month, but my suit looked like an artifact from another era. It was like retrieving a time capsule of clothing that contained zippers and buttons and had “dry clean only” labels. There were no elastics of any kind. What will the business future look like? Wi
Written by: Barbara Kinosky, Managing Partner, Centre Law & Consulting
I finally retrieved my dry cleaning that I had deposited at the cleaners in March. Then Virginia shut down with my dry cleaning hostage in a remote dry cleaning storage location. I was reunited with my clothing this month, but my suit looked like an artifact from another era. It was like retrieving a time capsule of clothing that contained zippers and buttons and had “dry clean only” labels. There were no elastics of
By JW Butler
Section 889 legislation initially introduced as a part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has now been released in Part A and Part B. Both parts have been incorporated into the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) as FAR subpart 4.21 to combat national security and intellectual property threats against the United States. This legislation will impact any company doing business that uses equipment or services in their day-to-day operations from fiv
By JW Butler
Section 889 legislation initially introduced as a part of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has now been released in Part A and Part B. Both parts have been incorporated into the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) as FAR subpart 4.21 to combat national security and intellectual property threats against the United States. This legislation will impact any company doing business that uses equipment or services in their day-to-day operations from fiv
By Hon. Jack Delman
In M.C. Dean, Inc., B-418553 (6/15/2020), the GAO recently granted a post award protest on the grounds that an offeror/awardee had actual knowledge, prior to award, that its proposed program manager had been denied a security clearance necessary for performance, but failed to timely notify the agency.
The Solicitation
The National Security Agency (NSA) issued an RFP to provide maintenance, installation and distribution services for the agency’s physical security system. T
By Hon. Jack Delman
In M.C. Dean, Inc., B-418553 (6/15/2020), the GAO recently granted a post award protest on the grounds that an offeror/awardee had actual knowledge, prior to award, that its proposed program manager had been denied a security clearance necessary for performance, but failed to timely notify the agency.
The Solicitation
The National Security Agency (NSA) issued an RFP to provide maintenance, installation and distribution services for the agency’s physical security system. T
By Edward W. Bailey,
A recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has expanded restrictions on government contractors’ ability to conduct post-award protests. In Inserso Corp. v. U.S., the United States Defense Information Systems Agency (“DISA”) posted a solicitation, titled Encore III, for the opportunity to sell information technology services to various federal government agencies. Encore III was split into a “full and open” competition and a competition r
By Edward W. Bailey,
A recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has expanded restrictions on government contractors’ ability to conduct post-award protests. In Inserso Corp. v. U.S., the United States Defense Information Systems Agency (“DISA”) posted a solicitation, titled Encore III, for the opportunity to sell information technology services to various federal government agencies. Encore III was split into a “full and open” competition and a competition r
By Heather Mims, Esq.
The False Claims Act (FCA) generally provides that any person who knowingly submits a false claim to the government is liable for triple the government’s damages plus a penalty for each violation. Over recent years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has gradually increased the penalty for each violation of the FCA, apparently owing to inflation. As the penalty accrues for each violation of the Act, penalties can run into the millions of dollars, as each improper invoice or c
By David Warner,
Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated technical assistance questions and answers entitled “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws.” It was the second update to the guidance this month. If history is our guide, the science and guidance may be different by the end of next month; but the EEOC’s Q&A currently represents the most up to date direction for employers as they eye reopening of
By JW Butler
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) has several electronic contract management tools, referred to as “eTools”, to help contractors manage their MAS. A list of the GSA eTools can be found here. Below are the eTools that are most commonly used by contractors, as well as some additional eTools not covered on GSA’s website.
Every contractor will have to register their contract for GSA’s eTools once their contract has been awarded prior to uploadin
By Tyler Freiberger, Esq.,
A federal contractor has used a rare exception to keep its case for monetary damages against the Government out of the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”). In J-Way Southern Inc. v. U.S., the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has denied the Government’s request to remove the case despite the long standing that the COFC has exclusive jurisdiction over contract claims against the U.S. in excess of $10,000.
There are distinct advantages if con
By Heather Mims, Esq.
An aptly titled bill, President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act into law on June 5, 2020. The Act would ease several restrictions on companies that borrow money under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). You can read more about the Paycheck Protection Program here and here. Generally, the new Act gives businesses more time and flexibility to make qualifying expenditures on loan forgiveness as well as allowing businesses with forgiven loans to defer p
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