By Barbara S. Kinosky, Esq.
The big news from MAS PMO Director Stephanie Shutt is that the Consolidated Schedule will be out October 1, 2019. She is very definite on that date. What does that mean for existing GSA Schedule holders? We understand modifications to add the new consolidated SINs will not be accepted after September 30 until sometime in mid-January 2020 after contractors have accepted the mass modification incorporating the new consolidated Schedule terms and conditions.
New offers
By Maureen Jamieson,
Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) is moving to beta.SAM.gov starting on November 8, 2019.
What is FBO?
FBO (commonly known as FedBizOpps) is how contracting organizations across the federal government post notices on proposed contract actions (valued at more than $25,000). These notices, or “procurement opportunities,” include solicitations, pre-solicitations, sole source justifications, and other notices. Anyone interested in doing business with the government can use
By Hon. Jack Delman
In National Government Services, Inc. v. United States, 923 F.3d 977 (Fed. Cir. 2019) the Federal Circuit sustained a pre-award protest, holding that an agency solicitation containing an “Award Limit clause” (ALC) violated full and open competition under the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), and the agency failed to follow the appropriate procedures that would support an exception.
Background Facts
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of H
By Tyler Freiberger, Esq.,
An interesting mix of states now ban or otherwise restrict employers from requesting applicants’ prior compensation. Now, don’t run off and start rewriting your application forms just yet, the restrictions are mostly for government jobs, but there are a handful of cities and states that outright ban asking for compensation history. But this does beg the question; why is there a non-partisan move to restrict an employment question? Some employers may choose to impleme
By William Weisberg, Esq.,
You may have seen reports about the President’s July 15, 2019, Executive Order on the Buy American Act (“BAA”). The first two BAA Executive Orders were basically “study the BAA and maybe try not to invoke exceptions as often as you do now.” This third Order supposedly has teeth. But here is my contrarian view: this one is not that big a deal. Let’s look at what the Order does, and what it doesn’t do.
In the newest Order, the President directs the FAR Council (the
By Julia Coon,
It’s that time of the year again, and your General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule Industrial Funding Fee (IFF) payment and sales reporting are due by July 30th. In accordance with Clause 552.238-74, all Schedule contractors are required to report sales within 30 calendar days following the completion of the reporting period and remit the IFF within 30 calendar days following the end of each reporting quarter. Even if you have zero sales for the April – June quarter, you a
By Angel N. Davis,
This year, the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) is hosting its 60th annual World Congress Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Centre Law & Consulting team will be in attendance. Please stop by our booth to learn about our service offerings and meet some of our talented team members. Our team members will provide up to date information on GSA’s Consolidated Schedule and other hot topics. Bring your GSA stories to share with our GSA team.
And, do n
By Heather Mims, Esq.
As we get into the summer months, people are gearing up for summer vacation traveling – but be prepared to spend extra time waiting in line for security screening from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Oh No! Why?
In a statement issued earlier this Spring, TSA predicted that this year will be the busiest summer travel season it has experienced, with a more than 4% volume increase. Specifically, TSA is planning for approximately 263 million passengers and
By Barbara S. Kinosky, Esq.
Hot News! Supreme Court Ruling from June 24, 2019
The Supreme Court just gave a victory lap to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) submitters and a defeat to those requesting information under the Act. In Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, the Court held that:
Where commercial or financial information is both customarily and actually treated as private by its owner and provided to the government under an assurance of privacy, the information is “confide
By David Warner
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved a split between the federal circuit courts of appeal concerning the statute of limitations for False Claims Act (FCA) suits in which the government does not intervene. Unfortunately for contractors, the Court held that a ten-year (as opposed to six-year) limitations period can apply.
As a result, contractors face the expanded prospect of defending FCA matters that are already a decade old at the time of filing. “Good luck” locating yo
By Maureen Jamieson,
Great news! GSA is conducting market research and wants your input on the new solicitation format and the clauses and provisions to be used in the consolidated MAS solicitation set for release later this year.
GSA’s goal for this market research is to gain input on two components of the new consolidated solicitation:
The proposed format of the consolidated solicitation
The updated terms and conditions that will be found in the new solicitation
You can find the RFI o
By Hon. Jack Delman
In Total Home Health (THH), 2019 WL 1953001 (April 26, 2019), the GAO recently sustained a protest on the grounds that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) misled an offeror during pre-award price discussions.
The Background
The VA issued an RFP seeking proposals on multiple CLINs to provide home respiratory services and durable equipment for a VA network. Award was to be made on a “Lowest Price Technically Acceptable” basis. The VA received six proposals, including t
By Tyler Freiberger,
After a hard fight battle over arbitration agreements, many employers are learning to be careful what they wish for. In the past decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has slowly and consistently empowered forced arbitration clauses. As of last year’s decisions in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA Inc. and Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris, the court has made clear that employers could not put strict arbitration agreements in their employment agreements but, if writ
By Tyler Freiberger, Esq.,
After a hard fight battle over arbitration agreements, many employers are learning to be careful what they wish for. In the past decade, the U.S. Supreme Court has slowly and consistently empowered forced arbitration clauses. As of last year’s decisions in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA Inc. and Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris, the court has made clear that employers could not put strict arbitration agreements in their employment agreements but, i
By William Weisberg, Esq.,
Everyone “knows” that past performance is a critical part of both Best Value and LPTA competitive procurements. Everyone “knows” that CPARS ratings are the gold standard for demonstrating past performance. And everyone “knows” that once a CPARS rating is in the system, contractors are stuck with that rating: good, bad, or indifferent.
Sure, contractors can try and persuade the contracting officer to change their CPARS rating. FAR part 42.1503(d) provides a procedure
By William Weisberg, Esq.,
Everyone “knows” that past performance is a critical part of both Best Value and LPTA competitive procurements. Everyone “knows” that CPARS ratings are the gold standard for demonstrating past performance. And everyone “knows” that once a CPARS rating is in the system, contractors are stuck with that rating: good, bad, or indifferent.
Sure, contractors can try and persuade the contracting officer to change their CPARS rating. FAR part 42.1503(d) provides a procedure
By Julia Coon,
The General Services Administration (GSA) has been in the process of shutting down the legacy 72A Reporting System and transitioning all Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts to the new FAS Sales Reporting Portal (SRP). The transition is expected to be completed by the end of this calendar year. Several contractors completed their final report in the 72A Reporting System last month. To help prepare for your first report in the new system, we answered some of the most frequently
By Julia Coon,
The General Services Administration (GSA) has been in the process of shutting down the legacy 72A Reporting System and transitioning all Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts to the new FAS Sales Reporting Portal (SRP). The transition is expected to be completed by the end of this calendar year. Several contractors completed their final report in the 72A Reporting System last month. To help prepare for your first report in the new system, we answered some of the most frequently
By Angel N. Davis,
As a government contractor, you should understand that the Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR) may very well be a predictor of how your organization might fair with future business opportunities. But don’t panic; having a better understanding of the ratings and the value of the CPAR will help you to develop a strategy for the best possible outcome.
Understand the Ratings
Before reviewing your CPAR, it is essential that you understand what each rating means as we
By Angel N. Davis,
As a government contractor, you should understand that the Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR) may very well be a predictor of how your organization might fair with future business opportunities. But don’t panic; having a better understanding of the ratings and the value of the CPAR will help you to develop a strategy for the best possible outcome.
Understand the Ratings
Before reviewing your CPAR, it is essential that you understand what each rating means as we
By Wayne Simpson, CFCM, CSCM
In the Monday, May 6, 2019, edition of the Federal Register, the Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2019-02, which covers several final rules implementing two Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) cases, and a final rule implementing technical amendments, all of which modify the FAR.
FAC 2019-02 contains the final rule impl
By Wayne Simpson, CFCM, CSCM
In the Monday, May 6, 2019, edition of the Federal Register, the Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2019-02, which covers several final rules implementing two Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) cases, and a final rule implementing technical amendments, all of which modify the FAR.
FAC 2019-02 contains the final rule impl
By Heather Mims, Esq.
On April 15, 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly published a report regarding the Women-Owned Small Business Program (WOSB) at the request of Congress. The report identified several oversight deficiencies with the WOSB program. Overall, despite an increase of more than two million women-owned firms between 2007 and 2012, agencies have routinely not been meeting the prime contracting goal of awarding five percent of all prime contracting dollars to WOS
By Heather Mims, Esq.
On April 15, 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly published a report regarding the Women-Owned Small Business Program (WOSB) at the request of Congress. The report identified several oversight deficiencies with the WOSB program. Overall, despite an increase of more than two million women-owned firms between 2007 and 2012, agencies have routinely not been meeting the prime contracting goal of awarding five percent of all prime contracting dollars to WOS
TYSONS, Va., — Centre Law & Consulting, a law firm specializing in the unique needs of federal government contractors, is pleased to welcome Jonathan S. Spaeth as a partner and Chief Operating Officer. Jon brings Centre not only outstanding litigation skills but also an extraordinary understanding of business strategy from his unique blend of law firm and in-house general counsel experience.
Jon was a partner for many years at the Washington, D.C. office of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer &
