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jasonh

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Everything posted by jasonh

  1. An earlier posting to this discussion asked for "subcontract templates," and the responses indicated that this is a bad idea. However, most federal subcontracts that I receive are not well written. They are confusing, overly long and tend to have glaring errors. For instance, many agencies issuing federal subcontracts don't appear to read the FAR clauses that they flow down. Seemingly they operate under the assumption that "since it's federal, it all flows down." They then produce a subcontract that has their exact list of clauses incorporated by reference. Yet the clauses often provide specific instructions for flow down (i.e. patent rights remain with the government, not the prime contractor; some clauses instruct flow down without a particular paragraph, etc.). As well, unless stated, all of the clauses aren't required to flow down. Because of these frequent errors, when I negotiate a federal subcontract, it is more laborious than writing the subcontract myself. To that end, can anyone refer me to some examples of clean, concise and well crafted federal subcontracts? Not as templates but rather as examples of effective formats and techniques. Thank you.
  2. I have submitted a proposal to be a subcontractor on a federal contract. Now that the prime will likely be awarded, the prime contractor has asked me to send them the Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data, which is in FAR 15.406-2. The prime is required to submit the certificate, because the overall award is above the $650K threshold, but my subcontract is not above that amount. Am I still required to sign the certification?
  3. With the low yield on federal bonds, because investors know that equities aren't safe, the feds can borrow indefinitely. Now, why anyone would lend to someone who is never going to repay is another story. The government can't stimulate the economy, as ARRA has demonstrated, nor is that the role of government. We have entered a period of deleveraging, but the government doesn't know or won't acknowledge this reality.
  4. There are several FAR clauses that apply only to contracts over a specific dollar amount, for instance, the simplified acquisiton threshold. Or, $650,000 is a frequently used amount. Is there anyone who has any guidance on these clauses if they are in a contract (or subcontract) which has a total dollar value below the threshold? Do the clauses become active if there is a modification or an option which later increases the amount over the threshold? I would argue that they can't be applied to the aggregate amount, and thus, would never be applicable to the contract, unless a single option or modification added an amount over the threshold. For instance, if there is a contract in place for $75,000 and later a modification adds $30,000, this increase raises the total value over the simplified acquisition threshold. However, if you have already spent the first $75,000 with no regard for any clause that applies only to contract over $100,000, you obviously can't go back and spend the money in compliance with those clauses. So, does the clause apply to the additional $30,000, or not at all? On the other hand, if an option year added $150,000, I would think that the relevant clauses would apply to this amount. Is this an accurate interpretation?
  5. The way that I view federal subcontracts is that there are very few "required flowdowns." Clauses or their prescription clauses will typically state clearly when a clause is a required flowdown; i.e. "required in all subcontracts over $5,000," or "this clause applies to subcontractors at all tiers." Otherwise, the prime contractor has the discretion as to whether or not to flow down a clause, naturally, it may be necessary for them to require that subcontractors follow some of the same clauses, in order to enable the prime contractor to comply with the clause.
  6. Is there any such thing as including FAR clauses in a federal subcontract if they don't apply to the subcontractor and labeling the nonapplicable clauses as "self deleting?" If so, what is the FAR definition of self deleting?
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