For the second time in as many years, the Department of Defense (DOD) has issued a final rule that brings its Buy American Act (BAA) requirements into alignment with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).View the full article
On November 17, 2023, the Department of Defense published its long-awaited proposed revisions to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement data rights regulations to implement a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA). 88 Fed. Reg. 80258. View the full article
This month’s Bid Protest Roundup highlights a trio of U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) decisions. The first decision, Deloitte Consulting, highlights the risk of severing a teaming partner after quote submission. The second, Kauffman and Associates, Inc., illustrates how a latent ambiguity in the solicitation can reset the competition. The third, Conti Federal Services, emphasizes that an agency’s upward cost adjustment must remain reasonable.View the full article
This month’s bid protest roundup highlights one decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and two decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).View the full article
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a policy memorandum with a goal of promoting small business participation under multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts (MACs).View the full article
On January 29, 2024, the Biden administration issued a Proposed Rule that would prohibit federal contractors from seeking and considering compensation history when making employment decisions and require contractors to disclose compensation being offered in job postings.View the full article
This month’s Bid Protest Roundup include decisions regarding supplementation of the record and whether an agency may convert a sealed bid opportunity into a negotiated procurement due to lack of funds, as well as a case in which the Court of Federal Claims found a GAO precedent failed to provide a rational basis to reject a bid.View the full article
On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 into law after bipartisan congressional majorities approved the bill earlier in the month. The annual bill authorizes appropriations and sets policy for the Department of Defense (“DoD”) and generally reflects the priorities of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.View the full article
The U.S. Department of Defense released a special holiday treat for government contractors and subcontractors last week in the form of long-promised proposed regulations for its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. View the full article
Presented as part of its effort to lower what it views as excessive prices for prescription drugs, the Biden administration on December 7, 2023, announced the release of a proposed framework to expand the use of government “march-in” authority under the Bayh-Dole Act. View the full article
In recent months, there have been a number of articles about an increase in venture capital interest in entities that do business with the federal government. View the full article
This month, we feature three bid protest decisions—two from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) and one from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”). Though each of these decisions focuses on a different fundamental point of procurement law, all share a common theme: they pertain to agency awards of indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (“IDIQ”) contract vehicles or task orders thereunder. View the full article
The Biden administration issued a widely anticipated executive order on artificial intelligence (“AI”) earlier this week. The Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (the “EO”) addresses a multitude of issues reflecting an emerging national policy on AI. This article focuses on those aspects of the EO most directly related to national security and federal procurement.View the full article
Earlier this month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced an important extension of DOJ’s voluntary self-disclosure policy aimed specifically at incentivizing companies engaged in mergers and acquisitions “to timely disclose misconduct uncovered during the M&A process.” View the full article
This month’s Bid Protest Roundup focuses on a recent U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision involving the limitations of the government’s deference defense and a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that involved the proper application and discretionary nature of the so-called close-at-hand principle.View the full article
In the right circumstances, an agency-level protest can be a quick and efficient way to address certain procurement errors, as we discussed a few years ago.View the full article
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued a final rule amending its regulation on lower-tier small business subcontracting credit to account for statutory changes introduced in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. View the full article
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Information Security Oversight Office (ISSO) have issued a Joint Notice to clarify how Facility Security Clearances (FCLs) (also called Entity Eligibility Determinations, or EEDs) work for joint ventures. As we have discussed before, the SBA regulations for a few years now have specified that procuring agencies may not require joint ventures to possess an FCL as a condition of the award of a small business set-aside contract.View the full article
In what can best be described as a tsunami of cybersecurity regulation, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council—consisting of the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—issued two proposed rules on October 2, 2023.View the full article
Like the COVID-19 virus, COVID-related contract claims have not gone away. In “Contracting in the Fog of War: Recovering Costs Caused by an Epidemic,” we reported on Pernix Serka Joint Venture v. Department of State, CBCA No. 5683, 20-1 BCA ¶ 37589 (April 22, 2020), in which the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) determined a contractor’s additional costs incurred due to the Ebola outbreak did not entitle the contractor to an equitable adjustment. View the full article
Recent changes to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations impact how large businesses can take small business credit for subcontracting to their own mentor-protégé joint ventures (MPJVs). View the full article
In Innovative Technologies, Inc., ASBCA No. 6186, 62185, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA” or the “Board”) held that, despite the federal government’s failure to include or incorporate the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (“SCA”) FAR Clause 52.222-41 (the “SCA Clause”) in the contract, the contractor was required to comply with the SCA and not entitled to an equitable adjustment for all costs it incurred from a $1.5 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor (“D
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