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NenaLenz

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Everything posted by NenaLenz

  1. Not sure. Let's assume that it does not. Let's assume contractor is relying on information from the manufacturer of the equipment.
  2. Negotiating pricing for construction contract REA. We are pricing contractor-owned equipment. CO has directed us to use the owner equipment rate book (EP 1110-1-8, Construction Equipment Ownership and Operating Expense Schedule). Rate book assumption of equipment life hours is much higher than the manufacturer stated equipment life hours. Contractor wants to use manufacturer-defined life hours in lieu of rate book-defined life hours. We think this is a reasonable approach. What do you think?
  3. In case you haven't seen it, Department of Commerce deviated from the FAR Clause, section (d) to lower the trigger to the micro purchase threshold. Although many agencies are encouraging broader flowdown at the prime level, to my knowledge no other agencies have gone this far. DOC clause is 1352.223-99 "...(d) Subcontracts. The Contractor shall include the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (d), in subcontracts at any tier that exceed the micro purchase threshold, as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation 2.101 on the date of subcontract award, and are for services, including construction, performed in whole or in part within the United States or its outlying areas." https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/PM 2022-01 FAR Class Deviation Vaccine vF.pdf https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/PM 2022-01 Attachment A.pdf
  4. @ji20874 I appreciate your point that even though the EO's may share the same language we should not assume the phrase means the same thing. Fair enough. Is there any way to read the COVID vaccination EO to not reach any employees at the HQ office just because a small district office (one office out of dozens of offices around the country) is working on a covered contract?
  5. I want to discuss the phrase employees who work “in connection with a covered contract” to define covered contractor employees. If we ignore the issue of employee proximity for now and just focus on the reach of this phrase, can anyone help me understand which contractor employees stay outside of its scope? I know this phrase has been used in other EOs (minimum wage, paid sick leave) so I took a look at DOL guidance: See: Executive Order 13658 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) Questions 16 & 17. GSA suggests https://www.gsa.gov/cdnstatic/COVID EO Protocols Industry Meeting Final_0.pdf Can anyone explain how they interpret this? I read this to suggest that G&A wouldn't be covered. But the Safer Workforce Taskforce specifically calls out the basic back office functions as covered: https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/faq/contractors/ There must be a limit, right? Let's say there is a company with branch offices with employees that work directly on the contract (e.g., laborers, local mangers, office staff creating invoices, etc.) and there is an HQ building in another state that houses company HR, legal, accounting, executive leadership. Could the company keep the HQ staff out of the definition of "covered contractor employees"? What qualifies as "duties necessary" under the contract? What facts matter? What do we need to consider? (Please ignore proximity and risk of covered employees visiting the HQ). Thanks for any insight.
  6. Large public company is looking to hire a government contracts compliance professional to help build and manage a federal/state/local contracts compliance program. They do not currently have a program in place. Anyone here aware of a recruiter that specializes in this type of hire? Any recommendations would be much appreciated. Thank you.
  7. Yes, sound advice, but to implement that advice, we need a plan. This conversation is about what makes sense to put in the plan.
  8. @Neil Roberts - There is no rule precluding subcontracts. Yes, the company does have long-term agreements with material suppliers. It is my understanding that none of these agreements are with small businesses. Because those are long-standing agreements that pre-date this government contract and will not be modified for the performance of this government contract, I do not believe those long-term agreements are necessarily government subcontracts. I suppose we could propose that when those supply agreements are up for renewal, the company could use good faith efforts to identify and contract with small business suppliers. But my understanding is that we already know there aren't any small businesses that make the specific items that will need to be purchased under those supply agreements. Therefore, I am not sure what subcontracting goals make sense to propose--the company most likely won't hit any targets we set. For overhead item goals, could we include them in the individual plan or would those need to go in a commercial plan?
  9. @Don Mansfield a fair response to a vague question. I’m trying to figure out whether the VA can require the company to submit a plan that includes goals that are not zero. As I read the rules, there will not be any “subcontracts” involved in performance of the contract. Therefore, putting any goal other than zero is not attainable and I don’t even know what good faith efforts toward meeting the goal would look like. The company has its supply chain established with long-term agreements in place with the suppliers for the materials that the company uses to self-manufacture the products. None of this will change for performance of this contract. The company has no other federal contracts under which it could pick up credit using a commercial plan. This can’t be a unique situation. How do other companies handle this?
  10. Client is applying to get on VA Schedule to sell medical devices. There is no way to engage small businesses is any part of performance of the contract. VA will not accept a individual plan with a goal of zero. What should the company do?
  11. Because this is a micro-purchase for a COTS product on the VA FSS, there was no requirement for competition if the procurement agent gets a Dr. Rx. My understanding is that the VA Dr and patient saw the product and tested it to make sure of fit and function for the specific needs of the patient. The Rx was sent to purchasing dept. When a product was delivered to patient home, it was an entirely different product.
  12. Yes, the company learned about it -- this is helpful. Thank you
  13. Yes. We are the supplier that the doctor and patient prefer.
  14. Follow-up question - If the purchasing agent refuses to change his or her purchase order, which is the appropriate procedure for disputing/appealing the purchase? Thanks!
  15. @Jamaal Valentine and @Deaner - thank you for the input. This is exactly what I needed.
  16. FWIW - this appears to be the form that purchasing agents use to place prosthetic orders - Prosthetic Authorization for Items or Services, VA Form 10-2421
  17. Thanks, @Jamaal Valentine I realize that I packed a lot into my first question. I'll try to unpack it with a bit more factual context. The fundamental question is about purchasing authority. Generally, prescribing doctors working with VA patients do not have warrants. They are not authorized purchasers. They cannot bind the government. But they are responsible for determining what is medically necessary for patient care. Here, I'm trying to figure out how procurement of prosthetics works. Prosthetics are defined broadly by VHA to include basically anything that replaces, supports, or complements the human anatomy (e.g., orthotics, hearing aids, medical equipment and supplies, etc). According to VHA Handbooks 1173.1 , 1173.2 and 1173.08 , VHA Prosthetic Departments are responsible for procurement of prosthetics. Here is the scenario: Dr writes Rx for a specific prosthetic item deemed necessary for a veteran patient. Rx is for a COTS prosthetic that is under the micro-purchase threshold and is on VA Schedule. Other manufacturers that sell this general type of COTS prosthetic to the federal government. Dr thinks this particular COTS prosthetic is best for patient care. Rx is sent to the local VHA Prosthetics Department and a prosthetics purchasing agent makes the purchase. Prosthetics procurement agent decides to purchase a different COTS product from a different vendor. Dr. is not happy and neither is patient. Does a Prosthetic Purchasing Agent have the authority to ignore the Dr choice of prosthetic? Thanks for any insight you can offer!
  18. All, If a physician issues a prescription for a specific COTS prosthetic for a veteran and that prosthetic is on the VA Schedule, does the VA prosthetic department that receives the order have to provide the specific item that was ordered? How does the procurement process for VA prosthetic purchasing agents intersect with physician determinations of medical necessity for specific items? If the doctor believes that a certain product is best for his or her patient, does the doctor get to choose the product? I reviewed the VHA handbooks regarding procurement of prosthetics, but I am not finding anything the addresses this question. Hoping someone here has practical experience dealing with this process? Thanks, Nena
  19. Q: What terms and conditions apply to a task order placed by the USPS under a GSA Schedule contract? The USPS KO asserted that GSA Contract (FAR) clauses are the same as the USPS clauses and the only difference is the clause number. Therefore, the KO is unwilling to address order of precedence in the agreement. Although the USPS clauses & provisions do largely track the FAR, they are definitely not the same. The USPS task order includes all the terms and conditions that would be required for a USPS purchase -- i.e. the entire procurement process and task order fulfill the USPS "Supplying Principles and Practices" requirements. And USPS is not subject to FAR in any event. Have you encountered this before? How are we supposed to understand the GSA T&Cs read alongside the USPS task order T&Cs? I've done my level best at finding this answer through legal research, but I've come up short. Hoping this group can offer some practical guidance from your experience -- or show me what I missed! Thanks in advance.
  20. They reserved the right to make multiple awards, but their goal is to get a single vendor to cover all their needs. What concerns me is that the actual RFP included a relatively small number of sites. Even with the statement reserving their right to expand the list, going from 250 to 25K locations seems out of scope. Do you disagree?
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