Tzarina of Compliance Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 Does anyone have thoughts or recommendations on how to support the approximately 300 USAID contractors currently under SWOs without access to their Contracting Officers (COs)? As USAID winds down and we anticipate the departure of many CO staff, what do you think the process will be for filing claims? Presumably, if you receive confirmation that your SWO has been lifted or you’ve been terminated for convenience (T4C), you could submit a Request for Equitable Adjustment (REA), claim, or Termination Settlement Proposal (TSP) directly to that person. However, what happens if, by the time you submit your claim or TSP, their email is deactivated and there’s no agency structure left to identify an alternative point of contact? Would this mean bypassing the CO’s final decision altogether and proceeding directly to the courts? How about if the SWO drags on with no action from the Agency -and no payments for any work completed prior to SWO? No correspondence is being answered by the Agency at all. Total silence. Can contractors essentially default and then argue that it should be converted to T4C? What are the options when the Government breaches completely? I’d appreciate any insights or guidance on this. Be kind. Lots of smalls out there who are also US taxpayers and many have not done anything wrong. ❤️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mansfield Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 I would recommend contacting your Congressional representative and retaining an attorney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzarina of Compliance Posted February 8 Author Report Share Posted February 8 Yes, because politicians and lawyers solve everything 🙄. Does anyone have any insight into precedents and what the rules say? The rule book does take half the shelf space... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamaal Valentine Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 3 hours ago, Don Mansfield said: I would recommend contacting your Congressional representative and retaining an attorney. Great advice, Don! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formerfed Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 I don’t think there’s precedent for a situation like this. The few instances I can think of where an agency was shut down happened gradually with a sunset date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
policyguy Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 Agree this situation has not happened before. I would suggest following the stop work order. I assume it is for 30 days. After the 30 days if no action is taken by the agency I would suggest folowing the contract disputes clause. If invoice(s) were submitted prior to the stop work order follow the contract payment(s) clause and request payment in writing. If no response, again follow the contact payment and dispute clauses. Be sure to document in writing your file(s). If the agency does not respond then I think contractors would be headed to litigation. Strongly agree that lawyers should be involved. Agree about contacting members of congress. Might be a good idea to reach out to industry/trade organizations as well as contract organizations such as National Contract Management Association (NCMA) for ideas/suggestions as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Culham Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 On 2/7/2025 at 3:57 PM, Tzarina of Compliance said: Does anyone have thoughts or recommendations on how to support the approximately 300 USAID contractors currently under SWOs without access to their Contracting Officers (COs)? Be nimble and patient! On 2/7/2025 at 3:57 PM, Tzarina of Compliance said: As USAID winds down and we anticipate the departure of many CO staff, what do you think the process will be for filing claims? I cannot imagine what the process will be. I have not researched in depth but my quick thought is I would be attempting to determine the status of the Head of Contracting Activity and making my contact with the individual in the absence of a CO. Engaging legal counsel is always sound advice. In viewing your original post I quickly went here, it might help in further thoughts on your part of how to proceed - https://www.acquisition.gov/aidar/subpart-701.6—career-development-contracting-authority-and-responsibilities and here is another https://www.acquisition.gov/aidar/part-750—extraordinary-contractual-actions-and-safety-act I would offer as well that even with US AID being an independent agency there is a nexus to the State Department. I would research this connection further and it could be that they should be in the loop as well with regard to determining process, etc. On 2/7/2025 at 3:57 PM, Tzarina of Compliance said: However, what happens if, by the time you submit your claim or TSP, their email is deactivated and there’s no agency structure left to identify an alternative point of contact? Would this mean bypassing the CO’s final decision altogether and proceeding directly to the courts? How about if the SWO drags on with no action from the Agency -and no payments for any work completed prior to SWO? No correspondence is being answered by the Agency at all. Total silence. Can contractors essentially default and then argue that it should be converted to T4C? What are the options when the Government breaches completely? While I understand contacting Congressional folks could help apply pressure on the Chief Executive to get guidance out with regard to the contracting element of the shake-up of US AID, my view is that the rock is in the Executive Branch's pocket. With this said I as an individual, if I had a contract, I would be shaking the tree of OMB and OFPP for answers to these questions. My final thought is by my read US AID was to identify essential personnel by February 6, 3pm. With a little effort I think one could find who those essential personnel are and may help guide on where specific contact could, should, can be made. Exceptional times that demand exceptional effort, actions and ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retreadfed Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 I think the situation that most closely resembles this is when the BRAC process was ongoing in the 1990s. Several activities went out of existence in that process. Although the activities went out of existence, many of their functions were transferred to other activities. This included contracts being transferred to new activities. Fortunately, these actions were planned out with plenty of time to do the planning. This does not appear to be the case here although Sec. Rubio seems to have indicated that a lot of USAID programs and functions will be brought into DOS. If that happens, I would hope that the transfer includes plans on what to do with existing contracts and who will be responsible for them even it is just to terminate them. As Carl, has indicated, I would contact, the head of contracting at State to see if there are any such plans. On a side note, recently I worked with a contractor that needed to file claims against contracting activities that no longer existed. The contractor submitted the claim to the individual indicated in the contract at the address listed there. The claim was returned to the contractor with no action taken and the contractor filed suit in the COFC. The government has filed a motion to dismiss the suit for failure to get a CO decision even a deemed denial. That motion has not been ruled on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formerfed Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 I doubt any of those individuals referred to in the given advice posts have answers right now. I also doubt they would even speculate. Normally contacting those people mentioned is a great choice. But between the suddenness of the orders, court actions pending, and need to provide cohesive approaches between all the affective offices/agencies, it will take awhile to sort out. In short, nobody knows what will happen yet. Any smart person in charge won’t respond to questions until they feel they are on solid ground and their answers are correct and won’t change the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joel hoffman Posted February 9 Report Share Posted February 9 This link is to a YouTube video of a Congressional Speech by Senator John Kennedy, which includes descriptions of some of the spending and contracts by USAID that have been discovered so far in an Agency Audit. You can skip the opening remarks and Rhetoric and go to the audit descriptions and amounts… “BREAKING NEWS: John Kennedy Breaks Down Federal Spending 'Line By Line' In Epic Defense Of Elon Musk” https://youtu.be/BA3ma1MeSIU Sure seems reasonable to me to be able to audit where and what $40 billion per year is being spent by USAID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Culham Posted February 9 Report Share Posted February 9 I wish all of our political representatives would do as I am doing in these exceptional times and that is simply lead my friends (the public) to SAM.gov and Contract Opportunities (Active and Inactive), USAspending.gov and Grants.gov and let them wander on their own to see what their government supports and has supported via spending. Between the three sites the general public could gain a much better understanding of the government reach. Factual data without the spin of political social media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General.Zhukov Posted February 10 Report Share Posted February 10 On 2/7/2025 at 8:22 PM, Don Mansfield said: I would recommend contacting your Congressional representative and retaining an attorney. Correct answer. The only thing I can think of that is remotely close is claims in contingency contracting - like when a contractor is pursuing a claim, but the governmental organization no longer exists. But that really isn't very close at all. I was contacted by JAG about some contracts in Iraq for which I was a COR, a good three years later. Some Iraqis were seeking some sort of restitution for their property that had been damaged by US Forces. The JAG official expressed how difficult it was to sort through this claim (or whatever it was) as the entire command structure from MNF-I down to my BN-sized Task Force no longer existed. The contracting authority was, I think, Joint Theater Support Contracting Command (JTSCC), and they didn't exist either. But presumably there is some sort of legal continuity in contingency contracting - the Iraqis did manage to contact a US official who was responsive - unlike your situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retreadfed Posted February 10 Report Share Posted February 10 18 minutes ago, General.Zhukov said: But presumably there is some sort of legal continuity in contingency contracting General, you are describing the situation where agencies no longer exist. On the flip side, consider the absolute contracting chaos that followed the fall of Saigon. One of the main issues that came out of that was how to deal with contracts that required payment in RVN Dong which no longer existed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vern Edwards Posted February 11 Report Share Posted February 11 On 2/7/2025 at 3:57 PM, Tzarina of Compliance said: Does anyone have thoughts or recommendations on how to support the approximately 300 USAID contractors currently under SWOs without access to their Contracting Officers (COs)? Has AID issued any official notice or instructions to its contractors? On 2/7/2025 at 3:57 PM, Tzarina of Compliance said: As USAID winds down and we anticipate the departure of many CO staff, what do you think the process will be for filing claims Who knows? Unless a contractor has received notice and guidance, proceed with invoicing and filing of claims as if the CO were still on the job. Send all correspondence by certified mail, return receipt requested. That is especially important with claims to establish board or court jurisdiction. If you don't receive a response to a claim within the time limits, you can assert deemed denial and go to court. Congressional representatives won't be able to provide timely help, and a lawyer would probably tell you this: The conduct of the executive branch is designed to product shock, awe, and chaos. Don't lose your head. Just keep doing what you're required to do to avoid breach of contract until you receive instructions to do otherwise. Hang in there. Confusion and tough times lie ahead. I talked to someone in DOD who manages a large number of interns that they recruited and have been nurturing. I asked what the "buy out" offer would do to their program. I was told that they expect to lose every one of them. The person I spoke with was deeply upset. We are witnessing the reengineering of the executive branch. It's necessary to some extent, but the adjustment is going to be very painful to very many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzarina of Compliance Posted February 11 Author Report Share Posted February 11 1 hour ago, Vern Edwards said: Has AID issued any official notice or instructions to its contractors? Who knows? Unless a contractor has received notice and guidance, proceed with invoicing and filing of claims as if the CO were still on the job. Send all correspondence by certified mail, return receipt requested. That is especially important with claims to establish board or court jurisdiction. If you don't receive a response to a claim within the time limits, you can assert deemed denial and go to court. Congressional representatives won't be able to provide timely help, and a lawyer would probably tell you this: The conduct of the executive branch is designed to product shock, awe, and chaos. Don't lose your head. Just keep doing what you're required to do to avoid breach of contract until you receive instructions to do otherwise. Hang in there. Confusion and tough times lie ahead. I talked to someone in DOD who manages a large number of interns that they recruited and have been nurturing. I asked what the "buy out" offer would do to their program. I was told that they expect to lose every one of them. The person I spoke with was deeply upset. We are witnessing the reengineering of the executive branch. It's necessary to some extent, but the adjustment is going to be very painful to very many. Agree 100%. Somehow I feel this will all work out ❤️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James paris Posted February 21 Report Share Posted February 21 Prepare your termination settlement and submit it in writing, hard copy, to the Contracting Officer listed who issued the T4C, at the address listed in the termination. Send it both by regular mail and certified, return receipt. Follow all FAR procedures in a timely manner and submit as a certified claim. If, after a reasonable period of time, the government still fails to respond, initiate a lawsuit under a “deemed denial” basis. If an Agency fails to respond to a contractor’s settlement proposal, the contractor can file an appeal with the appropriate Board. ePlus Tech., Inc. v. FCC., CBCA 2573, 2012-2 BCA ¶ 25,114 (Board found jurisdiction over appeal when Agency failed to respond for six months to termination settlement proposal that was certified as a claim). Also, follow Don Mansfield’s advice. Congressmen and senators need to feel the pain their constituents are bearing by the draconian actions of the administration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaunaMSACM Posted Thursday at 02:24 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 02:24 PM Was curious how you and your company are doing after the post above, but just noticed you've been active recently on other threads. Please disregard this post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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