Government Contracts Legal Forum

Bill Would Authorize New "Preferences" and Calls for Stick to Ensure Agencies Award Contracts to Small Business Concerns

Tiffany Wynn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:45:00 -0500

On Wednesday, Congressman Bill Owens (D-NY) introduced the Small Business Growth and Federal Accountability Act of 2012 (H.R. 3779). The bill is designed to ensure that government agencies provide more work for small business concern by authorizing blanket preferences and providing for...

Suspension and Debarment - What have they done now?

Bob Wagman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:17:24 -0500

Guaranteed to create uncertainty, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-74), which President Obama signed into law on December 23, 2011 (the “Act”), included several little-noticed provisions generally excluding the use of federal funds for any corporation convicted...

Fifth Circuit Weighs In on Where to Find Jurisdiction for In-Sourcing Claims

Grant J. Book — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:08:16 -0500

On December 29, 2011, the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion in Rothe Development, Inc. v. United States Department of Defense, No. 11-50101 (5th Cir. Dec. 29, 2011), affirming the district court’s dismissal of an in-sourcing claim for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Under the Tucker...

What Will The New Year Bring For Government Contractors?

Peter J. Eyre — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:25:06 -0500

On Thursday, January 19, 2012, from 2:00 - 3:30 pm EST, please join us for this webinar, "What Will the New Year Bring for Government Contractors? Top Headlines, Headaches, and Legal Developments to Watch in 2012.” As we begin the new year, government contractors are facing significant...

Contractors Can Review and Object to Public Release of Information in FAPIIS

Peter J. Eyre — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:40:14 -0500

On January 3, 2012, the FAR Council issued a final rule to implement a congressional mandate that the public have access to all information (excluding past performance reviews) in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System ("FAPIIS"). FAPIIS was created in 2010...

DOJ Fraud and False Claims Recoveries at Record Levels in FY2011

Raja Mishra — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:26:53 -0500

The U.S. Department of Justice reported this week that it recovered $5.6 billion in criminal and civil fraud payments in fiscal year 2011, including more than $3 billion under the civil False Claims Act. The fraud recoveries set a one-year record for DOJ; the FCA recoveries capped a...

Department of Defense Proposes Adequacy Checklists for Offerors

Derek Mullins — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:28:15 -0500

On December 2, 2011, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) proposed a new rule that would require contractors bidding on specified solicitations to submit proposal adequacy checklists with their offers. The new proposed DFARS section, § 215.408(3), would give...

In Case You Missed Our Webinar About Personal Conflicts Of Interest And The New FAR Clause 52.203-16

Peter J. Eyre — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:39:41 -0500

On November 16, hundreds of government contractors joined us for a webinar about the new personal conflicts of interest (“PCI”) requirements and the new implementing FAR provision, 52.203-16. It was a lively discussion and we explored some of the questions and challenges relating to...

Weeding Out Bad Contractors -- The Government's Push to Enhance its Suspension and Debarment Function

Daniel R. Forman — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:35:18 -0500

It should come as no surprise to those involved in the federal procurement marketplace that, under the Obama administration, the Government has sought to strengthen accountability in government contracting, and, to that end, has resorted to a number of tools in the Government’s arsenal for...

Webinar: Understanding and Implementing the New FAR Contractor Personal Conflict of Interest Provisions

James G. Peyster — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:47:08 -0500

We invite you to join us on November 16 at 3pm EST for a complimentary webinar, “Understanding and Implementing the New FAR Contractor Personal Conflict of Interest Provisions.” On November 2, 2011, the FAR Councils issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition...

Department of Defense Proposes Expanded Property Reporting Rule

Grant J. Book — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:48:20 -0500

On October 19, 2011, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) proposed a new rule to amend DFARS § 252.211-7007 to remove the $5000 threshold from reporting requirements for Government-furnished property. The proposed rule would require contractors to report Government-furnished...

The Court of Federal Claim's Task and Delivery Order Jurisdiction May Be Back in Play

Sarah Gleich — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 07:38:43 -0500

In September, I wrote about the Court of Federal Claims’ decision in MED Trends, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-420 (Fed. Cl. Sept. 13, 2011), where the Court concluded that it now enjoys jurisdiction over civilian task and delivery order procurements of any dollar value. Prior to this...

Chance to Change Pricing Generally Required After Corrective Action

James G. Peyster — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:23:23 -0500

This week, GAO released a decision in Power Connector, Inc., B-404916.2, Aug. 15, 2011, 2011 WL 5029615 that appears to introduce a significant change to the circumstances in which a procuring agency may limit the scope of proposal revisions during corrective action. Prior GAO precedent...

$199.5 Million Settlement for GSA in FCA Action Against Schedule Holder

J. Catherine Kunz — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:08:17 -0500

GSA has now topped the $128 million settlement it reached in 2009 with NetApp – then the largest settlement reached in an FCA action against a GSA Schedule contractor – by settling with Oracle Corporation and Oracle America Inc. this past week in the amount of $199.5 million plus...

The Court of Federal Claims Opens Its Doors to Protests of Civilian Task and Delivery Order Procurements

Sarah Gleich — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:17:52 -0500

In June I wrote about GAO’s conclusion that its protest jurisdiction over agency task and delivery order procurements will not only continue after the May 27, 2011 sunset date, but will expand. At that time, I noted that, to the extent the Court of Federal Claims agreed with GAO’s...

ABA to Host Webinar on Impact of Stanford v. Roche

John E. McCarthy, Jr. — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:16:18 -0500

On September 28, 2011, I will be participating in an American Bar Association webinar to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court’s June, 2011, decision in Stanford v. Roche. In Stanford v. Roche, the Supreme Court upheld a Federal Circuit decision finding that under the Bayh-Dole Act, a...

OMB Establishes New Policy of Accelerated Payments to Small Business Contractors But Will It Work?

Gunjan R. Talati — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 10:00:47 -0500

A memorandum issued by the Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, establishes a new Executive Branch policy that agencies should pay small business government contractors within 15 days of receiving proper invoicing documents. Currently, agencies are required to pay...

Mandatory Display of Fraud Posters

Peter J. Eyre — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:55:40 -0500

On September 16, 2011, DoD issued a final rule that requires contractors to prominently display fraud hotline posters prepared by the DoD Office of the Inspector General. These posters must be displayed in common work areas within business segments performing work on DoD contracts. The current...

Proposal To Further Limit Executive Branch Employees' Acceptance Of Gifts From Lobbyists

Peter J. Eyre — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:47:29 -0500

On September 13, 2011, the Office of Government Ethics proposed amendments to the regulation governing the acceptance of gifts by executive branch employees. The purpose of the amendments is to (a) implement the lobbyist gift ban already applicable, by Executive Order of the President, to most...

C&M Publishes Article in BNA Federal Contracts Report on Recent Supreme Court Holding that FOIA Response Falls Within FCA Public Disclosure Bar

Mana Elihu Lombardo — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:11:51 -0500

The Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. §552, is intended to uphold the principles of transparency and open government, so that citizens can assess government accountability and actions. Since its enactment in 1966, FOIA has also been used by companies to obtain...