Government Contracts & Investigations

When the Government Asks for Required Information, Answer (But First Make Sure You Have Prepared for the Question).

You might think that this could go without saying, but apparently it can’t: If you want to succeed in your dealings with the federal government, you need to timely provide information required by law, particularly when government personnel specifically ask you for it. The recent decision of the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals inRead More

Final FAR Rule Mandating GIDEP Reporting of Actual or Suspected Counterfeit Parts Issued: More Questions Than Answers

Supply chain risks are on the rise. Protecting the supply chain is a critical aspect of our national security, health and public safety. Whether parts are electronic or not, if they aren’t what they are represented to be, don’t do what they are supposed to do, or do things that they’re not supposed to do,Read More

Regulation Recap: SBA Publishes Proposed Rule Consolidating Mentor Protégé Programs

Lovers of consistency, rejoice! After a few years of administering two separate, yet substantially similar mentor-protégé programs, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed a rulemaking to consolidate the 8(a) Business Development (BD) Mentor-Protégé Program and the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program. On November 8, 2019, SBA published the Consolidation of Mentor Protégé Programs and OtherRead More

Some Tradeoff Is Better than None—and Enough to Avoid the Prohibition against LPTA

When the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was enacted, the prohibition in Section 813(c) against the use of lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) source selection criteria seemed fairly cut and dry. As time passes and procuring agencies adopt new evaluation schemes, however, the parameters of the prohibition are being tested. The recent Government AccountabilityRead More

Short Take: Proposed Rule Raises Certified Cost or Pricing Threshold to Implement Section 811 of FY18 NDAA

On October 2, 2019, DoD, GSA and NASA issued a proposed rule amending the FAR to implement Section 811 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. The amendment increases the threshold for requesting certified cost or pricing data from $750,000 to $2 million for contracts entered into after June 30,Read More