Government Contracts & Investigations

New Changes to the ITAR Focus on Unclassified Technical Data And the release of “Access Information”

As part of its years-long project to update and revise the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and better align them with the Export Control Regulations, the Department of State (DoS) recently amended the ITAR with an interim rule to address another group of amendments first proposed in June of 2015. The new rule definesRead More

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