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Federal Agencies May Use Current Fiscal Year Dollars to Pay for Training in the Next, by James Phillips, Esq.
As we approach the end of fiscal year, we frequently encounter questions from both government and industry regarding the conditions under which federal agencies may authorize payment in advance of contract work. The circumstances under which advance payments are authorized are very limited, but a significant exception exists—fees and expenses expended by federal agencies to train their employees.  8/15/2008

Jury Holds Contractor Liable under the False Claims Act for Concealing Conflicts of Interests, by James Phillips, Esq.
A federal jury in DC found that SAIC violated the False Claims Act, breaching its contract terms with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by failing to disclose organizational conflicts of interests (OCIs) that had the potential to bias its work.   8/8/2008

Are You Ready for E-Verify?, By Chris Johnson, Esq.
A proposed change in the Federal Acquisition Regulation will require most prime and subcontractors (through mandatory subcontractor flowdown requirements) to begin using the E-Verify system of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service to confirm the legal status of employees working on federal contracts.  7/30/2008

House Judiciary Committee Amends/Approves Changes to False Claims Act, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
After amending the companion bill that was approved by a Senate panel, the House Judiciary Committee approved the False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007 (H.R. 4854)—the proposed legislation that aims to correct perceived flaws in the False Claims Act.  7/25/2008

Air Force Tanker Contract to Be Rebid, by Jason Lee-Bakke
The Pentagon will rebid the bane of the Air Force: the $40 billion contract for aerial tankers that was awarded to Northrop and EADS, and then successfully protested by Boeing, the Washington Post reports.  7/9/2008

Jim Phillips' Presentation to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel
Centre's executive vice president speaks on pricing flexibility and the Schedules' notorious Price Reduction Clause.  6/27/2008

Barbara Kinosky's Presentation to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel
Centre's president speaks on time and materials and performance-based contracts.  6/27/2008

Federal Government Contractors Must E-Verify Workers, by Michelle Sherman
On June 9, 2008, President George W. Bush amended Executive Order 12989 to require that federal government contractors use an electronic system to verify workers’ employment eligibility. Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security, has designated E-Verify as the system of choice.  6/20/2008

Federal Contracts to the Web, Presidential Candidates Demand, by Jason Lee-Bakke
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL), along with Toms Coburn [R-OK] and Carper [D-DE], are cosponsors of a bill that would require federal agencies to post searchable federal contracts to USASpending.gov.  6/13/2008

GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel Meetings To Be Open to Public, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
The GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Advisory Panel will hold public meetings on June 16, June 17, July 21, and August 18. To make these meetings as productive and useful as possible, the panel is requesting feedback and comments from all MAS program stakeholders, including schedule contract holders, program managers, and contracting officers.  6/6/2008

Alleged Bribe Investigation Detains Two BAE Executives on U.S. Soil, by Michelle Sherman
Two top executives of BAE Systems, the British aerospace and defense behemoth, were detained by U.S. authorities and questioned regarding corrupt arms deals with Saudi Arabia on May 12, 2008.   5/22/2008

Centre Launches GSA Schedules Certification Program, Returns to Federal News Radio, by Jason Lee-Bakke
The National Contract Management Association and Centre Consulting, Inc.’s Federal Contracting Institute have launched the certificate program for GSA multiple-award schedule professionals. Centre’s own Barbara Kinosky and Neal Couture spoke with Federal News Radio about the program. Listen to the interview after the jump.  5/16/2008

Bloch Buster in the Making?, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
While the news of the FBI’s raid on the office and home of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch on May 7, 2008, may not be headline news outside of Washington’s Beltway, the intrigue surrounding the infighting between two Executive Branch agencies of the federal government is causing quite a stir inside the federal city.   5/9/2008

Goodbye to All That, by Lucy Hunt
This week, the procurement community sadly bade farewell to GSA Administrator Lurita Doan, who resigned Wednesday. She sure kept things interesting, with her designer suits and powerful Shakespearean rhetoric.  5/2/2008

How Would You Define a “Nontraditional Defense Contractor?”, by Brian Caney, Esq.
In a move with the potential to garner serious interest from government contractors not regular participants in Department of Defense (DOD) procurements, DOD is exploring how to expand contract opportunities for “nontraditional defense contractors.”  4/27/2008

Proposed FAR Rule for Comment: Past Performance Process Revisions
The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council are proposing to amend the FAR to revise the contractor performance information process.  4/14/2008

FY 2008 Maximum Benchmark Compensation Amount Announced, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy of the Office of Management and Budget published notice of its determination of the maximum benchmark compensation amount (“MBCA”) allowable under government contracts for fiscal year 2008: $612,196.  4/7/2008

OPM Memorandum on Use of Advisory and Assistance Service Contracts and Waiver Authority
Section 834 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, Public Law 109-364, requires the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Department of Defense to report separately to Congress on the use of advisory and assistance services (A&AS) contracts. In addition, section 834 authorizes the head of an agency to issue a waiver to extend a task order contract for A&AS contracts for a period of not more than ten years if the agency head makes certain written determinations. However, section 834 prohibits the issuance of a waiver if certain data, on the use of A&AS, is not submitted to Congress by April 1, 2007.  4/1/2008

A-76 Cost Factor Adjusted Downward, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Office of Management and Budget recently announced that it was adjusting the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor used to compute the estimated cost of government performance in public-private competitions conducted pursuant to OMB Circular A-76.  3/29/2008

GSA Announces Changes in Per Diem Rates, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The General Services Administration (GSA) gave notice of a change in per diem rates for travel, meal, and incidental (M&I) expenses for certain locations in Alabama, California, Illinois, Missouri, New York (notably Queens), and Texas.  3/13/2008

Alliant Contract Bid Protest Brings Alliant IT Work to an Abrupt Halt, by Charles Curran, Esq.
Are you still attaching talismanic significance to technical calculations that suffer from false precision? Apparently, you are not alone. In concluding that the GSA had done exactly that (slip op. at 3) in awarding its Alliant IT contract to twenty-eight “presumptive awardees,” Judge Allegra of the United States Court of Federal Claims upheld the protest of eight unsuccessful offerors and ordered further work under the awarded contracts immediately halted.  3/10/2008

Lying to the Government Still a Bad Idea, by Jason Lee-Bakke
A contractor that misrepresented itself in its proposals was ordered to pay triple damages plus $11,000 on each of four DOD contracts under U.S. ex rel. Longhi v. Lithium Power Technologies.  2/29/2008

SDB Price Evaluation Preference Suspended for all DoD Acquisitions, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Department of Defense published official notice that the 10 percent price preference afforded to Small Disadvantaged Businesses in certain DoD acquisitions would be suspended for at least one year.   2/22/2008

Home Office Expense Accounting Standard To Be Revised, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
On February 13, the Cost Accounting Standards Board (the “Board”), Office of Federal Procurement Policy of the OMB posted notice of intent to revise the thirty five (35) year old Cost Accounting Standard (CAS) 403, entitled ‘‘Allocation of Home Office Expenses to Segments.’’  2/17/2008

Waterboarding Controversy Draws More Focus on the Issue of What Constitutes an Inherently Governmental Function, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
While the trend in government contracting has undeniably been in favor of outsourcing of commercial services, the issue of what constitutes an “inherently governmental function” that cannot (or should not) be outsourced continues to be a hot button issue.   2/11/2008

GAO Releases Report on Pass-Through Charges at DoD, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
“We are recommending that as DOD finalizes its rule on avoiding excessive pass-through charges and develops guidance for assessing contractor value added, DOD (1) require contracting officials to take contract risk into account when determining the level of assessment needed, (2) require assessments of contractor value added be documented, and (3) involve DCAA and DCMA in facilitating assessments as appropriate.”  1/28/2008

OMB Launches USASpending.gov, Those in the Know Yawn, by Jason Lee-Bakke
Much has been made of OMB’s ahead-of-schedule launch of FedSpending.gov, a web-accessible database containing all federal government spending data. While any project completed on time should be cheered, the site, mandated by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, hardly brings anything new to the table, and there are manifold other options for obtaining this data.  1/23/2008

FOIA: Twenty Days or Less or It’s Free?, by Brian Caney, Esq.
Right before the beginning of the New Year, President Bush signed the “Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National (OPEN) Government Act,” a much-needed FOIA reform bill.  1/15/2008

“It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Pocket Veto!”, by Lucy Hunt
On Friday, December 28, President Bush vetoed the massive Defense authorization bill, using peculiar qualifying language that makes it unclear whether he issued a pocket veto or a veto.   1/7/2008

And So the Acquisition Workforce Waits, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
One federal contracting issue where consensus seems to exist among industry, government and policy makers alike is the need for government-wide training of acquisition workforce personnel, particularly for those at the beginning of their years of service in the field.  1/2/2008

Contractor, Convict Thyself, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
Nestled quietly within the subparts and sub-subparts of the proposed “contractor ethics” rule change to the FAR recently published in the Federal Register is language that should give both officers and directors of larger contractors and aficionados of constitutional law alike sleepless nights in the months to come.  12/11/2007

Final Rule Reporting on Contractor Ethics Gets Confused Treatment, by Jason Lee-Bakke
A final rule amending the FAR requires large-contract holders to act with honesty and integrity, codify their ethics policy, and in some cases, implement internal controls and training was announced on November 23, 2007. In an e-mail interview with GovExec, Paul Denett, federal procurement policy administrator at OMB, wrote, “These rules move us from well-established principles of contractor self-governance and voluntary disclosure to contractual requirements and mandatory disclosure.”  12/5/2007

Protest Sustained Based Upon Flawed Evaluation and Improper Source Selection: Are More Successful FSS Buy Protests To Come?, by Brian Caney, Esq.
GAO recently sustained a protest filed by Glasslock, Inc. regarding a Federal Supply Schedule task order award issued by the Environmental Protection.   11/23/2007

Do Smalls Business Goals Sometimes Skew Agency Judgments in Planning for Acquisitions?, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
Disadvantaged small businesses should receive a fair share of federal contracts, and mandatory goals obviously are useful in assuring that disadvantaged businesses can obtain contracts. In awarding contracts however, agencies should recognize that supporting such the goals needs to be realistic in the context of the particular requirement, otherwise you may run into the type of problems that were highlighted in a recent report issued by the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General (the “DHS-IG”).   11/23/2007

Waiting for the WOSB Program (Or Will Godot Get Here First?), by Charlie Curran, Esq.
On December 21, 2000, Congress enacted the Equity in Contracting for Women Act of 200, 15 U.S.C. § 637(m), legislation which authorized the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to establish a procurement program targeted in favor of women-owned small businesses, to be known as the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Assistance Program (the “WOSB Program”). The final regulation implementing the WOSB Program is still yet to be released to the public, to the great consternation of WOSB advocates and business owners alike. Recent events indicate that we might not have too much longer to wait however. Or will we?  11/16/2007

Whither FitNet?, by Lucy Hunt
Regular readers of this blog will recall recent efforts to require that task orders between $3K and $100K on GSA schedules be set aside for small businesses. The Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. sect. 644(j) (2000), requires all orders in that price range to be set aside, while the language of the FAR seems to exempt GSA task orders from the set-aside requirement.   11/9/2007

Proposed Rule’s Underlying Intent: Start Buying at SmartBUY, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
IT software purveyors and resellers take note: proposed amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), published October 31,would amend FAR Parts 7, 8, 12 and 39 in an attempt to further increase the Government’s reliance on the Enterprise Software Licensing Program GWAC known as “SmartBUY.”  11/2/2007

Supreme Court to Decide If False Claims Act Covers Subcontractors, by Barbara Kinosky, Esq.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that will decide whether the government can collect penalties from subcontractors who commit fraud under a government contract.   11/1/2007

Changes to SBA Contracting Programs May Be Coming, by Brian Caney, Esq.
On October 18, the House Small Business Committee voted in favor of the Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act of 2007 (HR 3867), which is intended to improve small business social-economic programs that assist women, service-disabled veterans, and other small disadvantaged businesses.   10/27/2007

Federal Contracting Workforce Survey, by Brian Caney, Esq.
The results of the 2007 Federal Contracting Workforce Competencies Survey have been released by OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Federal Acquisition Institute. Receiving most of the media attention is respondents’ indication that training is required on project management, government requirements definition and performance-based acquisition, contract administration requirements, performance management and metrics, negotiation skills, strategic planning, and resolution of contract disputes and closeouts.  10/26/2007

Contracting Shift at DoD, by Jim Phillips, Esq.
DOD has completed a study of its spending and plans to reduce its reliance on so-called “assistingagencies,” such as GSA and DOI, the Federal Times reported yesterday, October 19.   10/19/2007

The Spar About The FAR: GSA vs. SBA GAO Case Raises Major Challenge to Schedules Program Rules, by Lucy Hunt
You think you have trouble interpreting the morass of regulations governing Federal contracting? Try being a Federal agency. A protest filed at GAO, (B-309911, Protest of Fitnet Purchasing Alliance) in July pits small business advocates against the GSA over FAR language that appears to exempt the schedules programs from the small business set-asides required by the Small Business Act.   10/12/2007

Contractors Beware-OCI Issues Lead to Potential False Claims Liability, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
A recent decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (the “USDC”) reinforces the need for contractors to stay on top of their contract requirements to promptly notify their government customers of potential organizational conflicts of interest (“OCI’) that arise during performance.   10/5/2007

Congratulations on Surviving the Fiscal Year End –Now What?, by Jim Phillips, Esq.
As I write this entry, it is the last Friday of the fiscal year and, with the exception of poor souls that must spend the weekend completing year end tasks, the next time we return to our offices, Fiscal Year 08 will be underway. And with that I can’t help wondering “what will the new year bring?” So I thought I’d write down and share what I believe will be some of the hot button issues for FY ’08.   9/28/2007

Revisiting the Maximum Benchmark Compensation Amount, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
With the Labor Day doldrums still hanging over the Government Contracts world, I thought now might be a good time to revisit a topic that generated a bit of interest last year -- the OMB’s determination of the maximum benchmark compensation amount (“MBCA”) allowable under government contracts.   9/7/2007

Labor Daydreamin', by Charlie Curran, Esq.
In honor of Labor Day and the end of yet another summer, we thought it was fitting to take a little break from the sturm and drang of the day-to-day government contracting life and focus on the broader issues; issues like life, liberty, happiness, success and, above all, comedy. In that vein, and as pretext for not actually doing any legal research in support of this week’s blog, I offer some well-crafted quotes from people much smarter (and quicker) than I am.   8/31/2007

The New T&M Rules for Service Contracts - Burdens and Benefits, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
The changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”) applicable to Time and Material (“T&M”) and labor hour contracts present some needed clarification and benefits to contractors offering services to the Federal government. The changes amend FAR Subpart 16.6 and FAR Clause 52.232-7, and also add new FAR Clauses 52.216-30 and 52.216-31. In addition to the benefits, the changes also however present some additional selling and administrative burdens.  8/17/2007

Small Business Size Standard Rule Change Proposed, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
Small business owners should note that the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has just issued a proposed rule change which would bring the way the agency calculates a organization’s size standards by number of employees more in line with the way the size standard is measured by average annual receipts.   8/4/2007

Congress Responds to the Rockwell International Whistleblower Case, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
As predicted in my April 6 blog, it didn’t take long for Congress to respond to the Supreme Court’s recent narrow interpretation of the applicability of the “whistleblower” portion of the False Claims Act.   8/3/2007

Industry Weighs in on DoD’s Interim Rule Regarding, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
Not surprisingly, several contractor groups, including the Aerospace Industries Association (“AIA”), the National Defense Industrial Association (“NDIA”), and the Professional Services Council (“PSC”), have forwarded extensive objections to the interim Department of Defense (“DoD”) subcontract pass-through rules intended to protect the government from paying excessive charges.   7/20/2007

Pretty Much Good Advice Pretty Much Ignored, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
This month’s issue of the ABA Journal contains an article by Jason Krause setting forth “101 tips, tricks and tools to make you a more productive, less stressed-out lawyer.” The advice applies pretty much universally to anyone in business today, and sets forth some really helpful advice regarding IT and technical tools and products that are available in the marketplace to help you in your daily battles.  7/6/2007

Product Liability and the False Claims Act – Is It a Good Idea to Marry the Two?, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
Announcing that the United States had “filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Toyobo America Inc., for their roles in the manufacture and sale of defective Zylon bullet-proof vests to U.S., state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.”  7/2/2007

Legislation Needed to Protect Patent Holders, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the appeal of Zoltek Corporation (“Zoltek”) demonstrates that legislation is needed to protest U.S. patent holders against indirect infringement by foreign companies acting as subcontractors to Department of Defense (“DoD”) prime contractors.   7/2/2007

The Most Important Person In America?, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
Were anyone to attempt to compile a list of the people who most Americans considered to be among their most important countrymen today, the final list would no doubt include luminaries like George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, Nancy Pelosi, Condoleezza Rice and, God-help-us, perhaps even Paris Hilton.   6/15/2007

Is There Cumulative Liability For Long Term, Discriminatory Pay Disparity?, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
Is the cumulative effect of past discriminatory actions actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?   6/1/2007

Are You Ready to Certify That You Are Not Selling "Sweatshop Goods?", by Charlie Curran, Esq.
While legislative initiatives such as the Accounting in Contracting Act have naturally received most of the attention from those doing (or intending to do) business in the federal contracting arena, other proposals that may dramatically affect federal contractors are also percolating through the legislative regulatory machinery.  5/4/2007

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GSA/IDIQ Issues

House Judiciary Committee Amends/Approves Changes to False Claims Act, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
After amending the companion bill that was approved by a Senate panel, the House Judiciary Committee approved the False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007 (H.R. 4854)—the proposed legislation that aims to correct perceived flaws in the False Claims Act.  7/25/2008

Jim Phillips' Presentation to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel
Centre's executive vice president speaks on pricing flexibility and the Schedules' notorious Price Reduction Clause.  6/27/2008

Barbara Kinosky's Presentation to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel
Centre's president speaks on time and materials and performance-based contracts.  6/27/2008

GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel Meetings To Be Open to Public, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
The GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Advisory Panel will hold public meetings on June 16, June 17, July 21, and August 18. To make these meetings as productive and useful as possible, the panel is requesting feedback and comments from all MAS program stakeholders, including schedule contract holders, program managers, and contracting officers.  6/6/2008

Centre Launches GSA Schedules Certification Program, Returns to Federal News Radio, by Jason Lee-Bakke
The National Contract Management Association and Centre Consulting, Inc.’s Federal Contracting Institute have launched the certificate program for GSA multiple-award schedule professionals. Centre’s own Barbara Kinosky and Neal Couture spoke with Federal News Radio about the program. Listen to the interview after the jump.  5/16/2008

Goodbye to All That, by Lucy Hunt
This week, the procurement community sadly bade farewell to GSA Administrator Lurita Doan, who resigned Wednesday. She sure kept things interesting, with her designer suits and powerful Shakespearean rhetoric.  5/2/2008

Proposed FAR Rule for Comment: Past Performance Process Revisions
The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council are proposing to amend the FAR to revise the contractor performance information process.  4/14/2008

GSA Announces Changes in Per Diem Rates, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The General Services Administration (GSA) gave notice of a change in per diem rates for travel, meal, and incidental (M&I) expenses for certain locations in Alabama, California, Illinois, Missouri, New York (notably Queens), and Texas.  3/13/2008

Home Office Expense Accounting Standard To Be Revised, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
On February 13, the Cost Accounting Standards Board (the “Board”), Office of Federal Procurement Policy of the OMB posted notice of intent to revise the thirty five (35) year old Cost Accounting Standard (CAS) 403, entitled ‘‘Allocation of Home Office Expenses to Segments.’’  2/17/2008

Whither FitNet?, by Lucy Hunt
Regular readers of this blog will recall recent efforts to require that task orders between $3K and $100K on GSA schedules be set aside for small businesses. The Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. sect. 644(j) (2000), requires all orders in that price range to be set aside, while the language of the FAR seems to exempt GSA task orders from the set-aside requirement.   11/9/2007

Proposed Rule’s Underlying Intent: Start Buying at SmartBUY, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
IT software purveyors and resellers take note: proposed amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), published October 31,would amend FAR Parts 7, 8, 12 and 39 in an attempt to further increase the Government’s reliance on the Enterprise Software Licensing Program GWAC known as “SmartBUY.”  11/2/2007

The Spar About The FAR: GSA vs. SBA GAO Case Raises Major Challenge to Schedules Program Rules, by Lucy Hunt
You think you have trouble interpreting the morass of regulations governing Federal contracting? Try being a Federal agency. A protest filed at GAO, (B-309911, Protest of Fitnet Purchasing Alliance) in July pits small business advocates against the GSA over FAR language that appears to exempt the schedules programs from the small business set-asides required by the Small Business Act.   10/12/2007

Preview page one of the January 2007 issue of Centre Pointe
FAR councils issue rules on time-and-materials contracts: Implications for GSA contracting unclear… To subscribe to Centre Pointe, CLICK HERE or call 703-288-2800, ext. 231.  1/25/2007

Opening Soon: The Expressway to GSA (Schedule), by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The recent announcement that the General Services Administration, Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) is launching a pilot program to expedite the process for getting listed on the GSA Schedule was welcome and not entirely unexpected news. What was somewhat surprising, however, was the inclusion of the “General Purpose Commercial Information Technology Equipment, Software, and Services” Schedule 70 Special Item Numbers (SIN) within that program.  1/19/2007

New Legislation Aims to Heavily Regulate Purchase Card Usage, by Brian Caney, Esq.
The Senate unanimously passed an amended version of the Purchase Card Waste Elimination Act of 2006. This measure aims to “increase oversight and training for the use of federal purchase cards, in an effort to rein in reported spending abuses and boost the utilization of small businesses in government micro-purchases.”  6/9/2006

Catch the Next Wave: GSA Targets the Services Market as the Next Growth Area, by Jim Phillips, Esq.
A dominant trend in federal contracting landscape has been the explosive growth in sales through the Federal Supply Schedules administered by the General Services Administration.  9/12/2003

Selling to Uncle Sam, by Barbara Kinosky, Esq.
If you are truly interested in selling to the federal government, then you must make it a priority to get a GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract.  3/14/2003

Section 803 Finally Lands—Now What Does It Mean?, by Jim Phillips, Esq.
The Department of Defense issued its final rule implementing Section 803 of the FY 2002 Defense Authorization Act. Section 803 required DOD to issue regulations to require greater competition when placing orders for services in excess of $100,000 under multiple award contracts.  1/15/2003

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Small Business Issues

House Judiciary Committee Amends/Approves Changes to False Claims Act, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
After amending the companion bill that was approved by a Senate panel, the House Judiciary Committee approved the False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007 (H.R. 4854)—the proposed legislation that aims to correct perceived flaws in the False Claims Act.  7/25/2008

GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel Meetings To Be Open to Public, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
The GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Advisory Panel will hold public meetings on June 16, June 17, July 21, and August 18. To make these meetings as productive and useful as possible, the panel is requesting feedback and comments from all MAS program stakeholders, including schedule contract holders, program managers, and contracting officers.  6/6/2008

How Would You Define a “Nontraditional Defense Contractor?”, by Brian Caney, Esq.
In a move with the potential to garner serious interest from government contractors not regular participants in Department of Defense (DOD) procurements, DOD is exploring how to expand contract opportunities for “nontraditional defense contractors.”  4/27/2008

Proposed FAR Rule for Comment: Past Performance Process Revisions
The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council are proposing to amend the FAR to revise the contractor performance information process.  4/14/2008

Lying to the Government Still a Bad Idea, by Jason Lee-Bakke
A contractor that misrepresented itself in its proposals was ordered to pay triple damages plus $11,000 on each of four DOD contracts under U.S. ex rel. Longhi v. Lithium Power Technologies.  2/29/2008

SDB Price Evaluation Preference Suspended for all DoD Acquisitions, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Department of Defense published official notice that the 10 percent price preference afforded to Small Disadvantaged Businesses in certain DoD acquisitions would be suspended for at least one year.   2/22/2008

Home Office Expense Accounting Standard To Be Revised, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
On February 13, the Cost Accounting Standards Board (the “Board”), Office of Federal Procurement Policy of the OMB posted notice of intent to revise the thirty five (35) year old Cost Accounting Standard (CAS) 403, entitled ‘‘Allocation of Home Office Expenses to Segments.’’  2/17/2008

Do Smalls Business Goals Sometimes Skew Agency Judgments in Planning for Acquisitions?, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
Disadvantaged small businesses should receive a fair share of federal contracts, and mandatory goals obviously are useful in assuring that disadvantaged businesses can obtain contracts. In awarding contracts however, agencies should recognize that supporting such the goals needs to be realistic in the context of the particular requirement, otherwise you may run into the type of problems that were highlighted in a recent report issued by the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General (the “DHS-IG”).   11/23/2007

Waiting for the WOSB Program (Or Will Godot Get Here First?), by Charlie Curran, Esq.
On December 21, 2000, Congress enacted the Equity in Contracting for Women Act of 200, 15 U.S.C. § 637(m), legislation which authorized the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to establish a procurement program targeted in favor of women-owned small businesses, to be known as the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Assistance Program (the “WOSB Program”). The final regulation implementing the WOSB Program is still yet to be released to the public, to the great consternation of WOSB advocates and business owners alike. Recent events indicate that we might not have too much longer to wait however. Or will we?  11/16/2007

Small Business Size Regulations
The U.S. Small Business Administration is amending its regulations to address the time at which size is determined for the purposes of long-term federal contracts. SBA is also amending its 8(a) Business Development regulations to address when a business concern may receive orders as an 8(a) program participant under GSA’s MAS Program and other multiple award contracts.  11/16/2006

New Bill Aims to Curb Misrepresentation of Size by Large Corporations, by Brian Caney, Esq.
On August 2, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Olympia Snow introduced the 2006 Small Business Act reauthorization bill to the Senate. The bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. John Kerry, has already been unanimously approved by the Committee.  8/11/2006

New Legislation Aims to Heavily Regulate Purchase Card Usage, by Brian Caney, Esq.
The Senate unanimously passed an amended version of the Purchase Card Waste Elimination Act of 2006. This measure aims to “increase oversight and training for the use of federal purchase cards, in an effort to rein in reported spending abuses and boost the utilization of small businesses in government micro-purchases.”  6/9/2006

Loosening the Ties of Bundling, by Barbara Kinosky, Esq.
Small companies seeking federal contracts recently got help from on high when the White House introduced a nine-point plan to combat the thorny issue of contract bundling.  12/13/2002

Breaking into Subcontracting, by Barbara Kinosky, Esq.
Changing market strategy is common in a changing economy. The most obvious change in the metropolitan Washington market is the number of companies that, following the decline of technology business, have turned their attention to government contracting.  10/18/2002

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Regulations

Federal Agencies May Use Current Fiscal Year Dollars to Pay for Training in the Next, by James Phillips, Esq.
As we approach the end of fiscal year, we frequently encounter questions from both government and industry regarding the conditions under which federal agencies may authorize payment in advance of contract work. The circumstances under which advance payments are authorized are very limited, but a significant exception exists—fees and expenses expended by federal agencies to train their employees.  8/15/2008

Jury Holds Contractor Liable under the False Claims Act for Concealing Conflicts of Interests, by James Phillips, Esq.
A federal jury in DC found that SAIC violated the False Claims Act, breaching its contract terms with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by failing to disclose organizational conflicts of interests (OCIs) that had the potential to bias its work.   8/8/2008

Are You Ready for E-Verify?, By Chris Johnson, Esq.
A proposed change in the Federal Acquisition Regulation will require most prime and subcontractors (through mandatory subcontractor flowdown requirements) to begin using the E-Verify system of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service to confirm the legal status of employees working on federal contracts.  7/30/2008

House Judiciary Committee Amends/Approves Changes to False Claims Act, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
After amending the companion bill that was approved by a Senate panel, the House Judiciary Committee approved the False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007 (H.R. 4854)—the proposed legislation that aims to correct perceived flaws in the False Claims Act.  7/25/2008

Jim Phillips' Presentation to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel
Centre's executive vice president speaks on pricing flexibility and the Schedules' notorious Price Reduction Clause.  6/27/2008

Barbara Kinosky's Presentation to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel
Centre's president speaks on time and materials and performance-based contracts.  6/27/2008

Federal Government Contractors Must E-Verify Workers, by Michelle Sherman
On June 9, 2008, President George W. Bush amended Executive Order 12989 to require that federal government contractors use an electronic system to verify workers’ employment eligibility. Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security, has designated E-Verify as the system of choice.  6/20/2008

Federal Contracts to the Web, Presidential Candidates Demand, by Jason Lee-Bakke
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL), along with Toms Coburn [R-OK] and Carper [D-DE], are cosponsors of a bill that would require federal agencies to post searchable federal contracts to USASpending.gov.  6/13/2008

GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel Meetings To Be Open to Public, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
The GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Advisory Panel will hold public meetings on June 16, June 17, July 21, and August 18. To make these meetings as productive and useful as possible, the panel is requesting feedback and comments from all MAS program stakeholders, including schedule contract holders, program managers, and contracting officers.  6/6/2008

How Would You Define a “Nontraditional Defense Contractor?”, by Brian Caney, Esq.
In a move with the potential to garner serious interest from government contractors not regular participants in Department of Defense (DOD) procurements, DOD is exploring how to expand contract opportunities for “nontraditional defense contractors.”  4/27/2008

Proposed FAR Rule for Comment: Past Performance Process Revisions
The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council are proposing to amend the FAR to revise the contractor performance information process.  4/14/2008

FY 2008 Maximum Benchmark Compensation Amount Announced, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy of the Office of Management and Budget published notice of its determination of the maximum benchmark compensation amount (“MBCA”) allowable under government contracts for fiscal year 2008: $612,196.  4/7/2008

OPM Memorandum on Use of Advisory and Assistance Service Contracts and Waiver Authority
Section 834 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, Public Law 109-364, requires the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Department of Defense to report separately to Congress on the use of advisory and assistance services (A&AS) contracts. In addition, section 834 authorizes the head of an agency to issue a waiver to extend a task order contract for A&AS contracts for a period of not more than ten years if the agency head makes certain written determinations. However, section 834 prohibits the issuance of a waiver if certain data, on the use of A&AS, is not submitted to Congress by April 1, 2007.  4/1/2008

A-76 Cost Factor Adjusted Downward, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Office of Management and Budget recently announced that it was adjusting the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor used to compute the estimated cost of government performance in public-private competitions conducted pursuant to OMB Circular A-76.  3/29/2008

GSA Announces Changes in Per Diem Rates, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The General Services Administration (GSA) gave notice of a change in per diem rates for travel, meal, and incidental (M&I) expenses for certain locations in Alabama, California, Illinois, Missouri, New York (notably Queens), and Texas.  3/13/2008

Lying to the Government Still a Bad Idea, by Jason Lee-Bakke
A contractor that misrepresented itself in its proposals was ordered to pay triple damages plus $11,000 on each of four DOD contracts under U.S. ex rel. Longhi v. Lithium Power Technologies.  2/29/2008

SDB Price Evaluation Preference Suspended for all DoD Acquisitions, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Department of Defense published official notice that the 10 percent price preference afforded to Small Disadvantaged Businesses in certain DoD acquisitions would be suspended for at least one year.   2/22/2008

Home Office Expense Accounting Standard To Be Revised, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
On February 13, the Cost Accounting Standards Board (the “Board”), Office of Federal Procurement Policy of the OMB posted notice of intent to revise the thirty five (35) year old Cost Accounting Standard (CAS) 403, entitled ‘‘Allocation of Home Office Expenses to Segments.’’  2/17/2008

Waterboarding Controversy Draws More Focus on the Issue of What Constitutes an Inherently Governmental Function, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
While the trend in government contracting has undeniably been in favor of outsourcing of commercial services, the issue of what constitutes an “inherently governmental function” that cannot (or should not) be outsourced continues to be a hot button issue.   2/11/2008

GAO Releases Report on Pass-Through Charges at DoD, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
“We are recommending that as DOD finalizes its rule on avoiding excessive pass-through charges and develops guidance for assessing contractor value added, DOD (1) require contracting officials to take contract risk into account when determining the level of assessment needed, (2) require assessments of contractor value added be documented, and (3) involve DCAA and DCMA in facilitating assessments as appropriate.”  1/28/2008

FOIA: Twenty Days or Less or It’s Free?, by Brian Caney, Esq.
Right before the beginning of the New Year, President Bush signed the “Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National (OPEN) Government Act,” a much-needed FOIA reform bill.  1/15/2008

And So the Acquisition Workforce Waits, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
One federal contracting issue where consensus seems to exist among industry, government and policy makers alike is the need for government-wide training of acquisition workforce personnel, particularly for those at the beginning of their years of service in the field.  1/2/2008

Contractor, Convict Thyself, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
Nestled quietly within the subparts and sub-subparts of the proposed “contractor ethics” rule change to the FAR recently published in the Federal Register is language that should give both officers and directors of larger contractors and aficionados of constitutional law alike sleepless nights in the months to come.  12/11/2007

Recent Executive Order to Affect Federal Policy Dramatically, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
Drowned out by the cacophony of wartime politics and electoral seat-shifting, a quiet announcement recently issued from Pennsylvania Avenue may reverberate long and loudly into the future.  2/2/2007

Preview page one of the January 2007 issue of Centre Pointe
FAR councils issue rules on time-and-materials contracts: Implications for GSA contracting unclear… To subscribe to Centre Pointe, CLICK HERE or call 703-288-2800, ext. 231.  1/25/2007

New FAR and DFAR Rules Governing Subcontractor Labor Put Profit Back in the Spotlight
Recent amendments to FAR and DFAR rules will affect the manner in which federal prime contractors will price labor rates when using subcontract labor on future time and material and labor hour contracts, especially if they intend to make any profit on such subcontract labor.  1/12/2007

Small Business Size Regulations
The U.S. Small Business Administration is amending its regulations to address the time at which size is determined for the purposes of long-term federal contracts. SBA is also amending its 8(a) Business Development regulations to address when a business concern may receive orders as an 8(a) program participant under GSA’s MAS Program and other multiple award contracts.  11/16/2006

Is the Latest Acquisition Reform Battle Irrelevant?, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
Regardless of criticism, the latest acquisition reforms that focus upon changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations may be rendered irrelevant by a shrinking and poorly trained federal acquisition workforce.  8/21/2006

New Legislation Aims to Heavily Regulate Purchase Card Usage, by Brian Caney, Esq.
The Senate unanimously passed an amended version of the Purchase Card Waste Elimination Act of 2006. This measure aims to “increase oversight and training for the use of federal purchase cards, in an effort to rein in reported spending abuses and boost the utilization of small businesses in government micro-purchases.”  6/9/2006

Considerations on Limitations Permutations, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
Law.com defines a “statute of limitation” in part as “a law which sets the maximum period which one can wait before filing a lawsuit, depending on the type of case or claim.” Nothing in the law could appear to be simpler, especially when the claim in question would be based on a contract—just determine when the breach occurred, look up the statutory “maximum period” and do the math.  6/5/2006

Section 803 Finally Lands—Now What Does It Mean?, by Jim Phillips, Esq.
The Department of Defense issued its final rule implementing Section 803 of the FY 2002 Defense Authorization Act. Section 803 required DOD to issue regulations to require greater competition when placing orders for services in excess of $100,000 under multiple award contracts.  1/15/2003

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Protests/Claims

Air Force Tanker Contract to Be Rebid, by Jason Lee-Bakke
The Pentagon will rebid the bane of the Air Force: the $40 billion contract for aerial tankers that was awarded to Northrop and EADS, and then successfully protested by Boeing, the Washington Post reports.  7/9/2008

Alliant Contract Bid Protest Brings Alliant IT Work to an Abrupt Halt, by Charles Curran, Esq.
Are you still attaching talismanic significance to technical calculations that suffer from false precision? Apparently, you are not alone. In concluding that the GSA had done exactly that (slip op. at 3) in awarding its Alliant IT contract to twenty-eight “presumptive awardees,” Judge Allegra of the United States Court of Federal Claims upheld the protest of eight unsuccessful offerors and ordered further work under the awarded contracts immediately halted.  3/10/2008

False Claims Act Liability: It Could Happen to YOU, Not Just Your Company!, by Brian Caney, Esq.
Like with many pieces of seemingly well-intentioned and worthy legislation, courts that interpret the Act often take things too far and venture away from the true intent and policy behind the Act. In no context is this truer than the potential for you, as an individual, to be held liable for false claims that you submitted in your capacity as an owner, director, officer, and/or general signatory of your company.  1/15/2007

Reforms of Circular A-76 Award Decision Appeal Rights Ahead?, by Brian Caney, Esq.
On June 29, the House approved Amendment 1169 as part of the Fiscal Year 2007 Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations bill. The Amendment prohibits agencies covered under the Bill from using appropriated funds to outsource federal jobs under processes set forth in the Office of Management and Budget’s Circular A-76.  7/14/2006

Funding Contract ADR—More Important Than Ever, by Barbara Kinosky, Esq.
The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Working Group has assembled an excellent array of resources accessible on the internet promoting the use of ADR. However, participants who worked in the Group also have full-time jobs within the government.  12/1/2001

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Other Procurement News

Federal Agencies May Use Current Fiscal Year Dollars to Pay for Training in the Next, by James Phillips, Esq.
As we approach the end of fiscal year, we frequently encounter questions from both government and industry regarding the conditions under which federal agencies may authorize payment in advance of contract work. The circumstances under which advance payments are authorized are very limited, but a significant exception exists—fees and expenses expended by federal agencies to train their employees.  8/15/2008

Are You Ready for E-Verify?, By Chris Johnson, Esq.
A proposed change in the Federal Acquisition Regulation will require most prime and subcontractors (through mandatory subcontractor flowdown requirements) to begin using the E-Verify system of the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service to confirm the legal status of employees working on federal contracts.  7/30/2008

House Judiciary Committee Amends/Approves Changes to False Claims Act, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
After amending the companion bill that was approved by a Senate panel, the House Judiciary Committee approved the False Claims Act Correction Act of 2007 (H.R. 4854)—the proposed legislation that aims to correct perceived flaws in the False Claims Act.  7/25/2008

Air Force Tanker Contract to Be Rebid, by Jason Lee-Bakke
The Pentagon will rebid the bane of the Air Force: the $40 billion contract for aerial tankers that was awarded to Northrop and EADS, and then successfully protested by Boeing, the Washington Post reports.  7/9/2008

Jim Phillips' Presentation to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel
Centre's executive vice president speaks on pricing flexibility and the Schedules' notorious Price Reduction Clause.  6/27/2008

Federal Government Contractors Must E-Verify Workers, by Michelle Sherman
On June 9, 2008, President George W. Bush amended Executive Order 12989 to require that federal government contractors use an electronic system to verify workers’ employment eligibility. Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland Security, has designated E-Verify as the system of choice.  6/20/2008

Federal Contracts to the Web, Presidential Candidates Demand, by Jason Lee-Bakke
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Barack Obama (D-IL), along with Toms Coburn [R-OK] and Carper [D-DE], are cosponsors of a bill that would require federal agencies to post searchable federal contracts to USASpending.gov.  6/13/2008

GSA Multiple Award Schedule Advisory Panel Meetings To Be Open to Public, by Brian C. Caney, Esq.
The GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Advisory Panel will hold public meetings on June 16, June 17, July 21, and August 18. To make these meetings as productive and useful as possible, the panel is requesting feedback and comments from all MAS program stakeholders, including schedule contract holders, program managers, and contracting officers.  6/6/2008

Alleged Bribe Investigation Detains Two BAE Executives on U.S. Soil, by Michelle Sherman
Two top executives of BAE Systems, the British aerospace and defense behemoth, were detained by U.S. authorities and questioned regarding corrupt arms deals with Saudi Arabia on May 12, 2008.   5/22/2008

Centre Launches GSA Schedules Certification Program, Returns to Federal News Radio, by Jason Lee-Bakke
The National Contract Management Association and Centre Consulting, Inc.’s Federal Contracting Institute have launched the certificate program for GSA multiple-award schedule professionals. Centre’s own Barbara Kinosky and Neal Couture spoke with Federal News Radio about the program. Listen to the interview after the jump.  5/16/2008

Bloch Buster in the Making?, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
While the news of the FBI’s raid on the office and home of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch on May 7, 2008, may not be headline news outside of Washington’s Beltway, the intrigue surrounding the infighting between two Executive Branch agencies of the federal government is causing quite a stir inside the federal city.   5/9/2008

Goodbye to All That, by Lucy Hunt
This week, the procurement community sadly bade farewell to GSA Administrator Lurita Doan, who resigned Wednesday. She sure kept things interesting, with her designer suits and powerful Shakespearean rhetoric.  5/2/2008

How Would You Define a “Nontraditional Defense Contractor?”, by Brian Caney, Esq.
In a move with the potential to garner serious interest from government contractors not regular participants in Department of Defense (DOD) procurements, DOD is exploring how to expand contract opportunities for “nontraditional defense contractors.”  4/27/2008

Proposed FAR Rule for Comment: Past Performance Process Revisions
The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council are proposing to amend the FAR to revise the contractor performance information process.  4/14/2008

FY 2008 Maximum Benchmark Compensation Amount Announced, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy of the Office of Management and Budget published notice of its determination of the maximum benchmark compensation amount (“MBCA”) allowable under government contracts for fiscal year 2008: $612,196.  4/7/2008

OPM Memorandum on Use of Advisory and Assistance Service Contracts and Waiver Authority
Section 834 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, Public Law 109-364, requires the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Department of Defense to report separately to Congress on the use of advisory and assistance services (A&AS) contracts. In addition, section 834 authorizes the head of an agency to issue a waiver to extend a task order contract for A&AS contracts for a period of not more than ten years if the agency head makes certain written determinations. However, section 834 prohibits the issuance of a waiver if certain data, on the use of A&AS, is not submitted to Congress by April 1, 2007.  4/1/2008

A-76 Cost Factor Adjusted Downward, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Office of Management and Budget recently announced that it was adjusting the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor used to compute the estimated cost of government performance in public-private competitions conducted pursuant to OMB Circular A-76.  3/29/2008

GSA Announces Changes in Per Diem Rates, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The General Services Administration (GSA) gave notice of a change in per diem rates for travel, meal, and incidental (M&I) expenses for certain locations in Alabama, California, Illinois, Missouri, New York (notably Queens), and Texas.  3/13/2008

Alliant Contract Bid Protest Brings Alliant IT Work to an Abrupt Halt, by Charles Curran, Esq.
Are you still attaching talismanic significance to technical calculations that suffer from false precision? Apparently, you are not alone. In concluding that the GSA had done exactly that (slip op. at 3) in awarding its Alliant IT contract to twenty-eight “presumptive awardees,” Judge Allegra of the United States Court of Federal Claims upheld the protest of eight unsuccessful offerors and ordered further work under the awarded contracts immediately halted.  3/10/2008

Lying to the Government Still a Bad Idea, by Jason Lee-Bakke
A contractor that misrepresented itself in its proposals was ordered to pay triple damages plus $11,000 on each of four DOD contracts under U.S. ex rel. Longhi v. Lithium Power Technologies.  2/29/2008

SDB Price Evaluation Preference Suspended for all DoD Acquisitions, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
The Department of Defense published official notice that the 10 percent price preference afforded to Small Disadvantaged Businesses in certain DoD acquisitions would be suspended for at least one year.   2/22/2008

Home Office Expense Accounting Standard To Be Revised, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
On February 13, the Cost Accounting Standards Board (the “Board”), Office of Federal Procurement Policy of the OMB posted notice of intent to revise the thirty five (35) year old Cost Accounting Standard (CAS) 403, entitled ‘‘Allocation of Home Office Expenses to Segments.’’  2/17/2008

GAO Releases Report on Pass-Through Charges at DoD, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
“We are recommending that as DOD finalizes its rule on avoiding excessive pass-through charges and develops guidance for assessing contractor value added, DOD (1) require contracting officials to take contract risk into account when determining the level of assessment needed, (2) require assessments of contractor value added be documented, and (3) involve DCAA and DCMA in facilitating assessments as appropriate.”  1/28/2008

OMB Launches USASpending.gov, Those in the Know Yawn, by Jason Lee-Bakke
Much has been made of OMB’s ahead-of-schedule launch of FedSpending.gov, a web-accessible database containing all federal government spending data. While any project completed on time should be cheered, the site, mandated by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, hardly brings anything new to the table, and there are manifold other options for obtaining this data.  1/23/2008

And So the Acquisition Workforce Waits, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
One federal contracting issue where consensus seems to exist among industry, government and policy makers alike is the need for government-wide training of acquisition workforce personnel, particularly for those at the beginning of their years of service in the field.  1/2/2008

Final Rule Reporting on Contractor Ethics Gets Confused Treatment, by Jason Lee-Bakke
A final rule amending the FAR requires large-contract holders to act with honesty and integrity, codify their ethics policy, and in some cases, implement internal controls and training was announced on November 23, 2007. In an e-mail interview with GovExec, Paul Denett, federal procurement policy administrator at OMB, wrote, “These rules move us from well-established principles of contractor self-governance and voluntary disclosure to contractual requirements and mandatory disclosure.”  12/5/2007

Protest Sustained Based Upon Flawed Evaluation and Improper Source Selection: Are More Successful FSS Buy Protests To Come?, by Brian Caney, Esq.
GAO recently sustained a protest filed by Glasslock, Inc. regarding a Federal Supply Schedule task order award issued by the Environmental Protection.   11/23/2007

Waiting for the WOSB Program (Or Will Godot Get Here First?), by Charlie Curran, Esq.
On December 21, 2000, Congress enacted the Equity in Contracting for Women Act of 200, 15 U.S.C. § 637(m), legislation which authorized the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to establish a procurement program targeted in favor of women-owned small businesses, to be known as the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Assistance Program (the “WOSB Program”). The final regulation implementing the WOSB Program is still yet to be released to the public, to the great consternation of WOSB advocates and business owners alike. Recent events indicate that we might not have too much longer to wait however. Or will we?  11/16/2007

Whither FitNet?, by Lucy Hunt
Regular readers of this blog will recall recent efforts to require that task orders between $3K and $100K on GSA schedules be set aside for small businesses. The Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. sect. 644(j) (2000), requires all orders in that price range to be set aside, while the language of the FAR seems to exempt GSA task orders from the set-aside requirement.   11/9/2007

Supreme Court to Decide If False Claims Act Covers Subcontractors, by Barbara Kinosky, Esq.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that will decide whether the government can collect penalties from subcontractors who commit fraud under a government contract.   11/1/2007

Changes to SBA Contracting Programs May Be Coming, by Brian Caney, Esq.
On October 18, the House Small Business Committee voted in favor of the Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act of 2007 (HR 3867), which is intended to improve small business social-economic programs that assist women, service-disabled veterans, and other small disadvantaged businesses.   10/27/2007

Federal Contracting Workforce Survey, by Brian Caney, Esq.
The results of the 2007 Federal Contracting Workforce Competencies Survey have been released by OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Federal Acquisition Institute. Receiving most of the media attention is respondents’ indication that training is required on project management, government requirements definition and performance-based acquisition, contract administration requirements, performance management and metrics, negotiation skills, strategic planning, and resolution of contract disputes and closeouts.  10/26/2007

Contracting Shift at DoD, by Jim Phillips, Esq.
DOD has completed a study of its spending and plans to reduce its reliance on so-called “assistingagencies,” such as GSA and DOI, the Federal Times reported yesterday, October 19.   10/19/2007

Contractors Beware-OCI Issues Lead to Potential False Claims Liability, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
A recent decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (the “USDC”) reinforces the need for contractors to stay on top of their contract requirements to promptly notify their government customers of potential organizational conflicts of interest (“OCI’) that arise during performance.   10/5/2007

Congratulations on Surviving the Fiscal Year End –Now What?, by Jim Phillips, Esq.
As I write this entry, it is the last Friday of the fiscal year and, with the exception of poor souls that must spend the weekend completing year end tasks, the next time we return to our offices, Fiscal Year 08 will be underway. And with that I can’t help wondering “what will the new year bring?” So I thought I’d write down and share what I believe will be some of the hot button issues for FY ’08.   9/28/2007

2007 State of the Union Address: Implications for Government Contractors?, by Lucy Hunt
State of the Union addresses aren’t what they used to be. Take James Monroe’s 1823 address of 1823, delivered when your blogger was just a young girl.  1/29/2007

New Legislation Aims for More Public Disclosure of Federal Contract Information, by Brian Caney, Esq.
On September 9, 2006, a bipartisan group of House and Senate members announced that they have reached an agreement on a fiscal transparency bill regarding federal contracts, which will create a publicly accessible database that will track federal contract awards and grants.  9/13/2006

Is the Latest Acquisition Reform Battle Irrelevant?, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
Regardless of criticism, the latest acquisition reforms that focus upon changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations may be rendered irrelevant by a shrinking and poorly trained federal acquisition workforce.  8/21/2006

More Performance Based Contracting Training Needed!, by Chris Johnson, Esq.
A government-wide review of performance-based contracts offers further evidence that, absent additional training, it will be difficult to meet the Office of Management and Budget’s mandatory quotas for implementing performance based contracts.  6/30/2006

Considerations on Limitations Permutations, by Charlie Curran, Esq.
Law.com defines a “statute of limitation” in part as “a law which sets the maximum period which one can wait before filing a lawsuit, depending on the type of case or claim.” Nothing in the law could appear to be simpler, especially when the claim in question would be based on a contract—just determine when the breach occurred, look up the statutory “maximum period” and do the math.  6/5/2006

Immigration Debate Continues to Impact Federal Contractors, by Brian Caney, Esq.
While the more publicized aspects of the President’s plan to overhaul America’s immigration laws include a plan to deploy the National Guard to the U.S. Mexico border and the establishment of a guest-worker program, federal contractors will also have the opportunity to capitalize on the continuing immigration debate.  5/19/2006

Sector Shifting, by Barbara Kinosky, Esq.
A company considering whether to market itself predominantly to either the public or private sector will want to weigh the pros and cons of each.  6/20/2004

Seven Steps to Bullet Proof Your Source Selection Decision, by Jim Phillips, Esq.
1. Verify that all evaluations of offerors were conducted in accordance with the stated evaluation criteria. 2. Review all Technical Evaluations to ensure consistency in the treatment of offerors and establish that all assigned weaknesses and strengths are documented.  1/15/2004

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