The Procurement Playbook

On June 11, 2021, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Shalanda Young issued a memorandum to heads of executive departments and agencies providing initial guidance regarding the Made in America Office’s (MIAO) implementation of President Biden’s January 25th executive order (EO).  The purpose of the memorandum is […]

In case you missed the webinar, Getting Paid on Government Contracts: Fresh Strategies on Requests for Equitable Adjustments (REAs) & Claims, you can access the slides here. Watch the entire webinar: REAs and Contract Disputes Act (CDA) Claims share many key similarities, but important differences. This webinar will focus on […]

A new, much tougher Buy American final rule soon applies to new solicitations issued by the Government.  The final rule implements former President Trump’s “Maximizing Use of America-Made Goods, Products, and Materials” Executive Order (EO).  Previously we reported on the January 22, 2021 Biden EO, “Buy American Executive Order Doubles […]

FEDERAL CONTRACTS:  THE YEAR IN REVIEW Presented at Navigating Federal Government Contracts Northwest 2020, October 21-22, 2020 BY, JAMES F. NAGLE  [1], OLES MORRISON RINKER & BAKER LLP  (For a PDF version of Federal Contracts: The Year in Review, please click here.)      I.          NEW STATUTES A.    THE NATIONAL […]

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) New Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) released in early 2020, is a new tiered cybersecurity framework that all DoD contractors (both prime and subcontractors) will need to implement. The CMMC adds audits to assure compliance to one of 5  CMMC levels, depending on your contract […]

As this is a fast moving topic, please note that this article is current as at 03/30/20.  On Friday March 27, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Act includes a lifeline for small businesses fighting to keep workers on the payroll during the […]

Cybersecurity is not a new concern, but its attention has grown significantly in recent years due to the increasing sophistication of persistent threats to the defense base from foreign and domestic actors alike.  By some accounts, the USG loses approximately $600 billion each year to cyber-related thefts.  These concerns have been the driver for DoD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) initiative as a necessary means for establishing a unified framework of systems, controls and standards to safeguard national security interests. 

After more than five years in the making, DoD, GSA, and NASA recently issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require contractors and subcontractors to report to the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program (GIDEP) certain counterfeit or suspect counterfeit parts and “common items” with major or critical […]

Today, the SBA issued major proposed rule changes to the HUBZone program. This is the first comprehensive revision to the HUBZone rules since the program’s implementation nearly 20 years ago, and the changes are intended to improve the predictability and stability of the program for participants. In general, to qualify […]

Many politically charged issues are likely to steal the headlines during the confirmation hearings for President Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh.  However, one issue unlikely to make headlines is the impact that Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation may have on the doctrine […]

Six months into Trump’s presidency, we wrote about how Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan was likely to include more federal deregulation, including possible repeal or suspension of the Davis Bacon Act (DBA).  Two months after that article, comments from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee suggested Trump had changed his […]

Despite recent political shifts away from globalization, international trade – particularly U.S. exports – will remain a substantial component of the U.S. economy. Companies doing business in the U.S. and overseas must be up to date on U.S. export control regulations. An important component of these regulations are the Export […]

It seems like a yearly ritual.  The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (“SASC”) drafts and passes a version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) that includes reforms aimed at curtailing bid protests, while the House Armed Services Committee (“HASC”) drafts and passes a version of the NDAA that […]

Back when Congress passed the FY2017 NDAA, they included a provision (Section 1822) requiring SBA to create a pilot program to provide opportunities for qualified subcontractors to obtain past performance ratings. Specifically, Congress mandated that SBA create a 3-year pilot program whereby small business concerns without a past performance rating […]

As we were reviewing the regulatory agendas of various federal agencies for upcoming regulations that might impact federal contractors, we noticed that the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) most recent regulatory agenda included an upcoming proposed regulation entitled “Consolidation of Mentor Protégé Programs and Other Government Contracting Amendments.”  Specifically, SBA’s […]