The Procurement Playbook

The Section 809 Panel, which is tasked with developing and providing recommendations to improve and enhance the efficiency of the Department of Defense procurement system, issued the third volume of its report and recommendations Jan. 15, 2019.  Among the numerous recommendations for streamlining DoD acquisitions, several of which relate to […]

While domestic preference requirements in federal procurements, namely the Buy America and Buy American Acts, are not new their increased emphasis are.  As has been well publicized, a central focus of the Trump Administration has been to encourage and increase the use of domestically sourced products and materials in connection […]

The partial government shutdown is now the longest running shutdown in history and there is no clear end in sight.  Some 800,000 federal employees have been affected by the shutdown.  They have either been furloughed, or even if they are working, they are going without pay.  However, although affected federal […]

One of the more significant developments in 2018 for both small business primes and large companies with small business subcontractors was the passage of the Small Business Runway Extension Act (the “Act”), which was signed into law December 17, 2018.  The Act, in amending the Small Business Act, increases the […]

One of the biggest differences between federal government and commercial contracting is that certain clauses may be incorporated by reference (and hence controlling) in a federal contract even if the clause was not expressly included in the contract by the parties.  In a departure from the general principle that contracts […]

Following Escobar, the issue of materiality remains at the forefront of False Claims Act motion practice at both the pleadings and judgment stage. Escobar emphasized that the FCA materiality requirement is demanding. In the case of Gilead Sciences, Inc. v. United States Ex Rel. Jeffrey Campie, et al. the respondents, qui […]

As yet another government shutdown looms on the horizon, contractors must again prepare for the ramifications of a shutdown.  At present, the President does not look likely to sign a budget bill unless Congress includes significant appropriations for a border wall which also does not appear likely.  If no compromise […]

If you bid, but lost out, on a solicitation issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), you may be thinking of filing a protest to challenge the award.  However, FAA procurements are unique in the sense that protests of such procurements are not decided by either the U.S. Government Accountability […]

Every manufacturing contract, including construction contracts, with the government contains a myriad of terms and conditions and other requirements, including the numerous provisions set forth in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that are often incorporated expressly or by reference into the contract.  Understandably, contractors focus on the contract’s specifications, schedule, […]

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 […]