Back in December 2013, GAO issued a protest decision involving a battle between the two private space contractors, Blue Origin and SpaceX, to lease Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A – where the majority of Apollo and Space Shuttle missions were launched – from NASA. Read More…
On October 25, 2013, the U.S. General Services Administration (“GSA”) concluded that federal agencies should continue to use third party rating systems to evaluate the performance of federal buildings. Specifically, GSA advocated that agencies use U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED green building rating system or the Green Globes system to advance energy efficiency and to save taxpayers’ money. Read More…
An interim rule, with immediate effect, will amend regulations to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) Federal Contract Program, allowing for increased access to federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses. This change comes as a result of the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) signed in January 2013. Read More…
It comes as a surprise to no one that Congress has wide-ranging ability to place conditions on the federal government’s ability to spend federal dollars. What may surprise some contractors is the effect that Congress’s power via “domestic preference acts” has to limit how the contractor builds a project and what materials it procures to do so. Read More…
Government contractors routinely provide certifications during the contracting process. For example, these certifications ask the contractor to verify that the cost or pricing data or claims submitted are true and honest. Submitting a false claim can create liability under the Federal False Claims Act (“FCA”). See 31 U.S.C. Read More…
As noted in our earlier blog entry, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (“NDAA”), signed by President Obama on January 3, 2013 included significant changes affecting small business contracting. The changes largely came as a result of the House Armed Services Committee special “Panel on Business Challenges in the Defense Industry.”
Under Section 1641, Read More…
Three months into the fiscal year, on January 2, 2013, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2013. Title VIII of NDAA contains many procurement and construction contract related provisions. This post briefly highlights some of the key provisions of the NDAA applicable to those seeking to contract with the federal government. Read More…
It appears that, despite media coverage to the contrary, Congress can agree on something. That something is the ban on federal defense spending for the highest LEED certifications. As we initially discussed here in our August 23, 2011 post, the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012, Read More…