The Procurement Playbook

2018 was another banner year for government contract cybersecurity requirements.  Reports separately released by OMB and MITRE suggest that risks for cyber intrusions remain as prevalent as ever, if not more so.  Accordingly, dozens of statutory, regulatory, and agency guidance memoranda on this critical subject were released in 2018 and more are expected to come in 2019, and beyond, as those measures are fleshed out for further development and implementation.

One of these more significant developments is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) increased emphasis on maintaining supply chain integrity for cybersecurity risks.  In this regard, the DFARS Safeguarding Clause 252.204-7012, which applies in all DoD procurements, governs the protection of covered defense information provided to or generated by defense contractors.  In particular, the Clause requires contractors that access covered defense information to take precautions to protect this information.  It also requires that contractors who access this information report cyber incidents, submit malicious software to the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, and facilitate a damages assessment in the event of a cyber incident.  The Clause also defines covered defense information to be unclassified controlled technical information or other information marked as such in the contract, or collected, developed, received, transmitted, used, or stored on behalf of the contractor in support of the performance of the contract.

To help you navigate the rough seas of doing business with the federal government in the Trump administration, we have assembled nationally recognized practitioners who will cover topics relevant to government contractors across all industries. Session topics include: The Small Business World – What’s Happened and What’s Happening? David Yang, […]

Perhaps the greatest risk in a federal construction project is the risk of the unknown.  This is especially true in the case of a fixed price project where the majority of the risk is on the contractor who has agreed to do the job for a fixed price, which generally includes […]

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 […]

It is not uncommon for government contractors to have one or more related companies (e.g., parent/subsidiary companies) involved in the industry.  One way the government keeps track of such related entities is to utilize Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) codes.  These codes are used for a variety of purposes, including facility clearances. […]

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the recently issued case of United States ex. rel. Rose v. Stephens Institute (Rose) held that the two-step test of Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar (Escobar) is mandatory in implied false certification cases brought under the False Claims […]