August 15, 2016
On August 11, the Office of the Undersecretary for Defense, Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (OUSD/ATL) released its Acquisition Compliance Scorecard for the third quarter of fiscal year 2016. The report analyzed several DoD Agencies’ compliance with procurement regulations in three areas: competition, past performance, and inclusion of the new DFARS clause 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered…
August 1, 2016
The FAR Council recently issued a final rule amending five standard forms prescribed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) for contracts involving bonds and other financial protections. The revisions are aimed at expanding the options for organization types and clarifying liability limitations.
More particularly, the new rule addresses the concerns by surety bond producers that they may be…
July 24, 2016
The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued its final rule significantly revising the General Services Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to add the new transactional data reporting requirement. The rule imposes new reporting requirements on contractors holding certain Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts, Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) and Government-wide Indefinite…
July 18, 2016
On July 14, the DoD, GSA and NASA finalized a rule to amend the FAR, implementing regulatory changes to the federal government’s policy on small business subcontracting. The changes reflect new regulations issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2013 that stemmed from the 2010 Small Business Jobs Act. The final rule, which takes effect November 1, calls for significant changes to the…
July 11, 2016
The Treasury Department has announced in the Federal Register Notice that the Prompt Payment Act interest rate is being decreased to 1-7/8% per annum for the period of July 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. This interest rate is used to calculate the interest penalty paid by the Government when it fails to timely pay contractors for goods and services, as well as interest due under the Contract…
July 5, 2016
Although it may seem unusual, when an agency exercises an option on a contract incorporating the Service Contract Act (SCA), the option is considered a successor contract for the purposes of applying the SCA provisions. In other words, the contractor becomes its own successor, which in some cases may entitle it to a contract price adjustment for increased wages and fringe benefits. As the CBCA…
June 27, 2016
As most federal contractors are well aware, significant contracting opportunities are routinely set aside for small businesses, to the exclusion of large businesses. Confusion remains, however, concerning the concept of affiliation -- and how it can impact whether a given company is eligble for small business set-asides. The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA)…
June 13, 2016
The Seminannual Agenda of Regulations issued by the Department of Labor (DoL) describes the DoL’s plans for implementing the terms of Executive Order (EO) 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors, which the President issued on September 7, 2015. According to the Agenda, the DoL’s final rule should be issued in September, and will require executive departments and agencies to…
June 12, 2016
A recent decision by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) illustrates the importance of properly meeting a solicitation’s requirements in full, to include page limits and font sizes. While these may seem like insignificant details, failure to follow the instructions to the letter can mean the difference between a proposal being evaluated on its technical merits and being eliminated from…
June 6, 2016
On May 18, the Office of the Undersecretary for Defense, Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (OUSD/AT&L) released its Acquisition Compliance Scorecard for the second quarter of fiscal year 2016. The report analyzed several Department of Defense (DoD) Agencies’ compliance with procurement regulations in three areas: competition, past performance, and including the new DFARS clause 252.204-7012,…
June 5, 2016
In the often complicated context of government contracting, it can sometimes be easy to forget basic principles. For example, a contractor awarded a contract with a base period and option years knows that the government’s exercise of the option years is not guaranteed. Still, barring a performance issue, such options are overwhelmingly exercised. Many contractors count on this practical reality…
May 23, 2016
A protest sustained on its merits is always good news for a contractor, and often is accompanied by an award of the costs to pursue the protest. Occasionally, however, a contractor will achieve an even bigger win: not only seeing its protest sustained and recouping its protest costs, but also winning award of its proposal preparation costs. The recent Government Accountability…
August 15, 2016
On August 11, the Office of the Undersecretary for Defense, Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (OUSD/ATL) released its Acquisition Compliance Scorecard for the third quarter of fiscal year 2016. The report analyzed several DoD Agencies’ compliance with procurement regulations in three areas: competition, past performance, and inclusion of the new DFARS clause 252.204-7012, Safeguarding Covered…
August 1, 2016
The FAR Council recently issued a final rule amending five standard forms prescribed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) for contracts involving bonds and other financial protections. The revisions are aimed at expanding the options for organization types and clarifying liability limitations.
More particularly, the new rule addresses the concerns by surety bond producers that they may be…
July 24, 2016
The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued its final rule significantly revising the General Services Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to add the new transactional data reporting requirement. The rule imposes new reporting requirements on contractors holding certain Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contracts, Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs) and Government-wide Indefinite…
July 18, 2016
On July 14, the DoD, GSA and NASA finalized a rule to amend the FAR, implementing regulatory changes to the federal government’s policy on small business subcontracting. The changes reflect new regulations issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2013 that stemmed from the 2010 Small Business Jobs Act. The final rule, which takes effect November 1, calls for significant changes to the…
July 11, 2016
The Treasury Department has announced in the Federal Register Notice that the Prompt Payment Act interest rate is being decreased to 1-7/8% per annum for the period of July 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. This interest rate is used to calculate the interest penalty paid by the Government when it fails to timely pay contractors for goods and services, as well as interest due under the Contract…
July 5, 2016
Although it may seem unusual, when an agency exercises an option on a contract incorporating the Service Contract Act (SCA), the option is considered a successor contract for the purposes of applying the SCA provisions. In other words, the contractor becomes its own successor, which in some cases may entitle it to a contract price adjustment for increased wages and fringe benefits. As the CBCA…
June 27, 2016
As most federal contractors are well aware, significant contracting opportunities are routinely set aside for small businesses, to the exclusion of large businesses. Confusion remains, however, concerning the concept of affiliation -- and how it can impact whether a given company is eligble for small business set-asides. The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA)…
June 13, 2016
The Seminannual Agenda of Regulations issued by the Department of Labor (DoL) describes the DoL’s plans for implementing the terms of Executive Order (EO) 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors, which the President issued on September 7, 2015. According to the Agenda, the DoL’s final rule should be issued in September, and will require executive departments and agencies to…
June 12, 2016
A recent decision by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) illustrates the importance of properly meeting a solicitation’s requirements in full, to include page limits and font sizes. While these may seem like insignificant details, failure to follow the instructions to the letter can mean the difference between a proposal being evaluated on its technical merits and being eliminated from…
June 6, 2016
On May 18, the Office of the Undersecretary for Defense, Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (OUSD/AT&L) released its Acquisition Compliance Scorecard for the second quarter of fiscal year 2016. The report analyzed several Department of Defense (DoD) Agencies’ compliance with procurement regulations in three areas: competition, past performance, and including the new DFARS clause 252.204-7012,…
June 5, 2016
In the often complicated context of government contracting, it can sometimes be easy to forget basic principles. For example, a contractor awarded a contract with a base period and option years knows that the government’s exercise of the option years is not guaranteed. Still, barring a performance issue, such options are overwhelmingly exercised. Many contractors count on this practical reality…
May 23, 2016
A protest sustained on its merits is always good news for a contractor, and often is accompanied by an award of the costs to pursue the protest. Occasionally, however, a contractor will achieve an even bigger win: not only seeing its protest sustained and recouping its protest costs, but also winning award of its proposal preparation costs. The recent Government Accountability…
