Government Contracts MonitorProcurement News and AnalysisMore "Robust" Buy American Changes On The WayAugust 20, 2021 On July 30, 2021, the Biden Administration issued a Proposed Rule touted as “the most robust changes to the implementation of the Buy American Act in almost 70 years.” The stated purpose of the rule is to strengthen domestic content requirements and procurement preferences. This rule is the latest in a series of actions by the Biden Administration to reduce reliance on critical components of… Buy Buy Buy America/American Gets A Boost in a New Executive OrderJanuary 29, 2021 Federal law requires government agencies, when acquiring goods and services, to give preferences to American firms. On January 25, 2021, President Biden, as one of his first acts in office, issued "Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers", an Executive Order aimed at strengthening current Buy America provisions and goals. Specifically, the Executive Order:… FAR Council Strengthens Buy American RulesJanuary 29, 2021 While all eyes seem to be on President Biden’s January 25, 2021 Executive Order Strengthening Buy American rules and goals, many have overlooked the January 19, 2021 final rule issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council that makes significant changes to long-standing rules under the Buy American Act. This rule strengthens domestic preferences under the Buy American statute by… Prompt Payment Act & Contract Disputes Act Interest Rate Decreased to 2.125%, Effective 1/1/20January 2, 2020 The Treasury Department has announced that the Prompt Payment Act (“PPA”) and Contract Disputes Act (“CDA”) interest rate is decreasing to 2.125% per annum for the first half of 2020 – i.e., January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. 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… Covered Government Contracts Minimum Wage Increases to $10.80, Effective January 1, 2020October 17, 2019 The Department of Labor (DOL) recently published a Notice [84 Fed. Reg. 49345 (9/19/19)] announcing that, effective January 1, 2020, the minimum hourly wage rate required to be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts, per Executive Order 13658, will increase from the present $10.60 to $10.80. The minimum hourly tipped wage will increase from $7.40 to… Prompt Payment Act & Contract Disputes Act interest rate decreased to 2.625%, effective 7/1/19July 22, 2019 The Treasury Department has announced that the Prompt Payment Act (“PPA”) interest rate decreased to 2.625% per annum for the last half of 2019 – i.e., July 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019. 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 Disputes Act… BYE BYE DUNS - HELLO SAMMIMay 1, 2019 Last month the General Services Administration (GSA) awarded a $41 million, five-year contract to Ernst and Young LLP (EY) to replace Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) as the contractor supplying entity validation services – the well-known, long-standing Data Universal Number System (DUNS). All federal agencies and federal contractors (and grant recipients) – everyone doing any kind of business with the… Wishing All A Happy HolidayApril 18, 2019 Due to Passover, Easter and School Vacation Holidays, the Government Contracts Monitor will not be published this week. It will resume publication next Thursday, April 25, 2019. ©Jackson Kelly PLLC 2019 Exemption 4: Protection of Confidential Information - The Ground May be ShiftingApril 10, 2019 The Supreme Court recently granted a petition for writ of certiorari over (that is, agreed to review) an Eight Circuit decision involving Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). What is Exemption 4? It is the exemption that protects from public disclosure “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential.” Why is this… China's Continuing ThreatApril 3, 2019 Pentagon leaders have been speaking out, increasingly, regarding the risks to U.S. military operations created if and when Chinese technology is used in any military related 5G wireless telecommunications networks. Specifically, officials (former and current) are warning that using Chinese firms (for example, Huawei) to outfit military networks creates a high risk ... indeed a probability ... of… ASBCA Determines Contract Obtained Through Material Misrepresentation Void <em>Ab Initio</em>, Negating Both Contractor and Government Claims Under the Voided ContractMarch 27, 2019 In a no-longer so infrequent scenario, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA or Board) recently held a contract void ab initio where the contract was obtained through material misrepresentation. Specifically, the erstwhile contractor had told the Government that the contractor intended to use its own personnel on-site in Israel, without which representation the Government would not… Will DoD Change How It Procures "Readily Available" Commercial Items?March 21, 2019 The Section 809 Panel has recommended some drastic changes that would impact government contractors doing business with the Department of Defense (DoD). What is the Section 809 Panel? It is a panel created in Section 809 of the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with goals outlined in the NDAA such as: (i) reviewing DoD’s acquisition regulations with a view toward improving the… |
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