Government Contracts Monitor

Short Take: NIST Special Publication 800-171 Proposes New Cybersecurity Guidelines for Contractors

December 16, 2014

The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently issued a draft of Special Publication 800-171, “Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations.”  The new document contains security requirements applicable “to nonfederal information systems (or components of nonfederal systems) and organizations that process, store, or transmit…

Short Take: The Continuing Rise of False Claims Act Recoveries

December 9, 2014

On November 20, 2014 the Department of Justice announced that it recovered nearly $6 billion from False Claims Act cases during Fiscal Year 2014, cresting $5 billion for the first time ever.  Acting Associate Attorney General Delery stated that "these figures result not only from large individual matters, but from a continuous commitment year after year to pursue those who defraud taxpayers…

2015 NDAA Likely to Require Reporting of Cyber Incidents by Certain Contractors; Potential Impact Remains Unclear

December 9, 2014

Last week, members of the House and Senate agreed to retain draft language in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (2015 NDAA) bill that would amend Title 10 of the U.S. Code to require “operationally critical” Defense contractors to promptly report “cyber incidents” to the Department of Defense (DoD).  The proposed statutory change comes as a result of a yearlong Senate committee…

Big Changes on the Horizon for ZPIC Contractors

December 2, 2014

Two years after a report critical of how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addresses potential conflicts of interest (COIs) when choosing Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPICs), the chickens are finally coming home to roost – with extreme prejudice.  In July 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report…

Defending Size Protests, Part I: Overview

December 2, 2014

Much has been written, including on this blog, about filing size protests.  However, less attention is paid to an equally important subject – namely, defending size protests.  This article, the first in what will be a five-part series on defending size protests, provides an overview of size protests.  Future articles will address (i) the importance of advance consideration and…

Buy American – What Can A Government Contractor Deliver?

December 2, 2014

Many government contractors and subcontractors ask the question, “What does ‘Buy American’ mean?”  Unfortunately, Buy American refers to number of complex statutory and regulatory schemes that impose different requirements. One thing is certain, however:  whether you are conducting business with the federal government directly, as a prime contractor, or indirectly, as a subcontractor,…

Short Take: The Slow Death of Cost Reimbursement Contracts

November 25, 2014

Contracting personnel are required to obtain approval of cost reimbursement contracts at least one level above the contracting officer. FAC 2005-50 states “the contracting officer shall document the rationale for selecting the contract type in the written acquisition plan and ensure that the plan is approved and signed at least one level above the contracting officer.” The documentation must…

Protest Phobia – Propelling Poor Procurement

November 25, 2014

Agencies are in the hot seat when it comes to protests.  First, it’s the Contracting Officer’s (CO’s) job to prevent a protest from being filed and, second, if a protest is filed, it’s the CO’s job, working with agency procurement counsel, to make sure the protest is not successful.  But is the fear of protests driving agencies to make bad decisions?  We think so.

The most common…

You Say Responsibility, GAO Says Acceptability, Let’s Call the Protest Off

November 25, 2014

Just because a small business award involves security clearance issues does not automatically mean there is a “responsibility matter” that must be referred to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for a Certificate of Competency (COC) determination.  Sometimes, as in the recent case of MT & Associates, LLC, B-410066 (October 17, 2014), the protestor simply fails to convince the agency…

Size Protests – Beware: Your Protest Deadline May Be Triggered by Indirect Notice

November 18, 2014

A recent decision by the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) reminds potential size protestors that the “notice” triggering the five business day size protest period in a negotiated procurement does not have to be in writing, nor does it have to come from the cognizant contracting officer (CO), and may even be indirect, including by published announcements,…

DCAA Wants Your Internal Audit Reports – But Why?

November 18, 2014

Defense companies often conduct internal audits to ensure the integrity of their business systems. These internal audits may contain information about company operations and internal controls related to the performance of government contracts. Many defense contractors are not willing to share their internal audit reports with the government, and for good reasons.

Section 832 of the National…

If You See Smoke, Check for Fire

November 18, 2014

Given the FAR 9.103(b) mandate that “no purchase or award shall be made unless the contracting officer makes an affirmative determination of responsibility,” FCi Federal, Inc. (FCi) was surprised when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded a $210 million contract to FCi’s competitor, USIS PSD. Why? Because  the award came after a flurry of media reports containing allegations of…