March 17, 2019
GAO Sustains Limiting the Number of Projects Allocable to a Mentor’s Experience, but Rejects Treating a Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture Differently than a Prime/Subcontractor Contractor Teaming Agreement.
One of the principal advantages of an approved Mentor/Protégé Agreement (MPA) is that the Mentor and Protégé can enter into a joint venture (JV) that can compete as small for any contract for…
March 6, 2019
A recent protest demonstrates why it is not sufficient for a disappointed offeror to challenge an agency’s award as improper solely because the agency relaxed or waived a material solicitation requirement in evaluating the awardee’s proposal and thus the awardee’s proposal was deficient. Such a challenge, in order to succeed, must include another key element: demonstrated prejudice to the …
February 24, 2019
On January 31, 2019 President Trump signed yet another Executive Order addressing Buy American issues: Buy American, Hire American [here]. This Order requires that federal agencies purchase U.S. goods and services in any and all infrastructure projects including, interestingly, cybersecurity projects. Among other things, this recent Order underscores the Trump Administration’s policy of enforcing…
February 14, 2019
Every awardee under qualifying federal government service contracts faces difficult issues and choices under Executive Order 13495, “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers under Service Contracts,” and the implementing Department of Labor (DOL) Regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 9, which require awardees to offer incumbent employees “a right of first refusal for employment under the contract in…
February 6, 2019
As the GAO recently determined, and the Court of Federal Claims affirmed, an offeror who finds itself in a position of having to modify key personnel specified in its proposal, after the deadline for proposal submission, may end up with an unacceptable proposal. If an agency notified offerors that it might award without discussions, an offeror will not be able to "re-open" the proposal process to…
January 31, 2019
The Treasury Department has announced that the Prompt Payment Act (“PPA”) interest rate increased to 3.625% per annum for the first half of 2019 – i.e., January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019. This interest rate is used to calculate the interest penalty payable by the Government when it fails to timely pay contractors for goods and services, as well as interest due under the Contract Disputes Act…
January 23, 2019
Sometimes diligence on the part of a disappointed offeror pays off. An instance where diligence was rewarded was addressed recently by the General Accountability Office in the Miltope protest, decided January 8, 2019.
Miltope protested its exclusion from the competitive range under a request for proposals (RFP) issued by the Department of the Army for multipurpose automatic test equipment,…
January 17, 2019
In December 2018 – just before Christmas – the Senate approved, and the President signed into law, the so-called “Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018,” Pub. L. No. 115-324 (the “Act” or “statute”). This statute extends the three-year reference period for calculating a revenue-based small business’s size status to five years. This Act was intended – as implied by its name – to extend the…
January 17, 2019
New Statute Extends Small Business Size Standard Reference Period to Five (from Three) Years, Enabling More Companies to Qualify as Small
In December 2018 – just before Christmas – the Senate approved, and the President signed into law, the so-called “Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018,” Pub. L. No. 115-324 (the “Act” or “statute”). This statute extends the three-year reference period for…
January 9, 2019
The Department of Defense (“DoD”) recently proposed a new rule (click here) that would restrict the use of the lowest price technically acceptable (“LPTA”) source selection method. The rule will apply to FAR Part 15 negotiated procurements, Federal Supply Schedule orders, commercial item acquisitions, simplified acquisitions, and orders against multiple award indefinite delivery contracts. The…
January 2, 2019
Happy New Year! The start of a new year is the time for New Year’s Resolutions. Here are several we strongly urge you to follow-through on early in 2019.
1. Reassess Your (and Any Subcontractors’) Small Business Size Status: Most companies operate on a calendar year for tax reporting purposes. For such companies the start of a new tax year, and the end of the prior year, means a change and…
December 20, 2018
As recently as yesterday morning, I had shelved this article for at least a couple of more months. However, developments yesterday significantly increased the likelihood of a partial Federal Government shut-down at midnight tonight, causing me to resurrect and publish this today. As you no doubt know, President Trump has been threatening a possible shut-down since last year if he does not get his…
March 17, 2019
GAO Sustains Limiting the Number of Projects Allocable to a Mentor’s Experience, but Rejects Treating a Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture Differently than a Prime/Subcontractor Contractor Teaming Agreement.
One of the principal advantages of an approved Mentor/Protégé Agreement (MPA) is that the Mentor and Protégé can enter into a joint venture (JV) that can compete as small for any contract for…
March 6, 2019
A recent protest demonstrates why it is not sufficient for a disappointed offeror to challenge an agency’s award as improper solely because the agency relaxed or waived a material solicitation requirement in evaluating the awardee’s proposal and thus the awardee’s proposal was deficient. Such a challenge, in order to succeed, must include another key element: demonstrated prejudice to the …
February 24, 2019
On January 31, 2019 President Trump signed yet another Executive Order addressing Buy American issues: Buy American, Hire American [here]. This Order requires that federal agencies purchase U.S. goods and services in any and all infrastructure projects including, interestingly, cybersecurity projects. Among other things, this recent Order underscores the Trump Administration’s policy of enforcing…
February 14, 2019
Every awardee under qualifying federal government service contracts faces difficult issues and choices under Executive Order 13495, “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers under Service Contracts,” and the implementing Department of Labor (DOL) Regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 9, which require awardees to offer incumbent employees “a right of first refusal for employment under the contract in…
February 6, 2019
As the GAO recently determined, and the Court of Federal Claims affirmed, an offeror who finds itself in a position of having to modify key personnel specified in its proposal, after the deadline for proposal submission, may end up with an unacceptable proposal. If an agency notified offerors that it might award without discussions, an offeror will not be able to "re-open" the proposal process to…
January 31, 2019
The Treasury Department has announced that the Prompt Payment Act (“PPA”) interest rate increased to 3.625% per annum for the first half of 2019 – i.e., January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019. This interest rate is used to calculate the interest penalty payable by the Government when it fails to timely pay contractors for goods and services, as well as interest due under the Contract Disputes Act…
January 23, 2019
Sometimes diligence on the part of a disappointed offeror pays off. An instance where diligence was rewarded was addressed recently by the General Accountability Office in the Miltope protest, decided January 8, 2019.
Miltope protested its exclusion from the competitive range under a request for proposals (RFP) issued by the Department of the Army for multipurpose automatic test equipment,…
January 17, 2019
In December 2018 – just before Christmas – the Senate approved, and the President signed into law, the so-called “Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018,” Pub. L. No. 115-324 (the “Act” or “statute”). This statute extends the three-year reference period for calculating a revenue-based small business’s size status to five years. This Act was intended – as implied by its name – to extend the…
January 17, 2019
New Statute Extends Small Business Size Standard Reference Period to Five (from Three) Years, Enabling More Companies to Qualify as Small
In December 2018 – just before Christmas – the Senate approved, and the President signed into law, the so-called “Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018,” Pub. L. No. 115-324 (the “Act” or “statute”). This statute extends the three-year reference period for…
January 9, 2019
The Department of Defense (“DoD”) recently proposed a new rule (click here) that would restrict the use of the lowest price technically acceptable (“LPTA”) source selection method. The rule will apply to FAR Part 15 negotiated procurements, Federal Supply Schedule orders, commercial item acquisitions, simplified acquisitions, and orders against multiple award indefinite delivery contracts. The…
January 2, 2019
Happy New Year! The start of a new year is the time for New Year’s Resolutions. Here are several we strongly urge you to follow-through on early in 2019.
1. Reassess Your (and Any Subcontractors’) Small Business Size Status: Most companies operate on a calendar year for tax reporting purposes. For such companies the start of a new tax year, and the end of the prior year, means a change and…
December 20, 2018
As recently as yesterday morning, I had shelved this article for at least a couple of more months. However, developments yesterday significantly increased the likelihood of a partial Federal Government shut-down at midnight tonight, causing me to resurrect and publish this today. As you no doubt know, President Trump has been threatening a possible shut-down since last year if he does not get his…
