March 11, 2013
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) recently announced a major new policy aimed at expanding public access to the results of unclassified, federally funded research. In a new policy memorandum, OSTP Director John Holdren has directed Federal agencies with more than $100 million in R&D expenditures to develop plans to make the published results of such research…
March 7, 2013
A recent Civilian Board of Contract Appeals case confirmed that it will not tolerate tardiness, not even by one day, and that the much-maligned U.S. Postal Service is still the best way to send something to the Board. In Schunck v. General Services Administration, CBCA No. 3079, Mr. Schunck was denied a refund for twelve cameras he bought at a GSA auction. The written notice of…
March 1, 2013
In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (“NDAA FY13”), Congress amended the Small Business Act and fundamentally changed the method for calculating subcontracting limits on small business set-aside contracts. Previously, the SBA regulations (13 C.F.R. § 125.6) and implementing FAR clause 52.219-14 focused on the cost of performance. However, the NDAA FY13…
February 28, 2013
Two years ago OMB issued a memorandum regarding the low percentage of past performance assessments being completed and, as a result, the failure of the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) – the repository for past performance information on contractors – to capture a sufficient quantity of performance assessments. Why is this important?
Source selection officials rely on…
February 25, 2013
As previously reported here, the Court of Federal Claims heard a bid protest in which the solicitation stated the deadline for proposal submission was 2:00 pm Central Time but the GSA’s e-Buy website, which was programmed to refuse proposals after 2:00 pm Eastern Time, rejected as untimely the protestor’s proposal submitted at 1:03 pm Central Time. Sound unnecessarily complicated? Judge…
February 22, 2013
The Court of Federal Claims recently issued two decisions reinstating veteran-owned small businesses (“VOSBs”) in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (“VA’s”) Veterans First Contracting Program, after they were held ineligible by the VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (“OSDBU”). See KWV, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-882C (Fed. Cl. Jan. 25, 2013) and Miles…
February 20, 2013
On February 1, 2013, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) took the latest step in the Obama administration’s ongoing efforts to reform federal policies relating to grants and cooperative agreements: Proposed Guidance - “Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and Administrative Requirements (Including Single Audit Act).” 78 Fed. Reg.…
February 19, 2013
A government contractor recently learned the hard way that it should quote the right price for the right product when it issues a quote to the government. In Lacey Newday Consulting, LLC (“Lacey”) v. Department of Justice, CBCA Nos. 2782, 2832 , the Bureau of Prisons issued an Request for Quotation to supply 10,000 pounds of ground beef (80/20 to be exact) for use at the United States…
February 18, 2013
Experienced government contractors generally know how to submit timely and complete proposal packages. They also know the consequences for failing to do so. These well known consequences were highlighted in the recent Federal Circuit decision of Orion Technology, Inc. v. United States, No. 2012-5062 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 14, 2013).
The Army’s Mission and Installation Contracting Command…
February 14, 2013
On January 30, 2013 Federal prosecutors asked a judge in Louisiana to require BP LLC’s lawyers to produce documents from the lawyers’ files relating to admitted fraudulent statements made by BP representatives to Congress and to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The relevant statements concern the rate oil was flowing into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 oil platform…
February 12, 2013
A recent protest decision underscores the importance of fair discussions in task order procurements and the difficulties agencies can face when they change their story mid-stream. Mission Essential Personnel, LLC, B-407474; B-407493 (January 7, 2013) involved a pair of task order awards for intelligence support services in Afghanistan under a multiple award IDIQ contract. Asserting…
February 11, 2013
Contractors negotiate labor costs with the Department of Defense (DOD) – as part of the price DOD will pay on a contract – based upon the compensation they pay to their employees. Since defined benefit pension contributions are a routine part of employee compensation, the amounts a contractor contributes to its employees’ pensions are included in these negotiated labor costs/rates. …
March 11, 2013
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) recently announced a major new policy aimed at expanding public access to the results of unclassified, federally funded research. In a new policy memorandum, OSTP Director John Holdren has directed Federal agencies with more than $100 million in R&D expenditures to develop plans to make the published results of such research…
March 7, 2013
A recent Civilian Board of Contract Appeals case confirmed that it will not tolerate tardiness, not even by one day, and that the much-maligned U.S. Postal Service is still the best way to send something to the Board. In Schunck v. General Services Administration, CBCA No. 3079, Mr. Schunck was denied a refund for twelve cameras he bought at a GSA auction. The written notice of…
March 1, 2013
In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (“NDAA FY13”), Congress amended the Small Business Act and fundamentally changed the method for calculating subcontracting limits on small business set-aside contracts. Previously, the SBA regulations (13 C.F.R. § 125.6) and implementing FAR clause 52.219-14 focused on the cost of performance. However, the NDAA FY13…
February 28, 2013
Two years ago OMB issued a memorandum regarding the low percentage of past performance assessments being completed and, as a result, the failure of the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) – the repository for past performance information on contractors – to capture a sufficient quantity of performance assessments. Why is this important?
Source selection officials rely on…
February 25, 2013
As previously reported here, the Court of Federal Claims heard a bid protest in which the solicitation stated the deadline for proposal submission was 2:00 pm Central Time but the GSA’s e-Buy website, which was programmed to refuse proposals after 2:00 pm Eastern Time, rejected as untimely the protestor’s proposal submitted at 1:03 pm Central Time. Sound unnecessarily complicated? Judge…
February 22, 2013
The Court of Federal Claims recently issued two decisions reinstating veteran-owned small businesses (“VOSBs”) in the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (“VA’s”) Veterans First Contracting Program, after they were held ineligible by the VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (“OSDBU”). See KWV, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-882C (Fed. Cl. Jan. 25, 2013) and Miles…
February 20, 2013
On February 1, 2013, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) took the latest step in the Obama administration’s ongoing efforts to reform federal policies relating to grants and cooperative agreements: Proposed Guidance - “Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and Administrative Requirements (Including Single Audit Act).” 78 Fed. Reg.…
February 19, 2013
A government contractor recently learned the hard way that it should quote the right price for the right product when it issues a quote to the government. In Lacey Newday Consulting, LLC (“Lacey”) v. Department of Justice, CBCA Nos. 2782, 2832 , the Bureau of Prisons issued an Request for Quotation to supply 10,000 pounds of ground beef (80/20 to be exact) for use at the United States…
February 18, 2013
Experienced government contractors generally know how to submit timely and complete proposal packages. They also know the consequences for failing to do so. These well known consequences were highlighted in the recent Federal Circuit decision of Orion Technology, Inc. v. United States, No. 2012-5062 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 14, 2013).
The Army’s Mission and Installation Contracting Command…
February 14, 2013
On January 30, 2013 Federal prosecutors asked a judge in Louisiana to require BP LLC’s lawyers to produce documents from the lawyers’ files relating to admitted fraudulent statements made by BP representatives to Congress and to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The relevant statements concern the rate oil was flowing into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 oil platform…
February 12, 2013
A recent protest decision underscores the importance of fair discussions in task order procurements and the difficulties agencies can face when they change their story mid-stream. Mission Essential Personnel, LLC, B-407474; B-407493 (January 7, 2013) involved a pair of task order awards for intelligence support services in Afghanistan under a multiple award IDIQ contract. Asserting…
February 11, 2013
Contractors negotiate labor costs with the Department of Defense (DOD) – as part of the price DOD will pay on a contract – based upon the compensation they pay to their employees. Since defined benefit pension contributions are a routine part of employee compensation, the amounts a contractor contributes to its employees’ pensions are included in these negotiated labor costs/rates. …
