The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit narrowly interprets the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act’s bar on task order protests at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, expanding the court’s bid protest...more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) orders an agency to reinstate a contract award, finding the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) corrective action recommendation to be without a rational basis....more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) orders an agency to reinstate a contract award, finding the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) corrective action recommendation to be without a rational basis.
COFC found that...more
GAO sustains protest because the agency failed to respond to a protest allegation and did not recognize discriminators during the evaluation.
A recent GAO decision provides a rare example of GAO sustaining a protest when...more
The proposed clause will require USAID contractors to develop new standards, policies, or procedures designed to protect children from sexual exploitation.
The Agency for International Development Acquisition Regulation...more
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a Court of Federal Claims ruling, finding that a bidder whose proposal was excluded from the competitive range was an interested party to protest the evaluations of...more
If implemented, the proposed rule will have wide-reaching implications for how federal contractors and subcontractors conduct hiring.
The proposed rule prohibits contractors and subcontractors from seeking applicants’...more
Impacted by an acquisition where an unusually high number of protests were filed and sustained, the GAO’s sustain and effectiveness rates increased to 31 and 57 percent, respectively.
The number of filed Government...more
A government shutdown at the end of the month could significantly impact contractors. This alert provides practical guidance to help minimize the impact.
Communicate with your contracting officers early and often to...more
The effectiveness rate increased to 51 percent.
The number of filed Government Accountability Office (GAO) protests dropped another 12 percent, after dropping 12 percent in 2021....more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims issues another decision highlighting a growing divergence in case law between the Court and the Government Accountability Office.
COFC rejects GAO precedent for determining whether...more
On November 16, 2021, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2021. The GAO’s report, which is mandated by the Competition in Contracting Act, lists its...more
On July 30, 2021, the Biden Administration published a Proposed Amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (Proposed Rule) that, among other things, would impose significantly increased U.S. content requirements...more
President Biden issued a new Executive Order concerning Buy American regulations less than a week after the FAR Council finalized a rule that increased domestic content requirements.
President Biden’s Executive Order...more
On January 25, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14005 to implement the President’s domestic sourcing and manufacturing policy agenda by tightening federal procurement and contracting requirements and...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit interprets DFARS technical data rights clause to allow contractors to mark technical data delivered to the government to restrict the rights of non-government third...more
Effectiveness rate increases to 51 percent, the highest on record.
GAO’s effectiveness rate increased to 51 percent from 44 percent in FY 2019 and 2018.
GAO’s sustain rate increases to 15 percent from 13 percent in FY...more
On May 22, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued its interim final rule on loan forgiveness. The rule describes, in a question-and-answer format, the mechanics of applying for and receiving loan forgiveness...more
On May 15, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published the application form that Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers will submit to their banks when they apply for forgiveness of their PPP loans. The...more
5/19/2020
/ Applications ,
Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
FTEs ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
New Guidance ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
U.S. Treasury
On May 13, 2020, one day before the expiration of the relevant “safe harbor” deadline, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued new guidance to borrowers who have been considering whether to return their CARES Act...more
On May 5, 2020, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Treasury Department extended by one week the “safe harbor” for CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applicants to return their loans in the event that the...more
Under retroactive guidance issued by SBA and the Treasury Department on April 23, 2020, CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applicants must consider their access to alternative sources of liquidity before certifying...more
4/28/2020
/ Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Certification Requirements ,
Federal Register ,
Good Faith ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Liquidity ,
New Guidance ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
SAFE ,
SBA ,
U.S. Treasury
SBA issues interim regulations and guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program, including confirmation of “affiliation” rules that may leave many companies affiliated with their investors and other businesses.
New Small...more
4/10/2020
/ Banks ,
Business Closures ,
Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Lenders ,
Liquidity ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business ,
Tax Relief
Guidance on eligibility for small business loans under the CARES Act.
Companies that have investments from venture capital (VC) and/or private equity (PE) funds, or that have raised funds under similar terms from corporate...more
The CARES Act provides $350 billion for small business Paycheck Protection Loans and an additional $10 billion for the existing Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
Under the CARES Act, Congress has appropriated $350...more