On November 18, the Government Accountability Office ("GAO") released its much-anticipated Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2024, which was submitted to Congress on November 14. GAO's annual report is...more
On November 12, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (together, the "FAR Council") issued an interim rule, effective November 12, 2024, to amend the...more
Today, the Small Business Administration issued a proposed rule that would expand the application of the "rule of two" (for small business) to orders under multiple award contracts. The proposed rule is welcome news for small...more
On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense (“DOD”) issued its final rule for its much anticipated Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) program. The CMMC program will eventually require one of...more
With just a week to go in FY24, federal agencies are rushing to spend those "use it or lose it" dollars. And while there are a number of reasons that support filing a bid protest when you're an unsuccessful offeror – this...more
The Small Business Administration ("SBA") recently issued a proposed rule that changes the effect of a concern's size recertification following mergers and acquisitions ("M&A") activity. Notably, the proposed rule is...more
Recently, the Small Business Administration ("SBA") issued a proposed rule, which could significantly alter the status quo for permissible negative control. Impacted small businesses and their minority shareholders and...more
A recent Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) decision highlights the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) regulations relating to agency evaluations of a mentor-protégé joint venture’s past performance and experience,...more
On April 30, 2024, the White House announced that President Biden signed a new critical infrastructure memorandum, titled National Security Memorandum on Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience ("NSM-22"). This new...more
In early April, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), within the US Department of Homeland Security, released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the implementation of the Cyber Incident...more
As many government contractors know all too well, doing business with the government requires contractors to become familiar with and adhere to countless rules and regulations governing the procurement process. As shown in a...more
On February 9, 2024, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council ("FAR Council") – Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration – published its Semiannual Regulatory...more
Last week, the White House announced that the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") issued guidance to help small businesses in the federal contracting marketplace. With the guidance, as the announcement states, the...more
The recent bid protest decision in ELS, Inc., B-421989, December 21, 2023, 2023 CPD highlights an important aspect of bid protest litigation before the U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO"): task order jurisdiction....more
The 2023 clock is winding down, meaning some folks are planning New Year's Eve parties, and others are googling the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne. For service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses ("SDVOSB"), the end of the...more
The Department of Justice ("DOJ") recently announced a $1.75 million false claims settlement with a contractor that "improperly obtained government contracts that were set-aside for small businesses." The DOJ settlement...more
12/11/2023
/ Buy American Act ,
Certifications ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Manufacturers ,
NAIC ,
SDVOSB ,
Settlement ,
Small Business
Last week, the U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") published its much anticipated Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2023. GAO's annual report is required under the Competition in Contracting Act...more
We recently wrote about a federal court decision in Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., which held that the "rebuttable presumption" of social disadvantage under Small Business Administration's ("SBA") 8(a) Program...more
On July 19, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee held in Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Dep't of Agric. that the "rebuttable presumption" of social disadvantage under Small Business...more
The government's fiscal year ("FY") is coming to an end on September 30, which means the need for agencies to spend "use it or lose it" contracting dollars will steadily increase over the next couple of months. And, while the...more
On June 9, 2023, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a proposed rule to address domestic preferences – the Buy American Act – in DoD procurements. The proposed rule follows updates to the Federal Acquisition Regulation...more
7/13/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Buy American Act ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Final Rules ,
OMB ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Proposed Rules ,
Supply Chain
Last Friday, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council published an interim final rule ("IFR") to ban the use of a ByteDance Covered Application (i.e., TikTok) in government contracting.
The IFR is effective June 2, 2023....more
Protests filed at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) differ in many ways from protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). For example, protests before GAO are uniform given that they are...more
Every federal contractor knows how difficult it is to win a government contract. Indeed, contractors often start pursuing larger contracts or vehicles well over a year before the solicitation is even published. And, while...more
Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate overwhelmingly approved the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (“FY23 NDAA”). The legislation is welcome news for both the Department of Defense...more