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Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

“Buy (More) American” – Final Rule Implements Changes to the Buy American Act Regulations

By David Gallacher & Ariel E. Debin

January 20, 2021

On January 19, 2021, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council published the final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order 13881, “Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials.” As we discussed in our prior blog articles here (discussing the September 2020 proposed rule) and here (discussing the July 15, 2019 order), the Executive Order required significant changes to the regulations implementing the Buy American Act, 41 U.S.C.…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

IoT Legislation Passes Congress

By Elfin Noce, Jonathan E. Meyer & Townsend Bourne

November 30, 2020

Legislation directing the National Institute of Standards and technology (“NIST”) to create standards and guidelines for securing Internet of Things (“IoT”) devices used by Federal agencies and their contractors recently passed the Senate and is heading to the President’s desk. We have been following this legislation closely for the past two years, here and here. The bill passed in the Senate without amendment by unanimous consent.…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

SEC Proposal to Exempt Finders from Registration Generates Split Reaction

By Bochan Kim & Jeff Kern

November 30, 2020

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A Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) plan to create a registration exemption for certain finders has generated a mixed response. The nearly 90 comments received by the SEC by the November 12, 2020 close of the comment period reflect a clear divide along predictable lines. Broker-dealers, issuers, and some practitioners lauded the proposal for bringing regulatory clarity to what has long been a cloudy issue while regulatory groups and investor advocates criticized the plan for…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

OCIE Director Instructs Advisers to Empower Chief Compliance Officers

By Bochan Kim & Sarah Aberg

November 30, 2020

On November 19, 2020, Peter Driscoll, director of the Office of Compliance Inspection and Examination (“OCIE”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), gave a speech urging advisory firms to empower their Chief Compliance Officers (“CCOs”). The speech, made at the SEC’s annual compliance outreach conference, accompanied OCIE’s Risk Alert, issued the same day, identifying notable deficiencies and weaknesses regarding Registered Investment Advisors (“RIAs”) CCOs and compliance departments. Driscoll’s speech complemented the Risk Alert…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

“Buy American” Update: FDA Issues List Of Essential Medicines Required By Executive Order

By David Gallacher & Keeley A. McCarty

November 3, 2020

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On October 30, 2020 the FDA published a list of essential medicines, medical countermeasures, and critical inputs as required by President Trump’s August 2020 Executive Order on Ensuring Essential Medicines, Medical Countermeasures, and Critical Inputs Are Made in the United States (Executive Order 13944), which required the U.S. government to purchase “essential” medicines and medical supplies produced domestically, rather than abroad. We previously wrote about this Executive Order in August (available here), expecting that once…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

NIST Issues Long-Awaited Final Guidance on Security and Privacy Controls – SP 800-53

By Elfin Noce, Jonathan E. Meyer & Townsend Bourne

October 29, 2020

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After many years of being in draft form, NIST recently released its final version of Revision 5 of Special Publication 800-53, Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations to address a need for a more proactive and systematic approach to cybersecurity. With the release of Revision 5, NIST hopes to provide updated security and privacy controls that will make information systems more penetration resistant, limit damages from cyber-attacks, make systems more cyber-resilient, and…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

DoD’s Long Awaited Rule on CMMC – Plus a New Cybersecurity Assessment Methodology for Contractors to Start Right Now

By Nikole Snyder & Townsend Bourne

September 29, 2020

At long last, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) has provided its interim rule, published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2020, amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (“DFARS”) to set forth requirements for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”) program, as well as new requirements for a “NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Methodology.” The interim rule is effective November 30, 2020, and comments to the interim rule should be submitted by November…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

Proposed Changes to the Buy American Act Regulations Implementing Trump Executive Orders

By Ariel E. Debin & David Gallacher

September 29, 2020

Finance-and-Bankruptcy-Blog-Image_US-Investments-660x283

On September 14, 2020, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council published the long anticipated proposed rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order 13881, “Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials.” As previously discussed here, the Executive Order, signed on July 15, 2019, required significant changes to the implementing regulations of the Buy American Act, 41 U.S.C. §§ 8301-8305, changing policies dating back nearly 70 years. Accordingly,…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

GSA’s Take on Implementation of Section 889

By Nikole Snyder & Townsend Bourne

September 29, 2020

Global-Trade-Blog-Image_China_Imports-660x283

On September 10, 2020, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) hosted a webinar related to its implementation of Section 889 of the 2019 NDAA – the ban relating to certain Chinese telecom companies – and associated updated FAR clauses. (We previously have written about Section 889 here, here, here, and here). Below we provide highlights from the meeting. Slides presented at the meeting also are available here.…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

Women-Owned Small Business Self-Certification Ends October 15, 2020 When SBA Begins Requiring Formal Government-Issued Or Third-Party Certifications for Awards

By David Gallacher & Emily Theriault

September 29, 2020

Beginning October 15, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”), implementing the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), will begin requiring women-owned small businesses (“WOSBs”) and economically disadvantaged WOSBs (“EDWOSBs”) to undergo a formal certification process to be eligible under the Procurement Program for Women-Owned Small Business Concerns (the “Program”). Thus, WOSBs and EDWOSBs no longer will be allowed to self-certify that they meet the Program requirements to compete for set-aside or sole source contracts,…

Government Contracts & Investigations Blog

Latest updates on Developments Affecting Government Contracts & Investigations

Blog Authors

“Buy (More) American” – Final Rule Implements Changes to the Buy American Act Regulations

IoT Legislation Passes Congress

SEC Proposal to Exempt Finders from Registration Generates Split Reaction

OCIE Director Instructs Advisers to Empower Chief Compliance Officers

“Buy American” Update: FDA Issues List Of Essential Medicines Required By Executive Order

NIST Issues Long-Awaited Final Guidance on Security and Privacy Controls – SP 800-53

DoD’s Long Awaited Rule on CMMC – Plus a New Cybersecurity Assessment Methodology for Contractors to Start Right Now

Proposed Changes to the Buy American Act Regulations Implementing Trump Executive Orders

GSA’s Take on Implementation of Section 889

Women-Owned Small Business Self-Certification Ends October 15, 2020 When SBA Begins Requiring Formal Government-Issued Or Third-Party Certifications for Awards

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