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Inside Government Contracts

Commerce Department Proposes Rule Impacting Information and Communications Technology Supply Chains

By Samantha Clark & Ryan Burnette

December 3, 2019

On November 27, 2019, the Department of Commerce issued a proposed rule to implement the May 15, 2019 Executive Order entitled “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain.” Once finalized and effective, the regulations will govern the process and procedures that the Secretary of Commerce will use to determine whether certain transactions involving information and communications technology or services (“ICTS”) should be prohibited or otherwise restricted. As currently drafted, the proposed rule…

Inside Government Contracts

New FAR Rule Expands Counterfeit Reporting Obligations

By Susan B. Cassidy, Michael Wagner & Peter Terenzio

November 26, 2019

Last week, the FAR Council issued a Final Rule, setting forth new FAR provisions that require the reporting of certain counterfeit and suspect counterfeit parts and certain major or critical nonconformances to the Government – Industry Data Exchange Program (“GIDEP”).[1] This Final Rule comes more than five years after the rule was first proposed in the Federal Register in June 2014. The FAR Council describes the Final Rule as “significantly…

Inside Government Contracts

OFCCP Proposes Rule Removing TRICARE Health Care Providers from Its Regulatory Authority

By Jennifer Plitsch, Michael Wagner & Nicholas E. Baer*

November 18, 2019

On November 6, 2019, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) aimed at resolving what OFCCP describes as a “decade of confusion.”[1] At issue is a long-standing question concerning the scope of OFCCP’s enforcement authority over health care providers participating in TRICARE, a federal health care program covering millions of military personnel, veterans, and their families. In particular, the NPRM requests comments on…

Inside Government Contracts

What Is Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable? GAO Clarifies Reach of New LPTA Restrictions

By Kayleigh Scalzo, Jay Carey & Andrew Guy

November 14, 2019

As previously discussed on this blog, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 and the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2018 imposed new limitations on when the Department of Defense can use Lowest Price Technically Acceptable source selection methods. Just last month, the Department of Defense issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to implement those provisions. Now, in Inserso Corp., B-417791, B-417791.3, Nov. 4, 2019, GAO…

Inside Government Contracts

DoD Releases Version 0.6 of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification

By Susan B. Cassidy, Samantha Clark & Ryan Burnette

November 13, 2019

On November 7, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition released Version 0.6 of its draft Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) for public comment. The CMMC was created in response to growing concerns by Congress and within DoD over the increased presence of cyber threats and intrusions aimed at the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and its supply chains. The model updates Version 0.4, which DoD released on September 4, 2019, and which…

Inside Government Contracts

Not So Fast Guy: Recent GAO Decision Provides Rule For When Agency Deadlines Are Unreasonably Short

By Jay Carey & Peter Terenzio

November 12, 2019

Tight deadlines are a fact of life in the world of government contracting. Indeed, it is not unusual for the government to expect a contractor to provide large amounts of information in just a few short days. And the draconian penalty for missing such a deadline is usually the rejection of a proposal. But can an agency’s deadline be unreasonably short? Yes. In MCR Federal, LLC, GAO determined that the agency’s deadline for submitting its…

Inside Government Contracts

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: GAO’s FY 2019 Protest Statistics

By Jay Carey & Kayleigh Scalzo

November 7, 2019

GAO released its Fiscal Year 2019 protest statistics yesterday, and there are both noticeable changes and relative constants: Protest filings are down by 16%, which means about 400 fewer protests than FY18. The reason why is anyone’s guess, but it’s likely related in large part to GAO’s new Electronic Protest Docketing System — and associated $350 filing fee. Prior to EPDS, anyone could submit a protest simply by emailing a protest letter to GAO. Now,…

Inside Government Contracts

Suspension & Debarment Update: Five Takeaways from the ISDC’s Annual Report

By Michael Wagner, Frederic Levy & Evan R. Sherwood

November 6, 2019

The government has released its long-awaited annual report on federal suspension and debarment activities, and the data reflect a number of trends and developments that should be of keen interest to federal contractors and grantees. The report, which is published by the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (“ISDC”), shows that suspension and debarment remain potent tools that are used frequently across the executive branch, even if the total number of exclusion actions dipped slightly from the previous…

Inside Government Contracts

DOJ Issues New Guidance for Treatment of Confidential Information Under Recent Supreme Court FOIA Decision

By Nooree Lee & Kevin Barnett

November 4, 2019

Last month, the Department of Justice Office of Information Policy issued new guidance on the definition of confidential information under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act. This new guidance addresses the meaning of “confidential” in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Food Mktg. Inst. v. Argus Leader Media, 139 S. Ct. 2356 (2019). While not determinative, this DOJ Guidance offers contractors critical insight into how agencies will respond in the first…

Inside Government Contracts

A New Normal for Foreign Military Sales? Total Sales for FY 2019 Nearly Matches FY 2018

By Nooree Lee & Scott A. Freling

October 28, 2019

On October 15, 2019, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced that foreign arm sales for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 totaled $55.4 billion. This amount nearly matches the total from FY 2018 of $55.7 billion, continuing the significant increase in foreign arm sales under the Trump Administration and potentially signaling that the enormous 33 percent jump in sales from FY 2017 to FY 2018 may have established a new normal for U.S. arms exports. Every…

Inside Government Contracts

Procurement Law and Policy Insights

Blog Authors

Commerce Department Proposes Rule Impacting Information and Communications Technology Supply Chains

New FAR Rule Expands Counterfeit Reporting Obligations

OFCCP Proposes Rule Removing TRICARE Health Care Providers from Its Regulatory Authority

What Is Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable? GAO Clarifies Reach of New LPTA Restrictions

DoD Releases Version 0.6 of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification

Not So Fast Guy: Recent GAO Decision Provides Rule For When Agency Deadlines Are Unreasonably Short

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: GAO’s FY 2019 Protest Statistics

Suspension & Debarment Update: Five Takeaways from the ISDC’s Annual Report

DOJ Issues New Guidance for Treatment of Confidential Information Under Recent Supreme Court FOIA Decision

A New Normal for Foreign Military Sales? Total Sales for FY 2019 Nearly Matches FY 2018

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