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Inside Government Contracts

Senator Grassley and Senior DOJ Official Discuss Potential False Claims Act Changes and Enforcement Priorities

By Terra White Fulham, Michael Wagner & Peter B. Hutt II

February 23, 2021

On February 17, 2021, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Brian Boynton, Acting Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, provided opening remarks at the Federal Bar Association’s annual Qui Tam Conference. Both emphasized the key role of the FCA in combating fraud against the Government, and noted an anticipated increase in FCA enforcement actions in the coming years, particularly related to the Government’s pandemic response. In addition, Senator Grassley offered a preview of…

Inside Government Contracts

New FAR Rule Continues Shake-Up of LPTA Procurements

By Kayleigh Scalzo, Jay Carey & Andrew Guy

February 5, 2021

Federal civilian agencies will now face new restrictions on when and how they can use Lowest Price Technically Acceptable source selection procedures. A new rule in the Federal Acquisition Regulation is the latest in a series of measures aimed at regulating the use of LPTA source selection procedures. The new rule implements an October 2019 proposed rule and takes effect on February 16, 2021.…

Inside Government Contracts

President Biden Orders Tightening of Made in America Laws: What Contractors Need to Know

By Michael Wagner, Evan R. Sherwood, Samantha Clark, Frederic Levy & Jennifer Plitsch

February 1, 2021

On January 25, 2021, President Biden issued a much-anticipated Executive Order announcing plans to strengthen the U.S. Government’s preference for domestically-sourced goods and services, including a proposal to tighten longstanding exceptions to domestic preference requirements. Executive Order 14005 on Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers (“EO”) aims to “maximize” the U.S. Government’s purchasing of goods and services produced in the United States. In its key provisions, the…

Inside Government Contracts

Paycheck Protection Program Expands and Offers Opportunity for Second Draw Loans

By Tyler Evans & Sarah Shepson

January 14, 2021

On December 27, 2020, the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act opened up the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) to additional organizations and authorized a second draw of PPP loans. The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has issued guidance on changes to the original Program and new second draw loans, and the Program has been partially reopened for both first and second draw loans as of January 13, 2021. Loans will…

Inside Government Contracts

Cybersecurity and Government Contracting: False Claims Act Considerations

By Michael Wagner, Peter B. Hutt II, Susan B. Cassidy & Andrew Guy

January 11, 2021

As the recent SolarWinds Orion attack makes clear, cybersecurity will be a focus in the coming years for both governmental and non-governmental entities alike. In the federal contracting community, it has long been predicted that the government’s increased cybersecurity requirements will eventually lead to a corresponding increase in False Claims Act (FCA) litigation involving cybersecurity compliance. This prediction may soon be proven true, as a December 2020 speech from Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Granston …

Inside Government Contracts

Technically Still Yours: Court Holds that Contractors May Mark Unlimited Rights Data with a Proprietary Legend

By Evan R. Sherwood & Jay Carey

December 22, 2020

If your company delivers technical data to the Department of Defense, you should take a close look at the Federal Circuit’s decision issued yesterday in The Boeing Co. v. Secretary of the Air Force. The Court acknowledged that contractors may retain ownership and other interests in unlimited rights data, and it held that they may take steps to put third parties on notice of those rights. In particular, the Court held that, in addition…

Inside Government Contracts

Expansion of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force

By Ross Demain, Michael Pierce, Bobby Chen & Michael Wagner

December 15, 2020

Just over a year after launching the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (“PCSF”), the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) announced new measures to further its pursuit of antitrust and related crimes in government procurement, grant, and program funding. These changes expand the PCSF’s enforcement capacity and signal DOJ’s enduring—and intensifying—commitment to the PCSF’s mission. The PCSF has added 11 new national partners: the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General, the Air…

Inside Government Contracts

How is DoD Planning to Use the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS)?

By Susan B. Cassidy, Ryan Burnette & Darby Rourick

October 27, 2020

As described in an earlier blog post, the Department of Defense (DoD) released an Interim Rule on September 29, 2020 that address DoD’s increased requirements for assessing whether contractors are compliant with the 110 security controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 (NIST 800-171).[1] Under this new Interim Rule, DoD offerors must have a current assessment on file with DoD to document their compliance with NIST…

Inside Government Contracts

Department of Labor Requesting Information on Federal Contractor Workplace Diversity Training

By Lindsay Burke, Jennifer Plitsch, Sarah Shepson & Michael Wagner

October 22, 2020

On October 21, 2020 the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) published a Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking voluntary submissions of workplace diversity and inclusion training information and materials from federal contractors, federal subcontractors, and their employees. The RFI was published pursuant to Executive Order 13950, Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (“EO”) issued on September 22, 2020, which prohibited certain “divisive concepts” in workplace trainings and instructed OFCCP to solicit information…

Inside Government Contracts

Third Circuit Addresses the Scope of the FCA’s First-to-File Bar

By Christopher Denig & Tanya Kapoor

October 14, 2020

Under the False Claims Act’s (“FCA”) first-to-file bar, “no person other than the Government may intervene or bring a related action based on the facts underlying the pending action.” But can a relator amend her complaint to add, remove, or substitute relators without violating the first-to-file bar? Recently, the Third Circuit in In re Plavix answered “yes,” and concluded that the first-to-file bar does not preclude adding another relator through joinder, substitution, or an amendment. …

Inside Government Contracts

Procurement Law and Policy Insights

Blog Authors

Senator Grassley and Senior DOJ Official Discuss Potential False Claims Act Changes and Enforcement Priorities

New FAR Rule Continues Shake-Up of LPTA Procurements

President Biden Orders Tightening of Made in America Laws: What Contractors Need to Know

Paycheck Protection Program Expands and Offers Opportunity for Second Draw Loans

Cybersecurity and Government Contracting: False Claims Act Considerations

Technically Still Yours: Court Holds that Contractors May Mark Unlimited Rights Data with a Proprietary Legend

Expansion of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force

How is DoD Planning to Use the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS)?

Department of Labor Requesting Information on Federal Contractor Workplace Diversity Training

Third Circuit Addresses the Scope of the FCA’s First-to-File Bar

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