We can only report on what we see. We don't see everything and report only on what is happening in our corner of experience. However, there are some noticeable trends so far in 2013 worthy of note. They involve source selection, protests, sequestration related pullbacks of outsourced work and … [Read more...]
From Federal Times: As budgets tighten, contract attorneys expect uptick in bid protests
Two weeks after sequestration began, contract lawyer Bill Spriggs got a call from a vendor client upset that a federal contracting official had just ordered it to cut its price by 10 percent for “sequestration-related cuts” without a change in service levels.Spriggs declined to name the contractor … [Read more...]
Should Past GAO Decisions Be Considered in Deciding Whether to File a Bid Protest?
Several times a week, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) posts bid protest decisions on its website. Generally, decisions are not posted in their entirety; portions of the bid protest decision are often redacted due to protective orders in place. For this reason, in can be a challenging … [Read more...]
Expanding the Meaning of Direct Economic Interest in a Bid Protest
Having “standing” or the “right” to sue in a bid protest action is generally limited to those parties that (1) are actual or potential bidders and (2) have a direct economic interest in the contract. The definition of direct economic interest is constantly evolving. Parties can be considered to … [Read more...]
ASBCA APPLIES THE SOVEREIGN ACT DEFENSE
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) has just applied the sovereign act defense in a case involving a contract for improving vehicle armor and upgrading and painting vehicles for the Iraqi National Police under a contract awarded by the government. The government moved for summary … [Read more...]
THE LOST FAR PART
In our opinion, lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA) is not best value. It is not part of the best value continuum. It should be removed from FAR Part 15 along with the misnomer "continuum". LPTA has become the way in which agencies inveigle contractors into the best value game only to … [Read more...]
THE TILTED PLAYING FIELD
Sean Stackley recently called our acquisition system the most "complex, chaotic, over regulated and overseen process in the world." We may disagree with him. We are not so sure about the chaotic part. But it is time to remind ourselves that the federal procurement system is by design a tilted and … [Read more...]
Air Force blocks access to a GovCon blog site with its Bluecoat AFNet firewall
Here's a call for action from our friend Bill Spriggs. Seems someone with the Air Force didn't take kindly to his article, Unconscionability in Contracting, he published yesterday so they blocked access to his website. This will be interesting. Not sure what can or should be done, but they have … [Read more...]
Unconscionability in Contracting
An interesting situation and commentary by Bill Spriggs, a GovCon lawyer who writes interesting articles regularly at: Spriggs Law Group Yesterday, a contracting officer told a contractor to decrease its price by 10% "for sequestration related cuts, without any changes to contractual services … [Read more...]
UNCONSCIONABLE CENSORSHIP BY THE GOVERNMENT
Yesterday, we published one of our brief articles on Unconscionability in Contracting. Today, we received a comment from a dear reader who pointed out that the Air Force has blocked access to our blog site with its Bluecoat AFNet firewall. Apparently, this firewall controls all Air Force Internet … [Read more...]
How to Qualify for HUBZone Certification and Why It Matters
Last month the Small Business Administration designated an area of Downtown Leesburg, Virginia as a HUBZone, or “Historically Underutilized Business Zone”. As reported by Ethan Rothstein in an article published in Leesburg Today, such a designation is significant because it will provide qualifying … [Read more...]
UNCONSCIONABILITY IN CONTRACTING
Yesterday, a contracting officer told a contractor to decrease its price by 10% "for sequestration related cuts, without any changes to contractual services levels." Yes, believe it or not, one of our government employees, with a warrant, who is supposed to be the conscience of our system, asked a … [Read more...]