On July 26, 2012, the FAR Council issued a final rule entitled "Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards." The final rule follows an interim rule issued on the same subject on July 8, 2010. Both the interim and final rule implement a section of the Federal Funding … [Read more...]
Top 5 Things You Should Know About Bid Protests
Acclaimed attorney Devon Hewitt walks clients through the five most important aspects of the Bid Protest process. For more information: Every year the General Accounting Office publishes statistics regarding bid protests filed with GAO the previous fiscal year. In March the GAO … [Read more...]
Do Not “Read Out” Portions Of The Contract
Judge Owen Wilson of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) has just issued an opinion in which he sustains the contractor's appeal because the government decided to "read out" portions of the contract. This, he says, is "not legally defensible." The case involved a Corps of … [Read more...]
Final Rule Issued Re: Reporting Executive Compensation
On July 26, 2012, the FAR Council issued a final rule entitled “Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards.” The final rule follows an interim rule issued on the same subject on July 8, 2010. Both the interim and final rule implement a section of the Federal Funding … [Read more...]
Subcontracts: Mandatory Flow Down Myths and Reality
You will not find a list of mandatory subcontract flow down clauses conveniently located in any regulation. We have to create our own lists (depending, of course, on the type of prime contract and other regulatory criteria). The American Bar Association (ABA) Public Contract Law Section has two … [Read more...]
Air Force Lifts Booz Allen Suspension
On February 6 of this year, the Air Force proposed for debarment the San Antonio office of Booz Allen. The Air Force proposed the San Antonio office for debarment because a former Air Force official who joined Booz Allen brought with him to work and disclosed to others in the office non-public, … [Read more...]
Unusual and Compelling Urgency Now Means Just That
On October 14th a new provision of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) went into effect that you should be aware of. Noncompetitive contracts can be awarded under the “unusual and compelling urgency” exception, but only for a limited period of time now. In no event may agencies use this … [Read more...]
Government contractor pay next in line after TARP companies
On October 22nd Harry Smith at CBS's "Early Show" interviewed Elizabeth Warren, the chairperson of the Congressional Oversight Panel, which is responsible for overseeing companies that were bailed out by TARP funds. She clearly believes executive compensation is the government's business. In fact … [Read more...]
Alabama Congressman Introduces Bill to Reward Top Campaign Contributors
On September 14th, Alabama Congressman Parker Griffith (D) introduced a new bill, H.R. 3558, which will allow some of his largest campaign contributors to land billions of dollars in federal small business contracts. (Legislation) Boeing and Northrop Grumman are two of Congressman Griffith's … [Read more...]
Federal Procurement Fraud Claims Likely to Rise
The current willingness in Washington to give out millions of dollars to help spend the US out of recession may end up pushing the country further into debt. Many of the programs aimed at jump-starting the economy and infusing cash into dying market sectors come with little to no government … [Read more...]