Following President Biden’s announcement of Executive Order 14042 (“EO”) on September 9, 2021, several agencies have issued guidance on the EO’s applicability to the contractor community, which we reported on here. Further to GSA’s September 30, 2021 Class Deviation CD-2021-13, on October 6, 2021, GSA reiterated that a mass modification program for all
GAO Rules that DoD May Not Require a Small Business Joint Venture Itself to Hold Facility Clearance
In an August 27, 2021 decision, GAO sided with protester InfoPoint LLC (“InfoPoint”), and the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) which was invited to submit comments, in finding that a Department of Defense (“DoD”) solicitation provision requiring a small business joint venture offeror to itself hold a facility clearance was inconsistent with the National Defense
Buy (Even More) American – FAR Council Proposes New Rules Implementing Executive Order 14005, “Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers”
On July 30, 2021, the FAR Council published a Proposed Rule to implement President Biden’s January 2021 Executive Order seeking to maximize the use of American-made products and materials in federal procurements. Coming just six months after a recent January 2021 Final Rule increasing both the domestic content percentage and the price evaluation preferences for
GSA Clarifies the Future of Transactional Data Reporting in the Federal Supply Schedule Program
On April 27, 2021, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced its intention to not only continue but expand the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) pilot program, based on a third consecutive year of positive results.
Since 2016, GSA’s pilot has studied the potential for TDR to replace the various onerous requirements FSS
Commerce Publishes ANPRM Seeking Comment on the Licensing Process for ICTS Transactions
In an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) published in the Federal Register on Monday, March 29, 2021, Commerce announced that it is soliciting public comment on a licensing process for companies seeking pre-clearance for information and communications technology and services (ICTS) transactions subject to Commerce’s broad new authority to block or unwind such transactions, as implemented in the interim final rule, “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain.” That interim final rule, which was published on January 19, 2021, became effective on Monday, March 22, 2021, and broadly defines transactions to include acquisition, importation, transfer, installation, dealing in or use of ICTS. We previously discussed that interim final rule here.
Continue Reading Commerce Publishes ANPRM Seeking Comment on the Licensing Process for ICTS Transactions
One-Two Punch: President Biden Issues Made in America Executive Order Mere Days After FAR Council Issues Final Rule Tightening Federal “Buy American” Requirements
Contractors barely had time to digest the prior administration’s changes designed to tighten the Buy American Act restrictions when, on January 25, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14005 on “Ensuring Future of America is Made in America by all of America’s Workers” directing further tightening and perhaps even a new approach to determining what
FCC Publishes Telecommunications Supply Chain Security Rule
On January 13, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a final rule that requires advanced communications providers to review their equipment and services within their networks and either: (1) certify that they do not include any covered equipment; or (2) file an annual report with the FCC that identifies covered communications equipment or services
Not Your Parents’ IT: New Interim Rule to Scrutinize Acquisition of IT Products and Services from Foreign Adversaries
Today, Commerce has published an interim final rule (IR) which, effective March 22, 2021, will implement the May 15, 2019 Executive Order 13873 that relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to authorize sweeping power to block or undo any transaction – including use, purchases or importation – of virtually any “information and
DoD and GSA Take Aim at Supply Chain Risks
The Department of Defense (DoD) recently implemented additional procedures for the mitigation of cybersecurity risks in its supply chain. Designed to identify and mitigate cybersecurity and related supply chain risks throughout a program’s lifecycle, DoD Instruction 5000.90, Cybersecurity Acquisition Decision Authorities and Program Managers, requires program managers to:
- Assess contractors’ cybersecurity posture, including, where
Advancing America’s Dominance in AI: The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act’s AI Developments
On January 1, 2021, the 116th Congress enacted the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which established, among other things, the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (Division E, Title LI, §§ 5101-5106) (hereinafter “the Initiative”), a program to award financial assistance to National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes (Division E, Title LII,