This week’s episode covers common questions about the federal government shutdown, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Chris Haile. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.
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Congress has not passed crucial funding bills for the start of Fiscal Year 2026. If Congress fails to act by September 30, the government may be forced to shut down for lack of funding. In anticipation of that possibility, agencies government-wide are preparing for a shutdown, and contractors and companies that work with the government should do so as well. Our team is ready and available to help advise companies through the shutdown process.Continue Reading Common Questions—and Answers—About A Government Shutdown
In Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, ASBCA No. 62209 (a C&M case), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (Board) awarded $131,888,860 in damages plus applicable interest in connection with Lockheed Martin’s claim for the cumulative disruptive impacts it experienced in performing over and above work on the C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program. The
On April 22, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Final Rule significantly revising the Uniform Guidance for grants, cooperative agreements, and other federal financial assistance. The Final Rule (titled “OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance”), and OMB’s accompanying memorandum to agencies and reference guide, state that the revisions aim to streamline and clarify the grant rules and improve management, transparency, and oversight of federal financial assistance. Agencies must implement the Final Rule by October 1, 2024; however, agencies may apply it to federal awards as early as June 21, 2024.Continue Reading OMB Final Rule Rewrites the Uniform Guidance for Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Other Federal Financial Assistance
Congress has not passed crucial funding bills for the start of the fiscal year 2024. If Congress does not act by September 30, the government may be forced to shut down for lack of funding. While Congress may yet act, agencies across the government are preparing for a shutdown, and contractors should do so as well.
The issues that contractors would face under a government shutdown may vary with the circumstances of individual contracts, but there are a number of common considerations. Continue Reading Common Questions—and Answers—About A Potential Government Shutdown
On May 15, 2023, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA” or “the Board”) in J&J Maintenance, Inc., d/b/a J&J Worldwide Services, ASBCA No. 63013 issued an instructive analysis of its jurisdiction to hear monetary and nonmonetary claims. Partially granting a government motion to dismiss, the ASBCA explained that, if a contractor does not seek monetary relief in its claim to the contracting officer (“CO”), then the contractor cannot seek monetary relief on appeal to the Board. Addressing the contractor’s claim for contract interpretation, however, the Board denied the government’s motion to dismiss and held that, where a contractor can reasonably articulate “significant consequences” of its claim other than the recovery of money, the fact that the claim may also have a financial impact on the parties does not strip the Board of jurisdiction. Continue Reading Money Talks, But So Do Other Impacts: ASBCA Underscores that a Claim with Possible Financial Impacts Is Not Fundamentally a Monetary Claim Unless It Has No Other Significant Consequences
Concerns about the federal debt limit have simmered since the Government reached the limit in January, but things are coming to a boil with the Treasury Department’s confirming that, as early as June 1, “extraordinary measures” may be insufficient to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its obligations. A default would be unprecedented, creating uncertainty about how the Administration will proceed. It is important, therefore, that contractors understand the circumstances and be prepared to respond effectively to a range of scenarios.
The federal debt limit is the maximum amount of money that Congress, by statute, permits the Treasury to borrow. When Treasury reached this borrowing limit in January 2023, it began taking “extraordinary measures” to keep paying the federal government’s bills, but those extraordinary measures can only temporarily stave off default. Once the federal government’s cash on hand is no longer sufficient to pay its bills despite those extraordinary measures, the U.S. could begin defaulting on its payment obligations. Continue Reading Debt Limit Default
In Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, ASBCA No. 62209, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“Board”) denied the Air Force’s motion for summary judgment, which had argued that the “measured mile” approach to calculating disruption was legally untenable. In its decision, the Board noted that it has “accepted the measured mile approach as an
In Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, ASBCA No. 62209 (a C&M case), the Board granted Lockheed Martin’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of whether the Government can assert laches as an affirmative defense to a Contract Disputes Act claim. In a case of first impression, Lockheed Martin argued that the affirmative defense of
On May 14, the President issued an Executive Order (EO) delegating funding and loan authority under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support domestic production of strategic resources to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak and strengthen domestic supply chains. The DFC’s loan authority