On Saturday, January 28, President Trump issued an Executive Order setting forth the ethics regulations governing current and future executive agency appointments, which is both more restrictive and less restrictive than the 2009 Obama Executive Order addressing the same issue. Specifically, and with respect to the former, President Trump’s order bans all executive agency appointees from engaging in “lobbying activities” with respect to the particular agency in which the appointee served for a period of five years after leaving the Administration, and further prohibits such appointees from lobbying on behalf of a foreign government or political party during the remainder of their lifetimes (if such activities would require registration “under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938”). See §§ 1.1, 1.4. These two prohibitions were absent from the Obama-era counterpart and mirror two of Trump’s promises outlined in his Contract with the American Voter.
Continue Reading Trump’s Ethics Executive Order More Concerned with Post-Government Employment Activities
OGE Finalizes Rule Regarding Solicitation and Acceptance of Gifts for Executive Branch Employees
On November 18, 2016, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) issued a final rule revising the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (“Standards”) applicable to the solicitation and acceptance of gifts from outside sources. See 5 CFR § 2635. The final rule imposes a duty to decline otherwise permissible gifts when the appearance of impropriety is present, adds new examples of how to apply the rules, codifies previous interpretations of the gift rule, and retains the $20 de minimis exception (despite pushback in comments to the proposed rule to raise the standard commensurate with inflation. ) Although Government employees are the primary subject of the final rule, the changes will have a direct impact on how contractors, referred to as “prohibited sources” can interact with Government officials. It is important for government contractors to understand that being implicated by a Government official’s violation of these Standards can lead to various consequences, such as facing public embarrassment, a tarnished reputation in the marketplace, suspension and debarment, or penalties for violating the bribery or illegal gratuities statutes.
The rule becomes effective on January 1, 2017.
Continue Reading OGE Finalizes Rule Regarding Solicitation and Acceptance of Gifts for Executive Branch Employees
Tough (Tax) Break: Federal Tax Delinquency and Felony Convictions Could Bar Corporations from Contract Award
When assessing whether a contractor is eligible for award, contracting officers are required to conduct a meaningful present responsibility determination using the factors contained in FAR 9.1. However, a final rule issued by the FAR Council on September 30, 2016 has inserted a wild card into the process—the agency suspension and debarment official (SDO).
The final rule adopts an interim rule without change, which amends the FAR to establish the following representation and certification requirements:
- Representation (FAR 52.209-11): Any corporation responding to a federal solicitation must represent whether it: (1) has any unpaid federal tax liability that has been assessed and is not being appealed or paid in a timely manner; or (2) has a felony conviction for a violation under any federal law within the preceding 24 months. There is no de minimus amount for reporting tax delinquencies. Consistent with the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriation Acts, an affirmative response to either prong would create an automatic exclusion that precludes the award of federal contracts in a “shoot first, ask questions later” fashion.
- Certification (FAR 52.209-12): Corporate offerors must certify to tax matters contained in FAR 52.209-12(b) when responding to certain solicitations where the resultant contract (including options) may have a value greater than $5 million. If applicable, contractors must ensure that their certifications are accurate; otherwise additional liability could arise for the submission of false statements.
Fastest 5 Minutes, The Podcast Gov’t Contractors Can’t Do Without (Sep. 30)
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. This latest edition is hosted by partners David Robbins and Lorraine Campos and includes updates on the Transactional Data Rule Pilot Program,
GSA to Require SCA Wage Determinations at the Task Order Level
Beginning in June 2016, GSA will remove current wage determinations from existing MAS Schedules and require ordering agencies to incorporate determinations at the task order level to ensure that the “most recent” wage determinations are incorporated when an individual task order is placed. The recently announced change is part of GSA’s plan to “update” the
Seismic Shift in VA Trade Agreements Act Policy
Earlier this week, the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) announced a seismic shift in policy that opens VA Schedule 65 IB to covered drugs that do not comply with the Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. §2501 et seq.) (“TAA”). While the VA’s prior policy prohibited contractors from offering TAA non-compliant drugs from on a Federal
New Zealand Companies Out of the “Chillybin”
By notice published in the Federal Register, the U.S. Trade Representative has confirmed that New Zealand has acceded to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement and thereby, effective August 12, 2015, has become a “designated country” under the Trade Agreements Act. Accordingly, products and services from New Zealand are now eligible to be procured under