On April 28, 2022, the DoD issued a final rule that, effective immediately, requires the government to treat a contract previously awarded using FAR part 12 procedures as a prior commercial item determination (“CID”) for the acquired product or service, unless the head of contracting activity determines that the prior use of FAR part 12
Fastest 5 Minutes: Buy American Act, Small Business, DOJ’s Civil Fraud Initiative
This week’s episode covers the final rule implementing further revisions to the Buy American Act, a proposed rule that would amend the FAR to account for recent changes in the Small Business Administration’s regulations, the NIST Secure Software Development Framework, and the first False Claims Act settlement under the DOJ’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, and is
Fastest 5 MInutes: American Rescue Plan, Bid Protests, ASBCA Decision
This week’s episode covers a new Treasury rule governing the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds under the American Rescue Plan, a bid protest decision involving a corporate transaction, a protest decision relating to standing and OCIs, and an ASBCA decision involving incurred costs, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022: Acquisition Policy Changes of Which Government Contractors Should Be Aware
During December 2021, the House and Senate reached agreement on a compromise National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. On December 23, 2021, Congress presented S. 1605 to President Biden, which he signed on December 27, 2021.
The FY2022 NDAA contains numerous provisions relating to acquisition policy—which provide new opportunities for government contractors, will result in the imposition of new clauses or reporting requirements on government contractors, require government reporting to Congress on acquisition authorities and programs, alter processes and/or procedures to which government contractors are subject, etc. Crowell & Moring’s Government Contracts Group discusses the most consequential changes in the FY2022 NDAA for government contractors below.
Continue Reading National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022: Acquisition Policy Changes of Which Government Contractors Should Be Aware
DoD Agrees To Improve How It Approaches Intellectual Property Under Government Contracts
In Section 839 of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress directed the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) to prepare a report evaluating the implementation of Department of Defense (“DoD”) Instruction 5010.44 relating to Intellectual Property Acquisition and Licensing, including but not limited to, DoD’s establishment of a cadre of intellectual property (“IP”) experts
Fastest 5 Minutes – New Executive Order, Annual Report on Bid Protest, and Responsible Artificial Intelligence Guidelines
This week’s episode covers a new executive order relevant to service contracts, the President’s Management Agenda, GAO’s Annual Report on Bid Protests, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Federal Government Cybersecurity Incident and Vulnerability Response Playbooks, and the Defense Innovation Unit’s Responsible Artificial Intelligence Guidelines, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell
Goodbye Commercial “Items”: FAR Council Replaces Definition with Commercial Products and Services
On November 4, 2021, the FAR Council issued a final rule replacing the FAR definition of “commercial item” with bifurcated definitions for “commercial product’’ and “commercial service.” The rule implements Section 836 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019, and is also consistent with recommendations from the Section 809 Panel to implement
Pay $100 Million Before Boarding: TSA Liable to Contractor for Patent Infringement Under 28 U.S.C. § 1498
On October 22, 2021, the Court of Federal Claims (Court) unsealed a decision awarding contractor SecurityPoint Holdings, Inc. (SecurityPoint) over $100 million in damages for TSA’s infringement of SecurityPoint’s patent No. 6,888,460 (“the ‘460 patent”). The ‘460 patent concerns a system of trays that recycle through security screening checkpoints by use of movable carts, and
Fastest 5 Minutes – Federal Data Strategy, Climate Change, and False Claims Act
This week’s episode covers the latest on the COVID vaccine requirement for contractors, Federal Data Strategy Action Plan, Army Digital Transformation Strategy, FAR Council call for comments on proposed amendments focusing on climate change, and a development under the False Claims Act , and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring’s
Fastest 5 Minutes: Buy American Act, the False Claims Act, and COVID Vaccines and Protocols for Contractors
This week’s episode covers a White House announcement about COVID vaccines and safety protocols for contractors working at government sites, proposed rule regarding Buy American Act, GSA announcement about transitioning from the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) system in SAM.gov, and pending legislative amendments to the False Claims Act, and is hosted by Peter Eyre