On May 30, 2024, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement Section 803 of the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which modified 10 U.S.C. § 3455 to provide additional guidance regarding data requirements needed to support determinations of commerciality and price reasonableness under procurements for major weapon systems. The rule applies to products that (i) have not previously been deemed commercial by the DoD; and (ii) are proposed as either a subsystem of a major weapon system or as a component or spare part of a major weapon system or subsystem. Continue Reading Commerciality Guidance for Major Weapon System Procurements
Special Edition of the Fastest 5 Minutes:
Federal Circuit Protest Ruling in Percipient.ai, Inc. v. United States
This special edition covers the Federal Circuit’s June 2024 protest decision in Percipient.ai, Inc. v. United States, and is hosted by Yuan Zhou and Anuj Vohra. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government
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Commerciality, Employee-Owned Businesses, Procurement Collusion Strike Force
This week’s episode covers a final rule regarding commerciality and price reasonableness under procurements for major weapon systems, a DOD pilot program involving employee-owned businesses, and an update on the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5
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Cyber, Semiconductors, AI, False Claims Act
This week’s episode covers cybersecurity updates, a proposed rule regarding prohibition on semiconductors produced by certain Chinese manufacturers, DOL guidance entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Equal Employment Opportunity for Federal Contractors,” and two settlements under the civil False Claims Act, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell
“(Don’t) Let the Chips Fall Where They May”: FAR Council Previews Proposed Rule Implementing the Covered Semiconductor Prohibition
On May 3, 2024, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) regarding the prohibition on semiconductors produced by certain Chinese manufacturers, enacted in Section 5949(a)(1) of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 (Section 5949) expanding on the prohibition on covered telecommunications equipment and services produced by Huawei, ZTE, and others from Section 889 of the FY 2019 NDAA (Section 889). Continue Reading “(Don’t) Let the Chips Fall Where They May”: FAR Council Previews Proposed Rule Implementing the Covered Semiconductor Prohibition
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FAR Part 40, Cyber Reporting, Bid Protest
This week’s episode covers a final rule updating the FAR to add Part 40 on information security and supply chain security, a notice of proposed rulemaking detailing how companies will have to comply with the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022, and a bid protest
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AI Governance, Bid Protests, Software Attestation
This week’s episode covers an OMB memo directing agencies to advance AI governance and innovation, a bid protest involving compliance with the Trade Agreements Act, and an updated Secure Software Development Attestation Form that must be used by certain software producers and suppliers of products containing software, and is
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End User License Agreements, Whistleblower Incentives, GHG Disclosures
This week’s episode covers a Federal Circuit decision holding that an end user license agreement incorporated into another contractor’s agreement was sufficient to establish jurisdiction under the Contract Disputes Act, a new DOJ pilot program to incentivize whistleblowers to report corporate misconduct by offering monetary rewards, and
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Defense Innovation Unit, AI, Proposal Timeliness
This week’s episode covers DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit report about actions to maintain U.S. technological superiority, DOJ’s plans to address the dangers posed by AI technology by seeking sentencing enhancements for crimes committed using AI technology, and a GAO decision involving a situation in which an offeror’s proposal was
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Salary-History Bans and Pay Transparency, Section 3610 of the CARES Act
This week’s episode covers a proposed rule on salary-history bans and pay transparency for job applicants and employees of federal contractors and subcontractors, a claim relating to Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, new requirements for U.S.-based Infrastructure