On March 16, 2018, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) and the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) released their Phase 1 Implementation Plan (the “Plan”) for “Procurement Through E-Commerce Portals” as directed by Section 846 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2018. As we have written on this blog many times before, Section 846 (or Section 801 as it was known previously) will change the way the Federal Government buys commercially-available-off-the-shelf (“COTS”) products under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (“SAT”). Section 846 directs GSA to establish one (or several) “e-commerce portals,” owned and operated commercially, through which the Government will procure COTS products under the SAT. The Plan is the general public’s first glimpse of how GSA envisions this program working, and the first of several critical steps to bring the “e-commerce portals” program online.
Continue Reading The Future of COTS Procurement: The Proposed Section 846 Business Models
COTS
Surprise, Surprise, Congress Does Listen — Well, Kind Of
By Jonathan Aronie on
An Analysis of NDAA Section 846’s Online Marketplace Provisions
There has been a lot of speculation about the future of commercial items purchasing within the federal Government since Representative Mac Thornberry circulated his “Section 801” proposal to hand over the bulk of DOD COTS purchasing to one or two existing online commercial marketplaces. (See Section 801 article HERE). Industry groups mobilized, companies called their legislators, and the media contributed several stories describing the wide spread criticism of the House NDAA proposal. To the surprise of many, however, the Senate seems to have heard industry’s concerns – or at least some of them.
Continue Reading Surprise, Surprise, Congress Does Listen — Well, Kind Of
Change Is Upon Us: An Analysis of the Section 801 COTS Provisions of the 2018 NDAA
By Jonathan Aronie on
In the words of Taylor Swift, “This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change.” While I suspect Ms. Swift was not writing about Section 801 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 when she tweeted this inspirational prognostication, she might as well have been – although, admittedly, it probably would not have generated quite so many re-tweets. In any event, if you have not done so yet, you should give it a read (Section 801 that is; not Ms. Swift’s tweets).
Continue Reading Change Is Upon Us: An Analysis of the Section 801 COTS Provisions of the 2018 NDAA
Lots of Little Things – FAR Updates from the Federal Acquisition Circular
By Townsend Bourne & David Gallacher on
Every now and then, the FAR Councils issue a Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) – an update to the Federal Acquisition Regulation implementing a number of changes. Often these changes are rather pro forma. But occasionally, you get a Circular with many different (and interesting) issues. FAC 2005-67, issued in late-June 2013, with rules becoming effective in June and July 2013, is one such circular. We thought it would be helpful to highlight five of these rules that raise interesting and timely issues, especially where they may signal additional changes yet to come.
Continue Reading Lots of Little Things – FAR Updates from the Federal Acquisition Circular
Bidding Adieu To The “Summer of Recovery”: Changes To ARRA Buy American And Reporting Requirements
While Vice President Biden was busy touting Summer 2010 as the “Summer of Recovery” and the economic effects of the February 2009 Stimulus Act (a.k.a. the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Recovery Act, ARRA, the Stimulus Act, etc.), the gears of the regulatory process ground steadily onward. Throughout the summer, the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) issued updated policy guidance implementing the ARRA requirements, and the rule-makers in the FAR Councils remained hard at work updating and (hopefully) finalizing the regulations implementing the finer details of the Recovery Act. Despite the fact that the ARRA funding officially expired on September 30, 2010 (meaning that any unobligated ARRA funds will now revert to the federal treasury to be saved or spent another day), the Government spent its summer fine-tuning the regulations. As the sun begins to set on the Recovery Act, and as the Summer of Recovery fades into the past, we summarize here some of the key features of the final Recovery Act rules promulgated over the last few months.
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Trust, but E-Verify: A Cheat Sheet for Mandatory Employment Eligibility Verification by Federal Contractors
By Sheppard Mullin on
The final rule mandating E-Verify for federal contractors became effective on September 8, 2009. The lawsuit that stayed implementation of E-Verify since January ended with the district court’s granting of the Government’s motion for summary judgment. As long as Congress continues to fund E-Verify, it should remain a permanent fixture of federal procurement.
New Rules For Commercial Off-The-Shelf Products Exempts BAA Components And Exempts Recycled Content Reporting Requirement
By Sheppard Mullin on
On January 15, 2009, the FAR Councils issued the final rule on the purchase of commercial-off-the-shelf ("COTS") products, adding a new section to the FAR to be effective on February 17, 2009. See 74 Federal Register 2713.…