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We recently wrote about the FAR Council’s release of an interim rule implementing restrictions on procurements involving certain Chinese telecommunications hardware manufacturers and service providers, such as Huawei and ZTE. The interim rule creates a new FAR Subpart 4.21, as well as two new contract clauses, FAR 52.204-24 and 52.204-25, which were effective August 13, 2019. These restrictions apply not only to prime contractors, but also to all subcontractors and throughout the supply chain. Concurrent with the release of the FAR interim rule, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a memorandum, laying out DoD procedures to implement the prohibitions contained therein. These procedures apply to contracts, task orders, and delivery orders, including basic ordering agreements (BOAs), orders against BOAs, blanket purchase agreements (BPAs), and calls against BPAs.
Continue Reading Effective Last Month! – DoD’s Implementation of New FAR Prohibitions on Chinese Telecommunications Equipment and Services in Government Contracts

There are big changes happening in military healthcare procurement. Some are unsurprising given the October 1, 2019 deadline for the reorganization of all military hospitals and clinics under the management of the Department of Defense (DOD), Defense Health Agency (DHA). But some may be unexpected, reaching all the way to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) procurement, though the extent to which the VA will ultimately be affected is unclear. In the past few weeks, at least three major announcements were made regarding military healthcare: (1) DHA and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) regarding their respective rolls in DOD healthcare, (2) DLA gave the VA access to its medical/surgical prime vendor formulary indefinitely, and (3) the VA cancelled its long-anticipated prime vendor solicitation under the Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor (MSPV) 2.0 program. Is this all a coincidence? Probably not.
Continue Reading What’s the VA Got to Do With It? Military Medical Procurement Changes Reach the VA

The Government remains intensely focused on how best to protect its Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) once it is released to contractors. In a shift from its initial approach of “we will take the contractor’s word for it,” the Department of Defense (DoD) announced in June 2019 it is in the process of developing a new cybersecurity certification program for its contractors, which will involve using third party auditors to validate contractor compliance with required security controls. In addition, on June 19, 2019, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released two new highly-anticipated draft special publications – NIST SP 800-171, Rev 2 and NIST SP 800-171B – with a tight turnaround time for comments by July 19, 2019.
Continue Reading Cyber Update: DoD Contractor Cybersecurity Certification and 33 New Enhanced Controls to Combat the Advanced Persistent Threat

If you follow professional football, you are familiar with the message generally given to an aspiring player just before he is cut – “Coach wants to see you.  Bring your playbook.”  The playbook, that step-by-step guide to on-the-field success, is something that teams guard zealously.

Not all teams, however, maintain the secrecy of their playbooks, and the U.S. Government is a case in point.  The Government actually publishes its playbook of bargaining techniques recommended for its contract negotiators.  Like the Commandments Moses brought down from Mount Sinai, the Government playbook consists of 10 Rules.  These Rules can be found in Chapter 6 of Volume 5 of the DoD’s Contract Pricing Reference Guides.  The Rules are all reasonable and, in many ways, predictable. Because “Forewarned is forearmed,” here they are –…
Continue Reading The Government’s Playbook – Your Guide to Uncle Sam’s Negotiating Techniques

In 2019, cybersecurity has become top-of-mind for most federal government contractors and agencies that share sensitive information.  In addition to updated Department of Defense guidance and procedures for evaluating contractors’ compliance with cybersecurity requirements, as well as an increase in Department of Defense cybersecurity audits, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) council also has promised a new FAR clause that will require compliance with NIST SP 800-171 security controls for civilian agency contractors that receive or create Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).
Continue Reading “Internet of Things” Guidance to be Added to Cybersecurity Requirements for Agencies and Federal Contractors

By memorandum dated June 7, 2018, Shay Assad, DoD’s Director, Defense Pricing/Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, has reversed decades of procurement practice that has been embraced by industry and the government alike in attempting to manage the often unmanageable process of providing the government with cost or pricing data that is current, accurate and complete as of the date of agreement on price. Recognizing that inherent “lag time” often makes it impossible for contractors to provide “up to the minute” data in real time at the point when the parties “shake hands,” contractors have customarily performed immediate post-handshake “sweeps” of their databases to provide the government with any data that may have escaped the pre-handshake dragnet. The government, in turn, has customarily accepted the data, evaluated its impact on the price, and negotiated, if and as appropriate, adjustments to the price. The net result was that the government had all the data, its impact on price was addressed, and the contractor avoided liability under the Truth in Negotiations Act and, possibly, under the False Claims Act. Everyone was happy.

Not anymore.
Continue Reading OSD Issues Policy Guidance Rejecting “Sweeps” Data

On June 12, 2018, the Department of Defense (“DoD”), the General Services Administration, and NASA proposed a new rule that would limit the “adequate price competition” exception to certified cost or pricing data requirements on all DoD, NASA, and Coast Guard procurements. Currently, FAR 15.403-1 prohibits contracting officers from requiring contractors to submit certified cost or pricing data to support a contract action when the contracting officer determines that the prices agreed upon are based on “adequate price competition,” which the regulation defines in one of three ways:…
Continue Reading Proposed Rule Would Create a Separate, More Restrictive Standard for “Adequate Price Competition” for the DoD, NASA, and the Coast Guard

The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA” or “Act”) includes changes that could make the Department of Defense (“DoD”) a more effective and knowledgeable purchaser of Intellectual Property (“IP”) and promote more flexible IP acquisition strategies. These same changes also could encourage Contracting Officers to insist on broader IP rights and delivery requirements. While it has always been important for contractors to protect their IP (click here for our list of “Top 10 Ways to Lose Rights in Your IP”), with the passage of the 2018 NDAA, avoiding the loss of valuable IP rights could require even more sophistication and vigilance.
Continue Reading Contractors Beware: The 2018 NDAA Ushers In New Changes Affecting IP Rights