In 1657, mathematician Blaise Pascal commented in a letter to his church leaders “I have made this longer than usual because I did not have time to make it shorter.” More than 100 years later, another Frenchman, Napoleon Bonaparte, offered a similar remark to his valet as he prepared to head out for battle. “Dress me slowly,” he said, “I’m in a hurry.” The irony of the quotations makes people smile, but few quibble with their underlying truthfulness. Often, the more in a hurry you are, the more you need to slow down.
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PREP Act Update: All NIOSH-Approved Respirators Now Are Covered Countermeasures Eligible for Immunity
All respirators approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (“NIOSH”) now are “covered countermeasures” under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (“PREP”) Act provisions of the Public Health Service Act, and their manufacturers and distributors are eligible for immunity from suits for injury and death resulting from use of the masks in the public health response to COVID-19. The Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued an updated PREP Act declaration implementing this addition to the covered countermeasures eligible for PREP Act immunity, with retroactive effect to March 27, 2020.
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Seize The Day (and the PPE) – An Overview of State and Local Rules Governing the Possession and/or Sale of Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”) during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
As the Federal Government struggles to secure a sufficient volume of Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”) – i.e., gloves, masks, gowns, face shields, etc. – for the nation’s health care workers and first responders, states and localities have begun taking it upon themselves to identify and protect the resources available within their geographic boundaries. These efforts have resulted in a growing number of state and local orders targeted at manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors of PPE and medical equipment.
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Gifting Goods & Services to the U.S. Government in the Wake of the Coronavirus Outbreak
COVID-19 (a.k.a. the Coronavirus) is upon us and it looks like it is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. In January, the Department of Health and Human Services declared the Coronavirus outbreak to constitute a Public Health Emergency, and on March 13, 2020, President Trump declared it a National Emergency. The President noted that the spread of the virus “threatens to strain our Nation’s healthcare systems.” As medical needs surge coupled with increases in state and city shutdowns to combat and contain the virus, a drain on government resources is almost certain. As such, in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak, many companies are looking for ways to help, and some are willing to do so at no cost through free goods and services to the United States Government in hopes of alleviating such strain. Many companies, however, fear that such gifts might be prohibited under federal gift rules and the Antideficiency Act (an Act originating in the 1880s that, in some cases, prevents the Government from accepting voluntary services). This article explores how companies can provide free goods and services to the Government within the strictures of applicable statutes and regulations.
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Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Face Mask Manufacturers and Distributors Protected from Liability for Coronavirus Deaths
On March 18, 2020, the President signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, H.R. 6201, Pub. L. No. 116-127 (the “Coronavirus Response Act”). Among other measures in response to the current pandemic, this legislation offers manufacturers and distributors of industrial-grade face masks, referred to as “personal respiratory protective devices,” immunity from liability arising from use of the masks in connection with COVID-19. This immunity is retroactive to January 27, 2020, will last through October 1, 2024, and stems from the Federal Government’s effort to respond to the shortage of available masks. The law follows the Food & Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization for emergency use of industrial-grade face masks in health care settings on March 2, 2020.
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COVID-19 Federal Contractor’s Survival Guide 2.0
Last week, we (Ryan and Jonathan) published the COVID-19 Federal Contractor’s Survival Guide in the Coalition For Government Procurement’s Friday Flash. The Guide was very well received – perhaps because it didn’t once instruct anyone to wash his/her hands – and several readers asked us to expand it to cover additional topics and new developments. Because the COVID-19 contracting landscape is changing so fast, we agreed an update made sense. To make the update as comprehensive as possible, we have retained the information from the original Survival Guide, and supplemented it with a wealth of new information, including answers to the questions asked during last week’s Coalition Survival Guide webinar, which is available for free download from the Coalition here.
Thus, without further ado, we offer you the COVID-19 Federal Contractor’s Survival Guide 2.0.
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DoD’s Squeeze of Chinese Telecom Equipment Continues
At the end of 2019, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) took another step to limit the potential cyber risks posed by telecommunications equipment manufactured by Chinese companies (and potentially Russian
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Why the Health Care Industry Should Be Concerned About Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act
On August 13, 2018, President Trump signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2019. While the annual NDAAs are tracked, analyzed, and picked apart with great care
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A Few Thoughts on DOJ’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force
This month, and with great fanfare, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its creation of a Procurement Collusion Strike Force. We know what you’re thinking, and no – this
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The True Impact of the Chinese Telecom Ban on Government Contractors
As you probably know, we have been following very closely developments relating to Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which prohibits executive agencies from purchasing restricted
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A Lawyer’s Special Weapons and Tactics
A few years back, two of us had the privilege of joining a highly trained SWAT team in New Orleans responding to a call for a barricaded subject with an
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