Welcome to the Government Contracts Insights Blog

Morrison Foerster’s Government Contracts Insights blog provides an in-depth analysis of news, developments, and trends impacting government contracting and procurement. Through Insights, attorneys from our nationally recognized Government Contracts and Public Procurement practice will offer a real-time assessment of the statutory, regulatory, legal, and business-related developments that are shaping the industry. This blog will also examine a full array of U.S. and non-U.S. public procurement issues, mindful that our clients compete in a global marketplace.

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March 07, 2024 - Protests & Litigation
Bid Protest Spotlight: Conflict, Latent Ambiguity, Cost Realism
By: Markus Gerhard Speidel
This month’s Bid Protest Roundup highlights a trio of U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) decisions. The first decision, Deloitte Consulting , highlights the risk of severing a teaming partner after quote submission. The second, Kauffman and Associates, Inc. , illustrates how a latent ambiguity in the
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February 13, 2024 - Protests & Litigation
Bid Protest Spotlight: Standing, Brand-Name or Equal, Insufficient Documentation
By: Victoria Dalcourt Angle
This month’s bid protest roundup highlights one decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and two decisions from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). REV, LLC v. United States clarifies the elements required to establish prejudice and standing in multi-phase,
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February 08, 2024 - Small Business
OMB Says Agencies “Should” Perform a Rule of Two Analysis and Set Aside Requirements for Task Orders Under Multiple-Award Contracts
By: James A. Tucker and Damien C. Specht
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a policy memorandum with a goal of promoting small business participation under multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts (MACs). One of the memorandum’s three areas of focus – and the focus of this article – is
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January 31, 2024 - Labor & Employment
Proposed Rule Seeks to Mandate Pay Transparency and Ban Using Salary History for Federal Contractors
By: Andrew R. Turnbull and Keniece Y. Gray
On January 29, 2024, the Biden administration issued a Proposed Rule that would prohibit federal contractors from seeking and considering compensation history when making employment decisions and require contractors to disclose compensation being offered in job postings. If implemented, the requirements will apply broadly to
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January 25, 2024 - Protests & Litigation
December 2023 Bid Protest Roundup: Supplementation, Conversion, Rejection
This month’s Bid Protest Roundup include decisions regarding supplementation of the record and whether an agency may convert a sealed bid opportunity into a negotiated procurement due to lack of funds, as well as a case in which the Court of Federal Claims found
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January 08, 2024 - Small Business
GAO Finds Company's BPA BID Remains Eligible for Award Despite a Transaction, Recertification, and Change in Size Status in Connection with Its Underlying Federal Supply Schedule Contract
By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker
Small business regulations create one of the stickier wickets in bid protest litigation. Although the Small Business Administration (SBA) has exclusive authority to determine a company’s size and socioeconomic status, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sometimes must wrestle with size and status questions to adjudicate
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January 03, 2024 - Federal Procurement, National Security, Small Business
Notable Provisions of the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act
By: Tina D. Reynolds
On December 22, 2023, President Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 into law after bipartisan congressional majorities approved the bill earlier in the month. The annual bill authorizes appropriations and sets policy for the Department of Defense (“DoD”) and
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January 02, 2024 - Protests & Litigation, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, Compliance
An Overview of the Defense Department’s Long-Awaited Proposed Regulations for Its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program
By: Tina D. Reynolds
The U.S. Department of Defense released a special holiday treat for government contractors and subcontractors last week in the form of long-promised proposed regulations for its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. More than two years in the making, the current iteration of the
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December 18, 2023 - Intellectual Property
Biden Administration Proposes Novel Use of Price as Justification for Agency Exercise of March-In Rights for Government-Funded Inventions
By: Tina D. Reynolds and Daisuke Alexander Gatanaga
Presented as part of its effort to lower what it views as excessive prices for prescription drugs, the Biden administration on December 7, 2023, announced the release of a proposed framework to expand the use of government “march-in” authority under the Bayh-Dole Act. The
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December 06, 2023 - Protests & Litigation
November 2023 Bid Protest Roundup
By: James A. Tucker
This month's protest spotlight highlights three decisions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The decisions feature arguments that unsuccessful offerors often want to make, but that are rarely successful, as well as two arguments that some will be surprised did not succeed. Matter of:
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Welcome to the Government Contracts Insights Blog

Bid Protest Spotlight: Conflict, Latent Ambiguity, Cost Realism

By: Markus Gerhard Speidel

Bid Protest Spotlight: Standing, Brand-Name or Equal, Insufficient Documentation

By: Victoria Dalcourt Angle

OMB Says Agencies “Should” Perform a Rule of Two Analysis and Set Aside Requirements for Task Orders Under Multiple-Award Contracts

By: James A. Tucker and Damien C. Specht

Proposed Rule Seeks to Mandate Pay Transparency and Ban Using Salary History for Federal Contractors

By: Andrew R. Turnbull and Keniece Y. Gray

December 2023 Bid Protest Roundup: Supplementation, Conversion, Rejection

GAO Finds Company's BPA BID Remains Eligible for Award Despite a Transaction, Recertification, and Change in Size Status in Connection with Its Underlying Federal Supply Schedule Contract

By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker

Notable Provisions of the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act

By: Tina D. Reynolds

An Overview of the Defense Department’s Long-Awaited Proposed Regulations for Its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program

By: Tina D. Reynolds

Biden Administration Proposes Novel Use of Price as Justification for Agency Exercise of March-In Rights for Government-Funded Inventions

By: Tina D. Reynolds and Daisuke Alexander Gatanaga

November 2023 Bid Protest Roundup

By: James A. Tucker