Government Contracts Insights

July 24, 2023 - Federal Procurement
DoD Issues Updated Other Transactions (OT) Guide
By: Locke Bell
The Department of Defense updated its guidance on “other transaction” agreements, or “OTs,”[1] an increasingly popular contracting authority not subject to the FAR or most procurement laws that accounted for more than $37 billion in defense spending from 2019 through 2021.[2] Although the new
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May 08, 2023 - Federal Procurement, Labor & Employment
The Debt Ceiling and Its Potential Implications for Government Contractors
By: Kevin P. Mullen and Markus Gerhard Speidel
Contractors face potential payment uncertainty as a result of the current congressional inability to agree to increase the federal government’s debt ceiling. The government reached the official debt limit months ago, on January 19, 2023. Yet by all appearances it continues to operate “as normal.”
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April 27, 2023 - Federal Procurement, Defense, Compliance
Challenging Unilateral Definitizations of Undefinitized Contract Actions: What Is a Claim?
By: James A. Tucker
Forty-five years after enactment of the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (CDA), contractors and agencies still often struggle to identify what is and isn’t a CDA claim—a term the CDA itself does not define. Until the CDA’s administrative dispute process is complete, a contractor is
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March 31, 2023 - Small Business, Federal Procurement
Back to the Drawing Board: Far Councils Withdraw Long-delayed Proposed Rule for Lower-tier Small Business Subcontracting Credit
By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann
Some of you may recall the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 from nearly a decade ago. It amended the Small Business Act (SBA) to allow a contractor, under certain circumstances, to receive credit towards its subcontracting plan goals for awards
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February 27, 2023 - Federal Procurement
UK Procurement Bill: Pursuing Simple and Accountable Procurement
By: Alistair Maughan
The UK is pressing ahead with a reform to its government procurement laws that will diverge from the harmonized EU procurement regime that applied in the UK pre-Brexit. The proposals are intended to create a more transparent approach. Whether a different but simplified process
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February 27, 2023 - Federal Procurement
SAM.gov Is Changing – Make Sure You’re Keeping Up
By: Damien C. Specht and Locke Bell
The System for Award Management website (SAM.gov) recently changed its registration and update process, and the feedback we’ve heard from clients is that it is slow – even for entities that are simply renewing an existing registration. As SAM delays can cause payment delays, the
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February 13, 2023 - Federal Procurement
OMB Proposes New Domestic Preference Requirements for Federally Funded Infrastructure Projects
By: Damien C. Specht and Markus Gerhard Speidel
On February 9, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed rule that would subject all federally funded infrastructure projects to domestic preference requirements that are materially similar to the Buy American Act requirements applicable to many federal procurements. For purposes of
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January 16, 2023 - Federal Procurement
A Bluer Shade of Blue: All “outstandings” Are Not Created Equal
By: James A. Tucker
A common mistake in competitive procurements is a mechanical fixation on the adjectival ratings, color ratings, or numerical “scores” a procuring agency assigns a proposal under a particular evaluation factor. In best value tradeoff acquisitions, one often hears (from both contractors and government personnel)
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August 22, 2022 - Federal Procurement
“I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends”: Relying on Affiliate Past Performance and Experience
By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker
For evaluation purposes in a federal procurement, may an offeror rely upon the past performance and experience of its affiliates? The answer generally is a qualified yes, but the answer and the qualifications may change depending on the terms of each solicitation. If, on the other
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August 16, 2022 - Federal Procurement
Another Piece to the Puzzle: Court of Federal Claims Has Jurisdiction Over Bid Protest Where the Disputed Other Transaction Could Lead to a Follow-On Production Contract
By: Locke Bell and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
There has been significant uncertainty as to where a company can protest an Other Transaction (“OT”) award. As we previously reported , cases such as SpaceX , MD Helicopter , and Kinemetrics have provided useful data points. The most recent decision of the U.S. Court of
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Topic Archives: Federal Procurement

DoD Issues Updated Other Transactions (OT) Guide

By: Locke Bell

The Debt Ceiling and Its Potential Implications for Government Contractors

By: Kevin P. Mullen and Markus Gerhard Speidel

Challenging Unilateral Definitizations of Undefinitized Contract Actions: What Is a Claim?

By: James A. Tucker

Back to the Drawing Board: Far Councils Withdraw Long-delayed Proposed Rule for Lower-tier Small Business Subcontracting Credit

By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann

UK Procurement Bill: Pursuing Simple and Accountable Procurement

By: Alistair Maughan

SAM.gov Is Changing – Make Sure You’re Keeping Up

By: Damien C. Specht and Locke Bell

OMB Proposes New Domestic Preference Requirements for Federally Funded Infrastructure Projects

By: Damien C. Specht and Markus Gerhard Speidel

A Bluer Shade of Blue: All “outstandings” Are Not Created Equal

By: James A. Tucker

“I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends”: Relying on Affiliate Past Performance and Experience

By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker

Another Piece to the Puzzle: Court of Federal Claims Has Jurisdiction Over Bid Protest Where the Disputed Other Transaction Could Lead to a Follow-On Production Contract

By: Locke Bell and Victoria Dalcourt Angle