Blog
On June 2, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council published an interim final rule ("IFR") to ban the use of a ByteDance Covered Application (i.e., TikTok) in government contracting. This rule is effective June 2, 2023 and "prohibits contractors from having or using a covered application on any information technology owned or managed by the Government, or on any information technology used or provided by the contractor under a contract, including equipment provided by the contractor's employees.”
On March 6, 2023, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) released a news bulletin regarding a new survey to evaluate the “current health and competitiveness of the civil segment of the U.S. space industrial base.”
According to the bulletin, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requested the survey event. NASA and NOAA seek better visibility into the supply chain network of the U.S. Civil Space Industrial Base (CSIB) to analyze and better respond to various ...
On March 10, 2023, NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (“OTPS”) released a report, Cost and Benefit Analysis of Orbital Debris Remediation. OTPS resides under NASA’s Office of the Administrator and provides strategic advice, research, and policy recommendations for NASA’s leadership and the space community. The report is NASA’s attempt to answer the question, is space debris worth cleaning up?
The report begins by saying that space debris includes, “abandoned vehicle stages, non-functional satellites, and fragments resulting from collisions ...
Every federal contractor knows how difficult it is to win a government contract. Indeed, contractors often start pursuing larger contracts or vehicles well over a year before the solicitation is even published. And, while each contractor’s business development and capture strategies vary, they typically share two characteristics: copious amounts of time and money. Given the financial burden and significant hurdles between contractors and a contract, it is exhilarating to receive a notice of award.
That sense of accomplishment, however, can be fleeting, particularly where ...
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently issued a proposed rule, which, if enacted as written, would ban essentially all non-compete agreements by private employers. The proposed rule is one of the broadest expansions of agency authority in the FTC’s history, raising a myriad of considerations for all employers.
Briefly, the proposed rule would prohibit employers from entering agreements with employees, regardless of what the agreements are called, if their substantive effect would prohibit or otherwise restrict employees from working for another company or ...
Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate overwhelmingly approved the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 ("FY23 NDAA"). The legislation is welcome news for both the Department of Defense ("DoD") and defense contractors – the bill now heads to the President's desk for signature.
While the legislation is over 4,400 pages, covering a host of issues, one provision may have a profound impact on the defense industrial base ("DIB"): inflation relief under Section 822, Modification of Contracts to Provide Extraordinary Relief Due to Inflation ...
On November 17, 2022, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) issued a final rule and several interim final rules effective December 19, 2022 that upwardly adjust some of SBA’s monetary thresholds for inflation. The changes are welcome news in this period of economic uncertainty because they will ultimately help more small businesses participate in federal set-aside opportunities. As summarized below, SBA’s new rules cover three inflationary adjustments: (1) receipts-based size standards; (2) economic disadvantage thresholds; and (3) the 8(a) sole source ...
Recently, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a memorandum to launch a pilot program that will enable certain contractors owned under an employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) to receive sole source follow-on awards. ESOP-owned defense contractors should review DoD’s memorandum and move quickly to determine how this unique pilot program may be of benefit.
Section 874 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022 (“FY22 NDAA”) created a pilot program for noncompetitive awards for certain follow-on contracts to an ESOP-owned business that meets the ...
As many contractors have known for quite some time, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) regulations provide detailed requirements for joint venture agreements, and failure to meet any of the regulatory requirements can disqualify a joint venture entirely. As for the practical ramifications for this failure, if a joint venture with a deficient joint venture agreement wins an award, but a protestor challenges its size or status, the joint venture can be stripped of its award. Given the burden that SBA’s regulations impose on joint venturers, it is imperative that ...
On November 14, 2022, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) issued a proposed rule that will have a sweeping impact on nearly all federal contractors. To implement the policies in Executive Order 14030 (Climate-Related Financial Risk) and Executive Order 14057 (Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability), the FAR Council has proposed to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) to include new requirements under FAR Part 23 that will expand the climate-based representations under FAR 52.223-22 and FAR ...