The Weekly Update for November 18, 2016

Publications, The Weekly Update 10.18.16

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, AND NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION Clarification of Requirement for Justifications for 8(a) Sole Source Contracts The Department of Defense (“DOD”), General Services Administration (“GSA”), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”) have issued a proposed rule to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to clarify the guidance for sole-source 8(a) contract awards exceeding $22 million.  This proposed rule responds to the recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) in its report, “Slow Start . . . Read More

Non-Commercial Computer Software Rights and Government Misconceptions About What It Buys

Intellectual Property, Blog 10.18.16

By: Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV

This article is the third installment in a series on Data Rights in Federal Contracts. We first  wrote about what data rights were ; then  about technical data and how to protect it ; and now we will discuss ownership, license rights, and the protection of rights in non-commercial computer software. Because non-commercial computer software is treated like non-commercial data under the FAR (a topic discussed at length in the prior installment of this series), we will focus now on how non-commercial software is treated under the DFARS. That said, the general principles discussed . . . Read More

The Weekly Update for October 14, 2016

Publications, The Weekly Update 10.14.16

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Implementing Category Management for Common Goods and Services The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (“OFPP”) in the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) has proposed the issuance of a new OMB Circular, Implementing Category Management for Common Goods and Services, to codify category management, a strategic practice where Federal contracting for common goods and services is managed by categories of spending across the Government and supported by teams of experts.  The Circular establishes key principles, and strategies and . . . Read More

Take Note of This Law Regarding Small Business Offerors Under Multiple Award Contracts

Blog 10.14.16

By Julia Di Vito The National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year 2016, which went into effect on November 25, 2015, contains some requirements regarding multiple award contracts that you might not know about. The 2016 NDAA amended part of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. § 644(q), which governs the award of contracts by the Federal Government. This statute, as amended, now requires that for any multiple award contract above the “substantial bundling threshold of the Federal agency,” the agency . . . Read More

Expiration of GAO’s Jurisdiction of Civilian Agency Task Order Protests Limits Government Contractor Options

Blog 10.11.16

By: Jacqueline K. Unger

As of October 1, the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (“GAO”) jurisdiction over protests on civilian agency task orders valued at more than $10 million expired, leaving government contractors with limited grounds for protesting such task order awards.  In 1994, the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (“FASA”) was enacted in response to concerns that the federal procurement process was too cumbersome and complicated. One of the FASA reforms included a limitation on contractors’ ability to protest the issuance of task order awards, . . . Read More

The Weekly Update for October 7, 2016

Publications, The Weekly Update 10.07.16

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Prohibition on Contracting With Corporations with Delinquent Taxes or a Felony Conviction Updating Federal Contractor Reporting of Veterans’ Employment Non-Retaliation for Disclosure of Compensation Information  Sole Source Contracts for Women-Owned Small Businesses Consolidation and Bundling  Amendment Relating to Multi-Year Contract Authority for Acquisition of Property  Contractors Performing Private Security Functions  Section of Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 Implemented Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-91 Small Entity Compliance Guide Department of Defense’s (“DOD”) Defense Industrial Base (“DIB”) Cybersecurity (“CS”) Activities  SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Early Stage Business . . . Read More

More Work Needed to Improve the HUBZone Program

Blog, Small Business Programs 10.06.16

The HUBZone Program needs some TLC. After a peak of 14,000 SBA-certified participants in 2009, the HUBZone Program has seen a significant drop in participation over the past few years due to various factors. This, in turn, has led to a marked downturn in federal spending on HUBZone firms, while other set-aside categories have consistently met or exceeded the federal spending goals. In a 2015 report, GAO recommended ways for SBA to improve HUBZone Program oversight as well as communication . . . Read More