Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced a settlement with a Defense subcontractor near Sacramento, CA surrounding allegations that it inflated its indirect costs that were used in negotiating subcontracts with prime contractors including Boeing and Raytheon.
This week’s episode covers SEC, ASBCA, GSA, and CFIUS news, and is hosted by partners David Robbins and Peter Eyre. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should be without.
Source: Fastest 5 Minutes The Podcast Gov’t Contractors Can’t Do Without | Government Contracts Legal Forum
This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower’s guests are Elizabeth Moon, small business program manager at AFCEA; David Pak, resident and CEO of USmax Corp; and Eric Strauss, director of Business Development at Connected Logistics.
Source: Big issues for small contractors: AFCEA – Federal News Network
The SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protégé program offers a tremendous opportunity for participants to pursue set-aside contracts as joint venture partners. But misunderstandings and misconceptions about how SBA mentor-protégé joint ventures work are pervasive.
GSA (General Services Administration) has reissued the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) as the FY (fiscal year) 2019 version. The previous reissue was in fiscal year 2005 and since then, has been amended 101 times – FAC (Federal Acquisition Circular) 2005-01 through 2005-101.
Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Fiscal Year 2019 FAR Reissue
The Air Force wants fuller technology solutions, better data and stronger supply chain management for its IT buys and is turning to the General Services Administration for help. The two departments announced Wednesday a $5.5 billion replacement to the Air Force’s Network-Centric Solutions 2, or NETCENTS-2, contract.
Source: Air Force Turns to GSA For $5.5 Billion Next-Gen IT Contract – Nextgov
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed a May 2017 Court of Federal Claims decision requiring the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) to give veteran-owned small businesses first priority before purchasing from the AbilityOne Program.
For months contractors have been looking for ways to help agencies deal with the latest President’s Management Agenda. Now another agenda is out: The 2019 regulatory agenda. Contractors are going to have to deal with that one, also. Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel at the Professional Services Council, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for highlights of what’s in store.
Source: Contractors now trying to navigate 2018 and 2019 PMAs – Federal News Network
Beyond set-aside procurements, the government bolsters small businesses by encouraging their participation in federally-funded research. Two key programs exist: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Programand the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. Ultimately, the government hopes that participating small businesses will commercialize technologies developed with federal research dollars. While the two programs are similar, a key feature distinguishes them: the STTR Program requires a small business to partner with a qualified research institution.
Source: 5 Things You Should Know: SBIR/STTR Programs | SmallGovCon – Government Contracts Law Blog
We talk about it in our proposals. We know it works. Agile practitioners take it seriously and are diligent about its use. What is it? It’s the idea of using lessons learned from each proposal effort to improve our approach the next time. In the Agile Scrum world, they call it a Retrospective.
Source: Applying an Agile Tool to Make Your Proposal Processes Better | Lohfeld
