March 2019 - page 2

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) published a new asking whether the benefits of using “Other Transaction Agreements” (OTAs) are commensurate with the risks (see: Other Transactions: Do the Rewards Outweigh the Risks?). OTAs have been around for a long time but are being used more frequently these days to streamline the procurement process. POGO wonders whether the increased use of OTAs is putting the Government (and taxpayers) at undue risk.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Government may be Awarding Too Many OTAs (Other Transaction Agreements)

When companies are successful in winning a bid protest before the GAO (Government Accountability Office), the GAO often also recommends that the successful protester be reimbursed reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest. Such a recommendation to reimburse successful protesters however, is not a blank check. A protester seeking to recover the costs of pursuing its protest must submit sufficient documentation to support its monetary claim.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Bid Protest Costs must be Adequately Supported to be Reimbursable

Prime contractors are responsible for oversight of their subcontracts. That is a well grounded and established principle of Government contracting. The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) dedicate a significant number of resources to ensuring the propriety of subcontract costs passed along to the Government through prime contractor billings. These include pre-award policies and procedures involving purchasing systems and consent to subcontract requests all the way to incurred cost audit procedures.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: GAO Criticizes DOE for Subcontractor Oversight Practices