DoD Issues Five Final Rules Amending the DFARS
The Department of Defense has issued five final rules that amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. All but one of the rules have a June 28, 2019, effective date.
The Department of Defense has issued five final rules that amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement. All but one of the rules have a June 28, 2019, effective date.
The Government Accountability Office has released its Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2018. According to the report, GAO received 2,607 cases in the 2018 fiscal year, consisting of 2,474 protests, 55 cost claims, and 78 requests for reconsideration. GAO closed 2,642 cases in FY 2018, and 356 of those were attributable to GAO’s jurisdiction over task order protests.
Source: GAO Releases FY 2018 Bid Protest Statistics | Government Contracts Blog
The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration have issued a semiannual regulatory agenda for the Federal Acquisition Regulation. The agenda provides summary descriptions of regulations being developed by the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council. The agenda shows 33 rules in the proposed stage, 9 rules in the final stage, and 7 completed actions. The rules in the proposed stage include:
Source: FAR Council Previews Upcoming Rules | Government Contracts Blog
The Department of Labor has announced the 2019 minimum wage rate for contracts covered by Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors.
The 2014 executive order raised the hourly minimum wage paid by contractors to workers performing work on covered federal contracts to $10.10 per hour starting January 1, 2015. For covered tipped employees, the order set an hourly cash wage of at least $4.90.
Source: 2019 Contractor Minimum Wage Increased to $10.60 | Government Contracts Blog
Today, President Trump signed into law the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019(H.R. 5515). The bill passed both houses with broad bipartisan support. The House approved the bill by a vote of 359 to 54 and the Senate by a vote of 87 to 10. The law authorizes FY 2019 appropriations and sets forth policies for Department of Defense programs and activities, including military personnel strengths.
Source: NDAA FY 2019 Signed into Law with Strong Bipartisan Support | Government Contracts Blog
Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-99, issued June 15, contains two interim rules amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Item I—Use of Products and Services of Kaspersky Lab (FAR Case 2018-010) implements section 1634 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (PL 115-91) and goes into effect on July 16, 2018. Item II—Violations of Arms Control Treaties or Agreements with the United States (FAR Case 2017-018) implements section 1290 of the NDAA FY 2017 (PL 114-328) and has a June 15, 2018, effective date. Comments on both interim rules are due by August 14, 2018. The FAC also contains a Small Entity Compliance Guide, which indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis was prepared for each rule.
Source: Interim Rules Implement National Defense Authorization Act Requirements
The Department of Defense on May 30 issued eight final rules amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Supplement. Five rules implement recommendations from the DoD Regulatory Reform Task Force, while three rules implement sections of fiscal year National Defense Authorization Acts.
Source: DoD Picks Up Pace With Acquisition Rulemaking | Government Contracts Blog
The Government Accountability Office has issued the tenth edition of Bid Protests at GAO: A Descriptive Guide. GAO issued the guide to aid those interested in the bid protest process.
Source: GAO Updates Guide to Bid Protests | Government Contracts Blog
Department of Defense Class Deviation 2018-O0013 raises micro-purchase and simplified acquisition thresholds and revises the special emergency procurement authority.
Source: Micro-Purchase and Simplified Acquisition Thresholds Raised by DoD | Government Contracts Blog
A Small Business Administration notice advises the public that the agency has revised its white paper, entitled “SBA’s Size Standards Methodology,” which describes the SBA’s methodology for establishing, reviewing and adjusting its small business size standards pursuant to the Small Business Act (PL 85-536) and related legislative guidelines. Under the Act, as amended, the SBA’s Administrator has authority to establish small business size standards for federal government programs. The white paper provides a detailed description of the size standards methodology.
Source: SBA Seeks Comments on Revised Size Standards Methodology | Government Contracts Blog