PNWC’s Government Contracting Update - page 52

Beginning in January, you might see a new clause showing up in solicitations and contracts. The new clause will mandate privacy training on contracts where contractor employees will have access to a system of records where they will create, collect, use, process, store, maintain, disseminate, disclose, dispose, or otherwise handle personally identifiable information, or contractor employees will be designing, maintaining, or operating such a system of records.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Privacy Act Training for Contractor Employees

The FAR Councils issued a final rule amending the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) that will require contractors to notify the contracting officer, in writing, if the contractor pays a reduced price to a small business subcontractor or if the contractor’s payment to a small business subcontractor is more than 90 days past due. The rule also requires contracting officers to record the identity of contractors with a history of late or reduce payments to small business subcontractors in FAPIIS.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: New Self-Reporting Requirement for Late Payments Made to Subcontractors

Not every Government procurement requires contractors to submit certified cost or pricing data. In fact, certified cost or pricing data is a last resort when one of the exemptions described in FAR 15.403-1 is not available (e.g. adequate price competition, prices set by law or regulation, commercial items, etc). When certified cost or pricing data is required, the threshold is currently set at $750 thousand (see FAR 15.403-4).

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Negotiations that Require Certification of Cost or Pricing Data

Last month, Senator James Lankford released his second edition of Federal Fumbles wherein he provided 100 examples of wasteful government spending (see Federal Fumbles – 2016 Edition). Not to be outdone, Senator John McCain released a report entitled “America’s Most Wasted” which he calls the first in a series of oversight reports that expose wasteful, duplicative and inefficient government spending.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: New Report: America’s Most Wasted

The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 requires that the Comptroller General (i.e. the GAO or Government Accountability Office) report to Congress each instance in which a federal agency did not fully implement one of its recommendations in connection with a bid protest decided in the prior fiscal year and each instance in which a final decision in a protest was not rendered within 100 days after the protest has been filed.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: GAO Publishes Fiscal Year 2016 Bid Protest Statistics

The FAR Councils published two new regulations today, one concerning Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces and the other Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors. We previously reported on these topics at earlier stages of the rule making process. See Safe Workplaces and Paid Sick Leave.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Two New FAR Changes Affecting Government Contractors and Subcontractors

The Department of Justice announced that during fiscal year 2016 (ending September 30, 2016) it obtained more than $ 4.7 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the Government. This represents the third highest recovery since fiscal year 2009 and brings the total amount recovered during that period to $ 31.3 billion.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Government Recovers $4.7 Billion in False Claims Settlements in Fiscal Year 2016

The Army awarded a fixed-price contract to the Missouri Department of Social Services (MDSS) to operate 18 dining facilities at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Two years into the contract, the Army issued a partial termination for convenience removing six dining facilities from the contract. After the partial termination, the Army and MDSS were unable to agree on a price for the remaining 12 dining facilities so MDSS submitted a claim for the increased costs of performing the remaining contract work.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Partial Termination Allows Equitable Adjustment on Remaining Work for Unrecovered Fixed Costs

The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) is responsible for testing contractor compliance with Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) and report any noncompliances to the cognizant contracting officer, usually someone from the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) to resolve the potential noncompliances.

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Charged with a CAS Noncompliance? No Worry – Good Chance the Contracting Officer Will Ignore It

The Berry Amendment is a statutory requirement that restricts the Department of Defense (DoD) from using procurement funds for food, clothing, fabrics, fibers, yarns, other made-up textiles, and hand or measuring tools that are not grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States. With respect to textiles, the Berry Amendment has been critical to the viability of the textile and clothing production base in the US (source: Department of Commerce Website).

Source: PNWC’s Government Contracting Update: Competitor’s Low Bid Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Noncompliance with Solicitation Requirements