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Government Contracting Insights

October 2023

Proposal Would Make Losers Pay for Bid Protests

By Stephanie Barna , Michele Pearce and Kayleigh Scalzo
Section 804 of the House-enacted version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 would establish a “loser pays” pilot program to require contractors to reimburse the Defense Department for costs incurred in “processing” bid protests that are ultimately denied by the Government Accountability Office.
Government Policy

June 2023

JUST IN: TikTok Ban Issued for Federal Government Contractors

By Allyson Park
A new Federal Acquisition Regulation clause prohibits contractors from “having or using” the social media app on any devices used to conduct official business.
Manufacturing

November 2022

White House Pushes Domestic Manufacturing

By Nooree Lee , Peter Terenzio and Michael Wagner
The RFI’s emphasis on U.S. manufacturing and clean energy technology is no accident. Rather, it is a natural result of the Biden administration’s intense focus on these policy areas.
Government Contracting Insights

December 2020

Parsing the Meaning of Performance Risk Scores

By Ryan Burnette , Susan Cassidy and Darby Rourick
On Sept. 29, the Defense Department released an interim rule on addressing its increased requirements for assessing whether contractors are compliant with the 110 security controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-171. Contractors could be affected by how the Pentagon uses the assessment scores to evaluate supplier performance risks.
Defense Contracting

January 2020

Pentagon Updating Cybersecurity Guidance

By Ryan Burnette , Susan Cassidy and Samantha L. Clark
In December, the Defense Department released a new draft of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, or CMMC, an important guide for contractors.
Contracting

October 2019

Contractors Face New Reporting Requirements

By Jeff Bozman , Susan Cassidy and Samantha L. Clark
Government Policy

May 2019

Operational Security Erodes in Social Media Age

By Zachary Kronisch
In 2017, fitness-tracking application Strava released a map detailing all location data uploaded by app users, including U.S. service members stationed overseas.
Defense Contracting

April 2019

IG Report Has Implications for Contractors

By Ryan Burnette , Susan Cassidy and Michael Wagner
On Feb. 25, the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General issued an audit report analyzing the prices of spare aviation parts purchased by the government from TransDigm Group Inc. The report has important implications for contractors doing business with the Pentagon.
Defense Department

March 2019

Nonlethal Weapons Offer Victory, De-Escalation

By Zachary Kronisch
In 1995, U.S. troops protected United Nations forces withdrawing from Somalia by using nonlethal weapons to both subdue hostiles and prevent conflict escalation. In doing so, they exemplified both the value and viability of alternate, nonlethal options for the warfighter.
Defense Contracting

March 2019

Debate Over Qui Tam Constitutionality Resumes

By Herb Fenster , Peter Hutt II and Carl Wiersum
The motivating force behind the False Claims Act is its provision for qui tam enforcement, which authorizes private parties to initiate FCA cases on behalf of the United States.