Search results for: other transaction

Defense Department leaders and agencies have been granted much-needed flexibility to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.  Last week, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment Ellen Lord delegated approval authority for Other Transaction Agreements (“OTs”) related to the coronavirus response, consistent with Section 13006 of the CARES Act.
Continue Reading Other Transaction Authorities Given Greater Flexibility to Foster Innovation in Coronavirus Response

The Department of Defense (DoD) has once again emphasized its willingness to engage with commercial companies and other non-traditional contractors to try to expedite and simplify its procurement of innovative technologies. In particular, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) indicated that it plans to enter directly into Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements, and DoD issued a class deviation for a commercial solutions opening (CSO) pilot program.

These developments, in connection with the continued promotion of OTA agreements by DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit Experimental organization (DIUx), provide commercial companies with additional incentives to enter into creative collaborations with the U.S. Government.Continue Reading DoD Seeks Streamlined Procurements of Innovative Technologies – Other Transaction Agreements and the Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program

On February 7, the Department of Defense (DoD) awarded REAN Cloud a contract valued at up to $950 million to work with defense agencies to migrate existing applications to commercial cloud solutions. The award is of significant relevance to efforts currently underway in connection with the upcoming DoD Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure—or “JEDI”—procurement. However, the award is also important in a broader context in that it was issued as a follow-on production contract to an “other transaction” (OT) prototype agreement awarded on an expedited basis by DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit Experimental organization (DIUx). The award, therefore, reflects DoD’s increased comfort with issuing high-value production contracts following preliminary work with DIUx under OT prototype agreements.
Continue Reading DIUx and DoD Other Transaction Prototype Agreements: The Fast Track to DoD Funding

The employee non-competition agreement landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with several states enacting new limits on the use of non-competition agreements between employers and employees.  Once a valuable tool for employers to protect their businesses from unfair competition, loss of customers, or misuse of company confidential information, many states have increasingly limited the enforceability of such agreements.

The federal government is now weighing in on the appropriate use of non-competition agreements between employers and employees.  President Biden’s July 9, 2021 Executive Order asks the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to limit such agreements—signaling a potential expansion of federal regulation of agreements between employers and workers.  And a pending Senate bill would ban most non-competition agreements.  Given these developments, government contractors and other employers should assess whether their use of these agreements with employees is consistent with recent state developments and aligned with the broader trend toward limiting the enforceability of these agreements.Continue Reading Recent Federal and State Laws Restrict Use of Employee Non-Competition Agreements by Government Contractors and Other Employers

(This article was originally published in Law360 and has been modified for this blog.)

On July 15, 2019, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials.  The EO directs the FAR Council to “consider” amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation’s provisions governing the implementation of the Buy American Act.  This EO is the Trump administration’s latest – and most concrete – step toward enhancing domestic sourcing preferences and restricting foreign sources of supply for federal customers.  And if implemented, the change promises to have dramatic implications for government contractors and their supply chains.
Continue Reading Another Executive Order on Buying American, and This One Has Teeth

We recently wrote about GSA’s new Transactional Data Reporting (“TDR”) pilot program, which requires participating Federal Supply Schedule (“FSS”) contractors to report 11 items of transactional data to GSA each month. The TDR rule also eliminates the requirement to provide a Commercial Sales Practices (“CSP”) format as well as the Price Reductions Clause.  As we noted in our earlier post, the TDR rule promises to give GSA contracting officers greater flexibility in evaluating FSS offers and proposed pricing, but there still is significant uncertainty as to how GSA will apply the rule in practice.

Recognizing this uncertainty, the Coalition for Government Procurement recently submitted 65 questions to GSA focused on five aspects of the TDR rule: Use of the Data, Pricing, Pilot Administration and Operations, Public Disclosure of Information, and Evaluating the Pilot. GSA responded to the Coalition’s questions on September 19th.  While GSA’s efforts to engage with industry are commendable, GSA left unanswered many key questions that are of significance to FSS contractors, including how the TDR rule will impact FSS contract pricing negotiations.Continue Reading GSA Leaves Many Questions Unanswered, As Industry Assesses The New Transactional Data Reporting Rule

The Court of Federal Claims recently issued an opinion in the long running litigation between Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (“Sikorsky”) and the United States regarding Sikorsky’s cost accounting practices. In this new decision, the court rejected a government attempt to pursue a new legal theory to challenge Sikorsky’s compliance with the Cost Accounting Standard (“CAS”), which contradicted a legal theory the government had pursued in an earlier round of litigation. During the first round of litigation, the government had claimed that Sikorsky’s accounting practices violated a specific CAS – CAS 418. In the second round, the government demanded payment from Sikorsky on the theory that those same accounting practices were actually compliant and therefore a subsequent change triggered a violation of a different CAS regulation. This new legal theory was inconsistent with the government’s original claim. In rejecting this aggressive tactic, the court indicated its displeasure at the government’s legal arguments, and the decision may help contractors in future attempts to curtail the government’s appetite for aggressive CAS litigation tactics.
Continue Reading In Long-Running CAS Case, the Court of Federal Claims Rejects a Government Attempt to Get Another Bite at the Apple

On September 14, 2026, Deputy Secretary of War Stephen Feinberg issued a memorandum and an accompanying appendix focused on strengthening the defense industrial base by reforming acquisition requirements related to a wide range of issues, including accounting standards, efficiency, government oversight, procedural requirements, audits, pricing, and more.  Building on prior policymaking, including Executive Order 14402 (April 30, 2026), this memorandum directs agency actions aimed at making defense acquisition more commercially oriented and less dependent on government-unique accounting and oversight regimes. 

Among other things, the memorandum directs the Department of War (“DoW”) to shift away from the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) and increase its reliance on the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), including by advancing CAS coverage reform at the CAS Board.  The memorandum further directs a number of other reforms related to accelerating acquisition transformation, scaling advance market commitments, improving efficiency, reducing administrative burden, limiting audits, streamlining business system reviews, and increasing the use of commercial contracting and other transaction authority (“OTA”) agreements. 

Continue Reading Department of War Issues Memorandum Aimed at Strengthening the Industrial Base Through Acquisition Reform

As we covered in our previous blog post, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) has launched the “Genesis Mission” to apply AI technology to a wide variety of scientific and technological challenges.    

Last week, DOE announced it had selected 278 Genesis Mission projects for potential awards.  The selected projects span nuclear energy, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, and materials science, among other areas.  According to DOE, the largest selection is a three-year, $60 million nuclear energy project involving 32 partner entities, including 4 national labs and more than 20 industry partners.

Continue Reading Department of Energy Selects 278 Genesis Mission Projects

On March 17, 2026, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a Request for Application (“RFA”) under the Genesis Mission, a White House-led AI initiative announced in November 2025.  The RFA, with $293.76 million in anticipated total funding, solicits project proposals for 21 areas ranging from advanced manufacturing and industrial productivity to energy and nuclear physics.  Applications for Phase I and letters of intent for Phase II are both due April 28, 2026.  This blog post reviews the development of the Genesis Mission since last year and summarizes the key elements of the current funding opportunity.

Continue Reading DOE Announces a New Funding Opportunity under the Genesis Mission