Kayleigh Scalzo advises clients on an array of contracting and procurement issues, and has litigated bid protests in both the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Many government contractors are familiar with the well-established processes of federal bid protests. Less known is the dizzying variety of procedures applicable to state and local bid protests, and a rule that is well-established in one jurisdiction may be nonexistent in another. Although there are some unifying themes that pervade protest practice everywhere — namely, … Continue Reading
The government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic implicates a host of authorities of interest to contractors, from those under the Stafford Act to its recently invoked Defense Production Act powers. The government has another critical, and perhaps under-examined, set of tools at its disposal to meet the demands of the pandemic: FAR Part 18, “Emergency … Continue Reading
As a result of novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and COVID-19, federal and state governments have a sudden and unanticipated need for more goods and services. Some of those goods and services are highly specialized and specific to Coronavirus and COVID-19. But governments also have an increased and urgent need to buy otherwise-routine goods and services that … Continue Reading
As previously discussed on this blog, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 and the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2018 imposed new limitations on when the Department of Defense can use Lowest Price Technically Acceptable source selection methods. Just last month, the Department of Defense issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to … Continue Reading
GAO released its Fiscal Year 2019 protest statistics yesterday, and there are both noticeable changes and relative constants: Protest filings are down by 16%, which means about 400 fewer protests than FY18. The reason why is anyone’s guess, but it’s likely related in large part to GAO’s new Electronic Protest Docketing System — and associated … Continue Reading
Federal contractors usually think of two bid protest forums: the Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. But another protest forum often flies under the radar: the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition — aka the ODRA. In a continuation of our blog post earlier this year, we take … Continue Reading
On October 2, 2019, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and NASA issued a proposed rule that would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to establish new restrictions on when and under what circumstances civilian agencies may employ Lowest Price Technically Acceptable source selection procedures. The proposed rule would implement Section 880 of the John … Continue Reading
On September 26, 2019, the Department of Defense issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to establish new restrictions on the use of Lowest Price Technically Acceptable source selection procedures. Effective October 1, 2019, this new rule imposes specific limitations and prohibitions governing when and under what circumstances LPTA procedures are … Continue Reading
Federal contractors usually think of two bid protest forums: the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims. But there is another protest forum that often flies under the radar: the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition — aka the ODRA. The ODRA has exclusive jurisdiction over bid protests of FAA … Continue Reading
Many contractors are familiar with the well-established processes of federal bid protests. Less known is the dizzying variety of procedures applicable to state and local bid protests. Each jurisdiction has its own rules — in terms of timing, protestable issues, standard of review, document production, and more. A fundamental tenet in one jurisdiction may be … Continue Reading
Many government contractors are part of corporate families consisting of multiple corporate entities. One entity may be named as the official contracting party, but use the resources of affiliates, parents, or subsidiaries during performance. The distinction between those members of the corporate family may not seem important in terms of day-to-day operations — in fact, … Continue Reading
Last month, the Federal Circuit weighed in on a largely-overlooked provision in the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (“FASA”) that requires federal agencies, to the maximum extent practicable, to procure commercially available goods and services to meet their needs. In the case — Palantir USG v. United States — the court affirmed the decision by the … Continue Reading
In a new rule announced yesterday, the FAR Council implemented prior statutory changes to GAO’s bid protest jurisdiction. For task orders issued by the Department of Defense, NASA, or the Coast Guard, the rule provides that GAO will have jurisdiction only over task orders “valued in excess of $25 million.”… Continue Reading
On April 24, 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a Notice and Request for Comment on draft guidance that DoD proposes for assessing contractors’ System Security Plans (SSPs) and their implementation of the security controls in NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-171. This includes assessments as part of source selection decisions and during contract performance. DFARS … Continue Reading
On April 2, 2018, GAO issued a final rule revising its existing regulations to implement a number of changes to its bid protest process. The new rule becomes effective on May 1, 2018. Several of these changes implement requirements in Section 1501 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2014 (“Act”), which directed GAO to institute … Continue Reading
The Department of Homeland Security’s procurement for border wall prototypes is a complex, controversial procurement by any measure. But one protest of that procurement has recently been dismissed for a simple reason: the protester failed to timely submit comments on the agency report. Bid protests at the Government Accountability Office are notorious for their fast … Continue Reading
Last week, we reported that the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had published a presolicitation notice announcing its intent to issue a solicitation “for the design and build of several prototype wall structures in the vicinity of the United States border with Mexico.” On Friday, March 3, CBP amended that notice “to … Continue Reading
On Friday, February 24, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection published a presolicitation notice announcing its intent to issue a solicitation “for the design and build of several prototype wall structures in the vicinity of the United States border with Mexico.” At least on the government procurement front, this notice marks … Continue Reading
In response to a request from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) recently reported on the “limited role” that public-private partnerships (“PPP”) play in disposing of and managing the federal government’s “excess or unneeded real property.” Despite recent “[h]igh profile projects” — such as the 60-year lease … Continue Reading
In Starry Associates, Inc. v. United States, No. 16-44C (Fed. Cl. July 27, 2016), the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) sharply criticized a Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) decision to cancel a solicitation following two bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). The history and outcome of the case are exceptional among … Continue Reading
Many a bid protest has been dismissed for lack of standing. But often that ostensible lack of standing has more to do with how the protest arguments are crafted than the facts underlying the procurement. The Court of Federal Claims’s recent decision in Precision Asset Management Corp. v. United States (No. 15-1495) is a good … Continue Reading
As acquisition timelines become increasingly protracted, contractors face the thorny question of if, when and how to advise a procuring agency of changes affecting an already submitted proposal. In a series of decisions, the Government Accountability Office has held that contractors must inform the procuring agency of any “material change” to a proposal that occurs … Continue Reading
On June 26, 2015, the United States Agency for International Development (“USAID”) published a final rule extending its pilot Partner Vetting System (“PVS”) program to assistance awards and cooperative agreements. This final rule comes nearly two years after USAID issued a proposed rule applying PVS to USAID assistance and resembles USAID’s existing vetting program for … Continue Reading
On April 20, 2015, the Supreme Court declined to review a March 2014 Federal Circuit decision holding that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) cannot use cooperative agreements—and instead must use procurement contracts—to administer funds under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. The case is CMS Contract Management Services … Continue Reading
