It goes without saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the Department of Defense (“DoD”) and the defense industrial base. And while Congress has taken steps to mitigate these impacts, the sheer scale of the pandemic’s effects pose a continuing challenge to both DoD and its contractors. Now a group of major defense contractors has submitted a pair of joint letters to the Pentagon and OMB highlighting the need for further action and the risk to the defense industrial base if such actions are not taken.
Continue Reading Defense Contractors Say Section 3610 and Other Contractor Support Measures Require Relief
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How Trump Plans To Finance Federal Real Property Projects
[This article was originally published in Law360 and has been modified for the blog.]
Earlier this year, President Trump revealed his plan to facilitate new (and much-needed) federal real property projects in part through a $10 billion “mandatory revolving fund,” commonly known as the Federal Capital Financing Fund or the Federal Capital Revolving Fund (the “Revolving Fund” or “FCRF”). In this article, we take a close look at the Revolving Fund, and discuss the interaction between the Revolving Fund and the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) budgetary scoring rules. As described below, the Revolving Fund is structured to allow federal agencies to meet the large, upfront dollar obligations often required by OMB’s budgetary scoring rules. But despite this welcome and significant development, questions still remain about the scope and operation of the Revolving Fund.Continue Reading How Trump Plans To Finance Federal Real Property Projects
Déjà Vu: Continuing Resolution Raises Potential Pitfalls for Contractors
As Yogi Berra famously quipped, “It’s like Déjà vu all over again!” In that spirit, Congress has again signaled that it will pass a continuing resolution to fund the Government through spring—despite vocal opposition from the Pentagon. As a result of this short term funding mechanism, contractors face a number of potential pitfalls: contract options are at risk, the next round of incremental funding is unlikely to arrive, and new contract awards and program approvals will be scarce. These pitfalls, however, can be mitigated—and even exploited—by diligent contractors.
Continue Reading Déjà Vu: Continuing Resolution Raises Potential Pitfalls for Contractors
Zika Virus Complications Lead to Expected Government Partnership with Private Industry
Concerns about the spread of Zika virus and potential complications associated with infection may soon lead to new research and development opportunities for government contractors and grant recipients. Similar to developments after the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, a need to better understand Zika’s characteristics and develop an effective countermeasure or vaccine has led both domestic and international public bodies and private industry to begin mobilizing resources in response to the virus. As a result, both new and existing contractual vehicles will likely be used to fund a wide array of activities, extending from epidemiological studies to the development of new diagnostics and countermeasures.
Similar to yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis viruses, Zika is a flavivirus that is generally transmitted through mosquitoes. Although Zika was first discovered in 1947, it has only recently been identified as a significant threat to public health based on a potential connection between Zika and microcephaly in newborns—a condition associated with incomplete brain development. Recent events have also provided additional evidence of a potential link between Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome, which is a nervous system disorder that could affect Zika’s carriers.
Previously, the virus was understood to have relatively limited consequences, only causing mild, flu-like symptoms in one of five of its hosts. However, an outbreak of the virus in French Polynesia in 2013 and 2014 has now been associated with an increase in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. In addition, an ongoing outbreak of the virus that began in Brazil last year has affected over one million individuals and been linked to both an increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome and a dramatic rise in cases of microcephaly. Zika RNA has been discovered in the amniotic fluid of women with affected fetuses in Brazil, and a recent report indicates that an affected newborn in Hawaii acquired Zika in the womb.Continue Reading Zika Virus Complications Lead to Expected Government Partnership with Private Industry
President Signs Act Authorizing $5.4 Billion in Emergency Funding to Combat Ebola
Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed into law a $1.1 trillion appropriations act that allocates approximately $5.4 billion in emergency funding to support the U.S. Government’s response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Although this funding falls short of the Administration’s initial $6.18 billion request—approximately $1.54 billion of which was to be allocated to a contingency fund similar to appropriations made in response to pandemic influenza—all emergency funding for Ebola provided by the act is available for immediate use. The funding is split between the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), the Department of Defense (“DoD”), the Department of State, and the Agency for International Development (“AID”). Government contractors and grant recipients can expect these agencies to use their respective shares of the funding to create a number of opportunities in the coming months.
Continue Reading President Signs Act Authorizing $5.4 Billion in Emergency Funding to Combat Ebola