Legal Information & Resources for Federal Construction Contractors
By: Joseph A. Hackenbracht
Federal contractors need to prepare for another change in the online environment. Currently scheduled to take place in late July of this year, the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system will no longer exist. The Federal government is starting a new registration system called the System for Award Management, or SAM [Uncle,…
By: Michael H. Payne
There has been a noticeable increase in the number of contractors proposed for debarment and in the tenacity with which alleged ethical violations are being investigated. Government contractors who receive contract awards in excess of $5 million are required to have a written Code of Business Ethics and Conduct pursuant to…
By: Michael H. Payne
A protest that challenges the source selection decision on a negotiated, best value, procurement is not easy to win. Numerous decisions of the GAO and the United States Court of Federal Claims have held that procurement officials are entitled to substantial deference. In a recent decision by the Court of Federal…
By: Michael H. Payne
Government contractors frequently use incorrect terminology to describe a solicitation. For example, clients often call me and ask why they were not awarded a contract even though they had submitted the lowest bid. The first thing that I ask is whether the solicitation was a Request for Proposals ("RFP"), or an…
By: Edward T. DeLisle
Pursuant to the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (CDA), every claim on a federal construction project that is in excess of $100,000 must be certified. The reasoning behind this policy is simple: the government wants to discourage the submission of questionable and/or inflated claims. As such, for each claim in…
By: Michael H. Payne
The Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of 2009 (Public Law 110-417) was enacted on October 14, 2008. Section 872 of the Act required the development and maintenance of an information system that contains specific information on the integrity and performance of covered Federal agency contractors and grantees. The Federal Awardee…
By: Michael H. Payne
The GAO requires, as provided in 4 CFR 21.2, that:
(a)(1) Protests based upon alleged improprieties in a solicitation which are apparent prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals shall be filed prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial…
By: Michael H. Payne
The growth of contracting by negotiation or “best value” procurement, has had a chilling effect on the submission of claims by construction contractors. There seems to be a growing fear that claims are frowned upon by contracting officers and that they will be counted against a contractor during future proposal evaluations.
By: Edward T. DeLisle
Senator Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday that is designed to combat fraud and abuse in the world of small business contracting. As we have reported, the General Accounting Office (GAO) has issued a number of reports over the last several years detailing the existence of fraud in…
By: Edward T. DeLisle
For those who regularly read our blog, you know that we have followed the government’s recent concern about fraud and abuse in the federal procurement process. The GAO has issued reports that recite such abuse relative to the 8(a), HUBZone and SDVOSB programs. As those reports indicate, companies have been…
