A new FAR final rule recently went into effect that has increased the percentage for the domestic component requirement under the Buy American Act, a percentage that had been in place for nearly 70 years before this recent change.
Continue readingCategory Archives: Statutes and Regulations
Buy American Act Executive Order Promises Much, Will it Deliver?
The White House has released the final language of the Buy America Act. Our recent post looked forward to what we could expect from the final rule. Now the rule has been released, so what is in it?
The executive order promises quite a bit, and a lot of what is promised we will likely not see until 6 to 12 months down the road.
Here is what to expect now, in 6 months, and then down the road.
Continue readingFive Things You Should Know: the FAR’s Independent Pricing Certification
Small businesses will see several major multiple-award solicitations in 2021, including CIO-SP4 and Polaris. As contractors develop their capture strategies for important procurements like these, one frequently-asked question is, “can I be on multiple teams?”
While there is no simple one-size-fits-all, yes/no answer to the “multiple teams” question, an often-overlooked FAR provision provides some important guidance. Let’s take a look at five things you should know about the FAR’s Certificate of Independent Price Determination.
Continue readingFive Things to Look for in Executive Order Strengthening Buy American Act
As we have blogged about previously, the Buy American Act has a number of exceptions and waivers. The United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars each year in contracting alone. The Buy American Act is intended to keep federal dollars in the hands of American companies and manufacturers. The president’s new executive order on these issues, proposes making some significant changes to not only the rule, but to oversight.
Continue readingChanges to the Gig-Contractor Rule: Biden Administration Poised to Freeze New Rule From Taking Effect
The Department of Labor on January 7, 2021 posted a final rule regarding the classification of so-called “gig contractors.” The final rule is set to take effect on March 8, 2021. A big question mark looms over whether this rule will actually take effect. The incoming Biden administration, as most incoming administrations have done, intends to freeze all pending regulations which have yet to take effect.
Continue reading2020 Rewind: The Year’s Biggest Government Contracting News Affecting Small Businesses
Let’s face it: most people won’t look back on 2020 with anything remotely approaching nostalgia. Here at Koprince Law LLC, we are eager to turn the page and move on with 2021, too.
But small businesses shouldn’t forget 2020 completely. The year brought many important developments, including major changes to some key government contracting rules that our readers should remember. So here, in a nutshell, are the most important 2020 government contracting changes and legal developments for small businesses.
Continue readingReverse Auctions: Proposed Rule Poised to Strengthen Regulatory Framework
The DoD, NASA, and GSA have proposed new rules aimed at providing transparency for reverse auctions after GAO reports in 2013 and 2018 signaled the need for guidance on reverse auctions to achieve cost savings and reduce fees.
As context, the FAR was amended in 1997 to allow for the use of reverse auctions. Six agencies conducted approximately 15,000 reverse auctions in 2016 alone. Reverse auctions, despite their wide use, are not without controversy. Application of fees, and inability to verify actual cost savings plague the use of reverse auctions.
Private companies have developed software and services which companies use to, hopefully, increase their chances in reverse auctions.
As a result, a new proposed rule is open for comments here.
Continue reading