CVE Verification Pointer: Remember to Provide Truthful Information

Posted on July 15, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

In government contracting—as in life—it’s important to be honest. And in our experience, most government contractors are honest. Where a contractor is dishonest or untruthful, it can face significant sanctions.

So it was in a recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision, in which the OHA considered the cancellation of an entity’s SDVOSB status. In CVE Appeal of Afily8 Government Solutions, LLC, SBA No. CVE-125-A (2019), the OHA affirmed the cancellation of Afily8’s SDVOSB verification based on concerns that Afily8 did not provide truthful information to the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: July 1 – 12, 2019

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Shane McCall

I hope you all enjoyed your Fourth of July and celebrated the things you love about our country. My in-laws live outside the city limits, so around these parts the Fourth also means shooting off fireworks (in a safe manner of course).

Because of the holiday, we’re offering you a rare double feature of news about government contracting–2 weeks in 1! So sit back and enjoy.

Some of the interesting news this week includes updates on an alleged email scheme involving a phony contracting officer, NIST draft guideline for developing artificial intelligence technical standards, and contractor supply chain liabilities.

2020 NDAA: Contractors Supplying Technical Data to Receive Protection of Data Rights During Challenges, Again

Posted on July 11, 2019 by Nicole Pottroff

The draft 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, if enacted, will revoke the government’s ability to exercise rights in technical data during a supplier’s challenge to the contracting officer’s decision as to the validity of the asserted “use or release restrictions” on that data. It would reinstate the previous safeguard afforded to data suppliers, allowing them to protect their valuable–and often irreplaceable–intellectual property rights unless and until the contracting officer’s decision to remove the restrictions is sustained.

Keep in mind, this is just a draft provision, as the Senate version of the 2020 NDAA doesn’t contain the provision discussed in this blog.

SCOTUS Rules Proprietary Business Information Shielded from FOIA Disclosure

Posted on July 10, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

Many government contractors are familiar with FOIA requests, or requests made by individuals under the Freedom of Information Act for release of information in the federal government’s possession.

In the recent case Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, the U.S. Supreme Court held that commercial or financial information is “confidential” and cannot be disclosed under FOIA where it is treated as private by its owner and provided to the government under an assurance of privacy.

ASBCA Awards Costs Incurred Before Notice to Proceed

Posted on July 9, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

Your newly awarded government contract requires you to move significant amounts of equipment prior to receiving a Notice to Proceed (NTP). You spend thousands of dollars moving equipment and people into place so you are ready to perform once the NTP is issued. But what if instead of issuing the NTP the agency cancels your contract? Are you out all of the costs incurred to prepare for the NTP?

Not necessarily. The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals recently reviewed just this situation and awarded a significant amount to the contractor.

If You’re Working on a Military Installation, Don’t Lose Your Base Access

Posted on July 8, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

In the classic 1993 movie Gettysburg, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, a great American hero (played by Jeff Daniels), commented on the power wielded by military commanders, particularly generals: “Generals can do anything. Nothing quite so much like God on Earth as a general on a battlefield.”

It turns out that this power extends to actions that might affect your Government contract. For instance, a base commander can revoke a contractor’s access to the base; if that happens, and the contract required the contractor to maintain base access eligibility, the Government can rightly terminate the contract for default.

SCOTUS Declines to Limit Agency Power

Posted on July 3, 2019 by SmallGovConContributor

In a unanimous decision that read like a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Kisor v. Wilke this week. All nine justices agreed that the case should be remanded to the lower court, but they expressed dramatically different reasoning.

What it means, essentially, is that for now courts will continue to defer to agencies’ reasonable interpretation of their own regulations. For contractors facing off against agencies, it means that the agencies still have the upper hand—however, SCOTUS did try to limit it some.