Covington today issued the third edition of its Chiefs of Staff manual on handling investigations of Members of Congress and Congressional staff. The manual was originally published in 2014, but has been updated twice since then. The new third edition includes some of the latest available statistics and examples. This manual is intended to advise
February 2018
At Long Last – GSA Issues Final Rule on Purchasing “Order-Level Materials” on Schedule Orders
Few issues have bedeviled the GSA Schedules program as much as the provision of incidental supplies and services under Schedule orders. For years, it has been unclear how such supplies and services are to be purchased and priced, since they are not themselves on Schedule.
But now, with GSA’s new Order-Level Materials (“OLM”) rule,…
Ninth Circuit Decision Provides Critical Win to FTC in its Authority over Internet Service Providers
In a ruling with implications for both net neutrality and privacy, the Ninth Circuit ruled en banc today that the common carrier exemption in Section 5 of the FTC Act is activity-based, reversing a 2016 panel ruling that the exemption was status-based. Today’s decision bolsters the FTC’s authority to bring consumer protection (including privacy) and…
Latest NIST Draft Report a Call to Action for Federal Agencies and Private Companies
Inflection Point for IoT
In a relatively short amount of time, the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) and its applications— from smart cars to the myriad of interconnected sensors in the General Service Administration building reminiscent of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey— has rapidly proliferated, providing significant opportunities and benefits. However,…
States Battle to Resurrect Net Neutrality Rules
On December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) voted along party lines to adopt a 210-page Declaratory Ruling, Report and Order, and Order (the “Restoring Internet Freedom Order” or “Order”) geared towards overhauling the net neutrality framework established during the Obama administration in 2015 (the “2015 Order”). On February 22nd, the Order…
Covington Internet of Things Update: Latest NIST Draft Report a Call to Action for Federal Agencies and Private Companies
Inflection Point for IoT
In a relatively short amount of time, the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) and its applications— from smart cars to the myriad of interconnected sensors in the General Service Administration building reminiscent of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey— has rapidly proliferated, providing significant opportunities and benefits. However,…
Key Takeaways from Trump’s Infrastructure Plan—Private Financing And A Capital Budget, But No “Buy American” Requirements?
By Peter Terenzio & Sandy Hoe
Last week, President Donald Trump released his long-awaited infrastructure plan, entitled a “Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America.” Clocking-in at 53 pages, this plan is designed to “stimulate at least $1.5 trillion in new investment over the next 10 years” through $200 billion of federal funding. The infrastructure plan is intended to provide a…
Covington Internet of Things Update: China’s regulatory environment steps up for Low-Power WAN IoT deployment
By Ruixue Ran & Alexander Wang
In 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China’s telecom regulator and industrial policy maker, issued the Circular on Comprehensively Advancing the Construction and Development of Mobile Internet of Things (NB-IoT) (MIIT Circular [2017] No. 351, the “Circular”), which sets out the policy goals and plans for NB-IoT development in China and concrete…
Update on U.S.-China Trade Relations
Recent U.S. Trade Actions
Concerns about the possibility of a U.S.-China “trade war” remain strong, especially after the Trump administration announced (Section 201) safeguard decisions against imported solar panels in January, and the Commerce Department released its (Section 232) report in February on the national security impact of steel and aluminum imports recommending additional tariffs…
DIUx and DoD Other Transaction Prototype Agreements: The Fast Track to DoD Funding
On February 7, the Department of Defense (DoD) awarded REAN Cloud a contract valued at up to $950 million to work with defense agencies to migrate existing applications to commercial cloud solutions. The award is of significant relevance to efforts currently underway in connection with the upcoming DoD Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure—or “JEDI”—procurement. However, the…