This is the nineteenth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”). The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various Government agencies to
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Congress Offers Greater Hope for Defense Contractors Battling Inflation; Actual Relief Is Still Not Clear
As part of the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), Congress has given the Department of Defense authority to pay defense contractors for increased costs due to inflation. Section 822 of the NDAA amends Public Law 85-804 (50 U.S.C. 1431) to allow contractors to apply for adjustments, while also giving the DoD wide discretion to…
October 2022 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order
This is the eighteenth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”). The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various Government agencies to…
New FAR Provision Aims to Encourage Communication Between Government and Industry
On December 1, 2022, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and NASA published a final rule addressing “Effective Communication Between Government and Industry,” which is aimed at “encourag[ing] communication between Government acquisition personnel and industry.”
The rule adds a paragraph to FAR 1.102-2 that reads as follows:
The Government must not hesitate to communicate…
Department of Transportation Issues Two Proposed Waiver Notices for Build America, Buy America
On November 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) published two proposed waiver notices with request for comments related to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Build America, Buy America Act (“BABA”). Both notices stated that DOT’s existing temporary waiver for construction materials would not be extended past its expiration on November 10, 2022. One notice…
GAO’s Annual Bid Protest Report: Number of Protests Continues to Drop While the Effectiveness Rate Remains High
On Tuesday, GAO released its Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2022, which provides bid protest statistics and other interesting information regarding GAO’s protest system.
- The number of protest filings dropped by 12% from FY21. After a 12% drop in FY21, protest filings went down another 12% in FY22, with the
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New Law Increases Government Scrutiny of Contractor Compliance with Anti-Trafficking Provisions
President Biden recently signed bipartisan legislation reinforcing anti-human trafficking prohibitions. The End Human Trafficking in Government Contracts Act of 2022 builds on the existing anti-human trafficking framework at Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) § 52.222-50 (Combatting Trafficking in Persons) by requiring agencies to refer contractor reports of potential human trafficking activity directly to an agency suspension…
September 2022 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order
By: Robert Huffman, Susan Cassidy, Michael Wagner, Ryan Burnette, and Emma Merrill
This is the seventeenth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”). The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and…
August 2022 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order
This is the sixteenth in a series of Covington blogs on implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”). The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described the actions taken by various Government agencies to…
GAO Sustains Pre-Award Protest and Finds Solicitation Terms to Be Ambiguous
As we have previously covered on this blog, challenges to the terms of a solicitation typically must be raised in a bid protest brought prior to proposal submission. The Government Accountability Office recently sustained such a pre-award protest in Selex ES, Inc., B-420799 (Sept. 6, 2022). …