Public Contracting Institute Blog
The Public Contracting Institute blog supplement our govcon training offerings with insightful articles written by leading professionals across the government contracts industry. Our professionals publish articles on topics on government contracts administration, accounting, bids/proposals, disputes, claims, and much more. For more inforamation about our blog, reach out to seminars@publiccontractinginstitute.com.
Additionally, look for the PCI Practical Matters Podcast, coming soon! It will cover the latest news in our industry, along with insightful commentary on the most important topics in Government Contracting.
EXTEND YOUR OFFER OR PROTEST
An offer on a government contract is normally subject to a specified offer (bid or proposal) acceptance period. Standard Form (“SF”) 33, Solicitation, Offer and Award, includes a block 12 which states that either a minimum offer acceptance period is specified in FAR...
TERMINATION OF AN 8(A) CONTRACTOR FOR FAILURE TO PAY A SUBCONTRACTOR
A recent decision by the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”) sustained the SBA’s termination of an 8(a) contractor for failing to pay a subcontractor $68,688.53, citing this failure as a lack of business integrity. Corporate...
THE GAO HAS NO BID PROTEST JURISDICTION OVER FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC
Even though the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or “Fannie Mae”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC or “Freddie Mac”) were in receivership, they are not “federal agencies” and are not subject to the bid protest jurisdiction of the...
UNREASONABLE RESTRICTIONS ON QUOTATION OR PROPOSAL REVISIONS
Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) 15.307 states that “[a]t the conclusion of discussions, each offeror still in the competitive range shall be given an opportunity to submit a final proposal revision….” This same requirement for fairness applies to negotiated...
WHAT IS A FAIR MARKET PRICE IN SET-ASIDES?
What is a fair market price, or a fair and reasonable price? The Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) requires that in a small business set-aside, the government must have a reasonable expectation that the award price will be reasonable, i.e., award will be made at...
LATENT AMBIGUITY
It is an important rule of interpretation for both solicitations and contracts that the reader must examine the plain language of the document, and resolve questions of interpretation by reading the document as a whole and in a manner that gives effect to all...
ONLY A CONTRACTOR, NOT AN IMPOSTOR, MAY SUBMIT A CLAIM
An Air Force contracting officer (“CO”) receives an email referencing Contract No. H92237-13-C-5002 (the “Contract”) for general labor services for a base in Afghanistan. The General Director of Tawhid Afzali Construction Company (“TACC”), Mr. Muhmmad Nazeer, states...
THE LATE OFFER RULE DOES NOT APPLY TO QUOTATIONS
The general rule in government procurement is that when a contractor submits an offer, it must be on time as stated in the solicitation. With very limited exceptions, “late is late” and the offer generally may not be considered. This is reflected in the three Federal...
POTENTIAL IMPACT OF NEW GUIDANCE ON FALSE CLAIMS ACT CASES
Two new Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Memoranda could have a potential impact on Civil False Act Claims cases, as well as other civil enforcement cases. The two memos are: Memorandum from Michael D. Granston, Director, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section,...
CAUTION ON “REFRESHES” OF YOUR MULTIPLE AWARD SCHEDULE CONTRACT
The General Services Administration (“GSA”) announced on April 26, 2018 that it will require that multiple award schedule contractors accept the bilateral Commercial Supplier Agreements (“CSA”) modification through a “refresh” of the contract. This change is described...
