contract payments | The Contracting Education Academy

October 26, 2020 By cs

Learn how the government administers contracts during week of Dec. 7th

Before the year’s end, you have the opportunity to attend a virtual course at Georgia Tech that comprehensively covers the federal contract administration process.

The course — Contract Administration in the FAR (CON 090-4) — begins Monday, Dec. 7 and concludes Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. The course is being offered entirely on-line. Registration details are at: https://pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-4-contract-administration-far.

**Students participate virtually in our complete, on-line version of CON 090-4, covering all aspects of Contract Administration.**

Who Should Attend

Government contracting officials will learn not only the rules but the best practices in contract administration. And, this course satisfies required FAC-C and DAWIA certification programs.
Business people, including those to aspire to become federal contractors, will learn how to use the power of being an incumbent to win future contracts as well as how to protect contractual interests.

How You Will Benefit

You will learn:

The fundamental concepts of government contract administration.
The rights of the parties when contract performance is not timely.
Both the government’s and the contractor’s rights when contract performance comes into question.
The policies and procedures for preparing and processing contract modifications.
How to apply the requirements of applicable contract clauses in various contracting scenarios.
The applicable payment clauses and invoicing procedures.
The policies and procedures for filing and processing contract disputes and appeals.
The policies and procedures pertaining to the complete or partial termination of contracts for the convenience of the government or for default.
All pertinent parts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

Course Content

Contract administration basics
Contract modifications
Administration of selected terms and conditions
Delays
Quality assurance
Payment and cost allowability
Disputes and appeals
Terminations
Closeout

Materials

Each student works with a Student Guide, exercises, updated supplemental information, and exclusive access to web-based student resources.

Additional Information

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech (The Academy) is an approved equivalency training provider to the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI). Our courses satisfy both the FAC-C and the DAWIA certification programs. The coursework also provides students the opportunity to earn continuing education unit credits (CEUs) for acquisition and government contracting professionals as well as business professionals working for the government or pursuing opportunities in the federal contracting arena.

CON 090-4 is the fourth of four modules in the CON 090 course series entitled Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Fundamentals. The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech offers the entire CON 090 series in four, one-week classes. Each module stands on its own, allowing students multiple opportunities throughout the year to complete the entire CON 090 course. . Because of Georgia Tech’s unique instructional approach, the four modules can be taken in any order.

More Information and To Register

For more information on this course, please visit: https://pe.gatech.edu/courses/con-090-4-contract-administration-far

October 19, 2020 By cs

Civilian agency contract spending reaches record high in FY20

The novel coronavirus pandemic largely contributed to the increase, Bloomberg Government reports.

Civilian agencies’ contract spending hit a record high of $228 billion in fiscal 2020, an increase of 17% ($33.5 billion) from 2019. The surge in spending is mainly due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and Energy departments drove the increase in spending, Bloomberg Government said in a report. Of the $228 billion, 26% or $59.4 billion went to small businesses, a $6.5 billion increase from fiscal 2019.

“In previous years there’s been single digit jumps, so this is a huge jump compared to previous years,” Robert Levinson, senior defense analyst at Bloomberg Government, told Government Executive. He noted that there is a 90-day delay for the Defense Department’s contract spending for security purposes and there is also classified spending that will never be released.

HHS, which spent $41.2 billion in fiscal 2020 in contract obligations, accounted for 44% of the $33.5 billion in overall increased civilian contract spending. The majority of HHS’ spending was for vaccines, research, ventilators and other pandemic-related efforts. Some of these contracts, such as for a public relations campaign to “inspire hope” about the pandemic and new data reporting system, have drawn concern from Democratic lawmakers.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/10/civilian-agency-contract-spending-reaches-record-high-fiscal-2020/169127/

October 2, 2020 By cs

DoD explains how contractors will get reimbursed for COVID expenses — if Congress cuts a check

With lawmakers and the White House unable to come to an agreement on a new coronavirus stimulus package, it’s unlikely that money requested to reimburse defense contractors for pandemic-related expenses will reach these companies until at least the second quarter of 2021, according to the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer.

Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, laid out the reimbursement process. She said it would take the Pentagon five to six months to distribute those funds after they are approved by Congress.

“Then we want to look at all of the proposals at once,” Lord said at a recent Defense News Conference. “It isn’t going to be a first in, first out, and we have to rationalize using the rules we’ve put in place what would be reimbursable and what’s not.”

Lord estimated that the tab for defense contractors’ pandemic expenses from March 15 to Sept. 15 would come to “between $10 and $20 billion.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defenseone.com/business/2020/09/dod-explains-how-contractors-will-get-reimbursed-covid-expenses-if-congress-cuts-check/168344/

August 21, 2020 By cs

DoD working on policy to pay back contractors faster for work stopped by COVID

The Defense Department has been slowly reimbursing companies for work that is unable to be completed because of the coronavirus.

However, Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord said it may be coming faster in the near future.

Lord told members of the Professional Services Council that DoD sent a policy over to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that would push through claims for payments of $2 million or less.

“We have developed a streamlined path forward for low dollar value reimbursements under $2 million, and a path to settle globally at a company or division level that will eliminate the need to have proposals and negotiations on the contract-by-contract basis,” Lord said.

DoD is planning to use a tiered system that will look at claims depending on how large they are and impose varying levels of oversight over them.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/dod-reporters-notebook-jared-serbu/2020/08/defense-department-working-on-policy-to-pay-back-contractors-faster-for-work-stopped-by-covid/

April 14, 2020 By cs

Newest DoD industry guidance clarifies repayments, makes prototyping easier

As part of its ongoing effort to bolster the defense industrial base, the Pentagon has issued two new pieces of guidance — one focused on workers, and one focused on prototype contracts.

Overall, the department has now issued 17 different actions, ranging from basic guidance for industry to memos changing how the department pays contractors, since March 5.

In an April 6 memo, acquisition head Ellen Lord changed the rules for issuing prototype contracts through other transaction authorities.

OTAs are small contracts awarded to companies of any size, in theory targeted at nontraditional defense contractors, with the purpose of conducting research or prototype efforts on a specific project; they are not subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation rules.

By comparison, SBIR contracts are targeted at small businesses in order to act as seed money for them to conduct research and development efforts; they are subject to the FAR rules.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defensenews.com/coronavirus/2020/04/09/newest-dod-industry-guidance-clarifies-repayments-makes-prototyping-easier/

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech has established a webpage where all contract-related developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) are summarized. Find the page at: https://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/coronavirus-information-for-contracting-officers-and-contractors/