Defense Industrial Base | The Contracting Education Academy

March 23, 2021 By cs

What does CMMC really mean for small businesses?

If you are a small business, you have an area of expertise, and then there are a lot of departments where you just don’t have the manpower or bandwidth to give it adequate consideration.

That is certainly the case when it comes to concerns like payroll, accounting or HR.

Now, consider how significant your records are and how you keep and secure your computer documents and policies. The security of your organization’s data and that of your clients is going to be essential to your survival. One data spill can shutter your doors, ruin your reputation, and cost you staggering fines.

Now more than ever, businesses do not have the luxury of ignoring the implications of inadequate data management and security.

What It Means, and Why

The recent emergence of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) initiative, which effectively builds off of the tenets of the DoD’s existing DFARS 252.204-7012 regulation requiring contractors to at a minimum “self-certify” their implementation of proper security practices, essentially ups the ante for its Defense Industrial Base by now independently verifying that they have the proper controls in place to protect the government’s data before doing business with them.

Translation: If you currently do work for the DoD or plan on doing work with them in the future, from mowing the lawn to handling freight, you have some digital hygiene to do – NOW.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2021/01/what-does-cmmc-really-mean-for-small-businesses/

February 11, 2021 By cs

A reminder of the key provisions of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act

Each year, Congress presents us in Title VIII of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) a potpourri of procurement reforms, changes, and additions.

Some are effective immediately, while some are bound for rulemaking and regulation and surface years from enactment.

Some require analyses, reports, and studies which have no immediate impact but provide a roadmap that can and should be used by government contractors in their business planning.

Finally, some provisions of the NDAAs just wither away and have no impact whatsoever.

Nineteen days before the Trump Administration ended, the U.S. Senate followed the U.S. House of Representatives in overriding the President’s veto of the William (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) (FY2021 NDAA), making it law on January 1, 2021. As for its Title VIII, the FY2021 NDAA is no different from its predecessors in its procurement potpourri.

Here’s a tour of key provisions you oughta know.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/here-to-remind-you-of-the-key-2306320/

January 15, 2021 By cs

DoD bringing companies into the fold for sensitive info

After a years long pilot, the Defense Department is establishing a permanent program that will let some trusted companies in on critical military information to help build needed systems.

“As the world sees a return to great power competition, DoD must strengthen its engagement with the defense industrial base in order to respond to the national security challenges facing the United States in a more responsive and cost efficient manner,” a Dec. 15 memo signed by Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord states.

The memo goes on to state that, increasingly, technologies and information are squirreled away in special access programs.

Those are programs that exceed regular classified information and entail highly sensitive operations and black projects.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/dod-reporters-notebook-jared-serbu/2021/01/dod-stands-up-permanent-program-to-give-vendors-access-to-top-tier-secrets/

Download the Dec. 15, 2020 DoD memo on the subject of “Special Access Program Contractor Portfolio Program Establishment” at: https://fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/sap-contractor.pdf

August 28, 2020 By cs

PPP loan forgiveness: Challenges for lenders

Since April 2020, more than 5,400 lenders across the United States have faced common challenges arising from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Participating lenders have been charged with interpreting a slew of evolving regulatory guidance while vetting millions of borrower applications.

Participating lenders have also been tasked with responding to information requests from Congress, federal regulators and law enforcement authorities investigating potential fraud and abuse in the emergency loan program. Yet another challenge looms on the horizon as lenders determine whether and to what extent disbursed PPP loans are eligible for forgiveness.

At first glance, the forgiveness process appears simple. A PPP borrower must complete an application for forgiveness and submit the application to its lender. The lender is then responsible for approving or denying the borrower’s forgiveness application by verifying certain documentation and calculations and then requesting payment from the SBA, as applicable.

However, because the lender stands between the PPP borrower requesting forgiveness and the federal government making payment, lenders face a number of challenges and risks in connection with PPP loan forgiveness.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/financial-services/977036/ppp-loan-forgiveness-challenges-for-lenders

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/

July 27, 2020 By cs

Government contractors and financing a post-coronavirus ‘reboot’ of the economy

When the shutdown ends, contractors will be busy.

When the economy does begin to recover from our nationwide lockdown, one certainty is that it will not be as simple as “turning the lights back on.”

Companies may have a long road back to full strength as they go through the process of restoring their workforces, rebuilding supply chains and planning for growth in a new, unfamiliar economy.

One certainty, however, is that government contractors will be in high demand as agencies face a backlog of project work as well as new initiatives grown out of coronavirus recovery plans. Taking the right steps now will be essential to aligning these resources with expected need.

So why will government contractors face a surge in demand when COVID-19 restrictions lift? One reason is that many projects that were underway in the spring, particularly construction projects, will once again come back online after being placed on hold due to social distancing guidelines. Construction on roads, bridges and highways is expected to peak as state and federal agencies race to catch up on work planned and postponed for the spring and summer periods.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2020/07/government-contractors-and-financing-a-post-coronavirus-reboot-of-the-economy/