fair and open competition | The Contracting Education Academy

May 21, 2018 By AMK

GAO clarifies competition standards for simplified acquisitions

A recent GAO decision has shed light on the question of what an agency must do to adequately promote competition during a simplified acquisition.

There is still no bright line for determining which agency actions meet this threshold. However, the recent decision in Bluehorse Corp., B-415641 et al. (Feb. 6, 2018), established that merely inquiring about a solicitation, without taking further action as recommended by the procuring agency, is not enough to force an agency to include a company in a limited competition.

To promote contracting efficiency, the FAR allows for special simplified acquisition procedures to be applied to certain procurements that do not exceed the regulatory threshold. An agency is not required to use the ordinary full and open competition standards to conduct these simplified acquisition procurements. However, what exactly is required of a federal agency under a simplified acquisition procedure has yet to be clearly defined by the applicable provisions of the FAR and the relevant GAO case law. The FAR requires the agency to “promote competition to the maximum extent practicable” and establishes that this standard can generally be met through the solicitation of at least three sources. See FAR § 13.104.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/gao-clarifies-competition-standards-for-simplified-acquisitions/

March 29, 2016 By AMK

Pentagon opens investigation into contracts with ULA

The internal watchdog for the U.S. Dept. of Defense (DoD) has opened a probe into whether the Pentagon’s contracts with United Launch Alliance (ULA) were properly awarded after a former ULA executive implied the government rigged a recent procurement in favor of the company.

Atlas 5 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral with a U.S. Navy communications satellite in January 2015. Photo credit: ULA — **Atlas 5 rocket launch of a U.S. Navy communications satellite from Cape Canaveral in January 2015.** Photo credit: United Launch Alliance.

The investigation inside the Pentagon is the latest twist in one of the space industry’s leading storylines in recent years — the contentious rivalry between ULA, the sole launch services provider for the U.S. government for nearly a decade, and newcomer SpaceX led by billionaire tycoon Elon Musk.

DoD’s inspector general is looking into assertions made by Brett Tobey, ULA’s former vice president of engineering, during a March 15 seminar at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Tobey discussed ULA’s decision last year not to bid in a head-to-head competition with SpaceX for the launch of a Global Positioning System navigation satellite. At the time, ULA said it did not submit a proposal for the launch due to restrictions on the use of Russian engines on the Atlas 5 rocket and because it lacked accounting systems required in the structure of the Air Force’s request for bids.

Keep reading this article at: http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/03/24/pentagon-opens-investigation-into-contracts-with-ula/

May 15, 2014 By AMK

Federal contracting’s bright side

Reviewing government contracting trends over time often yields some surprising results. Then again, sometimes it doesn’t.

One result is while the acquisition environment may appear dire in the short run, the overall picture is quite optimistic. For example, while spending increased dramatically during the early 2000s, owing to two of the longest wars in American history, the “severe” drop off in government contracting that started in 2010 leaves spending still almost 40 percent higher than in 2002, adjusted for inflation. Not so bad for the government contractor community!

Of course, contract spending by the Department of Defense dwarfs that of all other agencies combined. Yet, while some agencies have seen significant drops, the overall reduction is mitigated by the huge amount of spending that continues.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20140508/BLG06/305080010/Federal-contracting-s-bright-side

May 6, 2014 By AMK

‘Catastrophic’ network outage sets stage for ‘exception to fair opportunity’

The agency that manages the Pentagon Police Department and also runs networks and computers used the by the Office of the Secretary of Defense experienced a “catastrophic network technological outage” on Jan. 3, and it could take until January 2015 to complete the repairs, an obscure document on the Federal Business Opportunities website revealed.

That document, posted on May 2, disclosed that the outage experienced by the Pentagon Life Safety System Network and Life Safety Backbone left the Pentagon Force Protection Agency “without access to the mission-critical systems needed to properly safeguard personnel and facilities, rendering the agency blind across the national capital region.”

The Force Protection Agency provides security and services to 100 military buildings in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

The agency estimated it would take six to 12 months to “effect repairs and to upgrade the network core to mitigate future outage risks.” Repairs include recovery of data after the catastrophic network technological outage and upgrade and replacement of switches and routers.

SRA International Inc. won a $56 million contract for the Life Safety System Network in 2008 that expired on April 30. The Force Protection Agency falls under the Washington Headquarters Service, which extended the SRA contract through Oct. 31, with a value of $7.3 million, and a four month option through Feb. 28, 2015, with a total value of $11.4 million.

See the current posting on FedBizOpps at https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=7a4521d43f5f5c78b19eab99bed941ea&_cview=0.

Keep reading this article at http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2014/05/pentagon-police-agency-hit-catastrophic-network-outage/83842.

September 12, 2013 By AMK

Recent criminal antitrust risks for government contractors

The business of government contracting is a high-risk, high-reward activity. Many contractors, large and small, relish the opportunity to profit while also directly providing critically needed products and services to the government.

That opportunity, however, comes with a risk many would-be government contractors may be unaware of: the increasing presence and aggressiveness of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in prosecuting bid-rigging, collusion, and price-fixing cases in this area. These criminal cases often result in jail time for the executives of these companies.

This article will focus on the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. §1), specifically the criminal antitrust considerations that government contractors face. The Sherman Act prohibits competitors from agreeing to fix prices or rig bids. A violation of the Sherman Act is a felony and may be punishable by a fine of up to $100 million and/or ten years in jail.

The implications of the Sherman Act are critical for government contractors to understand because of the unique aspects of their business. Also, these characteristics of the business of contracting with the government make the antitrust analysis more complex. This article will focus on recent cases in this area and the ramifications for contractors. The article will conclude with some practical tips for antitrust and government contract counsel.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=01a9b2bf-aeef-4e77-bde1-d044db69d68c

A recent GAO decision has shed light on the question of what an agency must do to adequately promote competition during a simplified acquisition.

The internal watchdog for the U.S. Dept. of Defense (DoD) has opened a probe into whether the Pentagon’s contracts with United Launch Alliance (ULA) were properly awarded after a former ULA executive implied the government rigged a recent procurement in favor of the company.

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