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A ban on Chinese tech is on the books — are feds ready?

Federal agencies have less than a week to update their upcoming and in-process contracts to include provisions that prohibit telecommunications equipment or services — or components of equipment or services — that are produced by Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company or Dahua Technology Company.

The interim rule added to the Federal Acquisition Regulation Aug. 7 by the Department of Defense, General Services Administration and NASA notified agencies that they have until Aug. 13 to update their acquisitions to reflect the prohibition of products that are produced by companies with suspected links to the Chinese government.

The rule change is not unexpected, as the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act initially codified the prohibition on such acquisitions, but the new rule formally implements such requirements for federal agencies.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/acquisition/2019/08/08/a-ban-on-chinese-tech-is-on-the-books-are-feds-ready

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Hard-nosed Pentagon negotiator removed from job

Trump administration officials are removing the Pentagon’s top weapon buying negotiator, who racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel costs and pushed a controversial plan to slow payments to defense contractors, Defense One has learned.
Shay D. Assad, Director, DoD’s Defense Pricing and Contracting Initiatives

Shay Assad, a senior Defense Department bureaucrat, is being reassigned to a post in Massachusetts, one unconnected to the contract negotiating team he has led for seven years, according to current and former defense officials familiar with the decision.

In the coming weeks, Assad will be moved from his position as director of defense pricing and contracting initiatives to a lateral position within the Defense Contract Management Agency in the Boston area, current and former officials said.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defenseone.com/politics/2018/12/shay-assad/153591 

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DoD issues final rule to avoid counterfeit electronics

The Defense Department amended its acquisition rulebook to clarify contractors’ roles in keeping counterfeit electronics out of critical defense systems.

US DoD logoAnd fake electronics have been a problem. A 2012 Senate Armed Services Committee investigation found 1,800 cases of counterfeit electronic parts in military equipment and named China as the dominant supplier. Though DoD has since improved its ability to trace parts to the original manufacturer, a 2016 Government Accountability Office report states, “the DoD supply chain is vulnerable to the risk of counterfeit parts — which can have serious consequences.”

The Defense Acquisition Regulation Supplement final rule, posted and effective Aug. 2, 2016, focuses on the careful selection of suppliers and verifying the authenticity of electronic parts.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2016/08/dod-issues-final-rule-avoid-counterfeit-electronics/130445/

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Little-noticed interim rule overshadows two Supreme Court procurement decisions

The cost of False Claims Act incidents could double.  But nobody seems to know that.

False Claims ActThe “Rule of Two” is mandatory for the Veterans Affairs Department no matter how well they are doing in meeting their small business goals.

When vendors sign an invoice and send it to the government for payment, they are acknowledging they have met the requirements under the contract.

These were the major outcomes from two cases decided last week by the nation’s highest court.

While both these cases will have long-lasting impacts on the federal procurement community, a little-known rule by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is what contractors really should be paying attention to over the summer.

The RRB issued an interim final rule May 2 to nearly double the cost per incident under the False Claims Act (FCA).

Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2016/06/little-noticed-interim-rule-overshadows-two-supreme-court-procurement-decisions/

 

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New DoD acquisition rules skipped public comment period

The Defense Department (DoD) issued 49 new acquisition rules between fiscal 2010 and 2014 that didn’t include any public comment period. The department said “urgent and compelling” circumstances forced the agency to move quickly on a rule in order to make a procurement, says an April 17 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

pentagon-sealThe DoD’s acquisition rulemaking procedures generally require it to issue a proposed rule first that provides no less than a 30-day public comment period, GAO says. However, the requirements may be waived if DoD determines that “urgent and compelling” circumstances make compliance with the requirements impracticable.

In those instances, DOD issues a temporary interim rule that provides at least a 30-day public comment period. DoD may then issue a subsequent final rule after considering any comments received, the report says.

From fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2014, DoD published 279 final and interim Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) rules.

Of the 279 final and interim DFARS rules, 139 were issued without prior notice and comment before they became effective.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/new-dod-acquisition-rules-skipped-public-comment-period-still-followed-prop/2015-04-21

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