Legal Updates
2020 Interagency Suspension and Debarment Report Released-Numbers on the Increase
The Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC) released its report on suspension and debarment relating to government contracting. According to the report, which breaks the numbers down by agency, suspension and debarment actions increased but not necessarily in a linear fashion. For instance, in 2020, the debarments increased slightly from the prior year, whereas the proposed...
Largest Ever False Claims Act Recovery based on Allegations of Small Business Fraud
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), who has just seen a record year of False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement, TriMark USA, LLC of Mansfield, Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $48.5 million to resolve allegations that its subsidiaries, TriMark Gill Marketing and TriMark Gill Group, Inc. (collectively, TriMark), improperly manipulated federal small business set-aside contracts around the...
Inspector General Report on Paycheck Protection Program–Forgiveness, Fraud, and SBA Procedures
The Inspector General (IG) of the Small Business Administration (SBA) examined the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and how SBA was administering it. This examination included SBA creating uncertainty in not meeting statutory deadlines, potential fraud, and the procedures used in general regarding PPP loans to small businesses. The IG found the following: That for loans totaling $66.4...
Department of Justices Statistics Exceed $5.6 Billion for Fiscal Year 2021 in False Claim Act Recoveries–Read the Highlights
The Department of Justice (DOJ) obtained more than $5.6 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases in 2021. This is the second largest annual total amount in False Claim Act (FCA) history and the largest since 2014. The FCA, according to DOJ, serves as the government's primary civil tool to redress false claims involving a multitude of government operations and other functions...
Federal Procurement Institute–American Bar Association–Traveling Show? Amazing Agenda
The Federal Procurement Institute of the American Bar Association has an outstanding agenda (as featured below). Such a show is not hawking wares or exotic locales, but focuses on what real issues government contractors face everyday that impact their businesses. This year, Christine Williams, of Outlook Law, LLC, a Fellow of the American Bar Institute, has been asked to be a featured...
SBA’s New Tribal Consultation Policy of 2022–Trying to be Inclusive?
As most folks know, the federal government mandates that tribal consultations are held when Alaska Native Corporations and Federally Recognized Tribes participate in a federal program in an effort to be inclusive and fulfill the government's fiduciary duty to indigenous people belonging to these groups. This has been mandated by Executive Orders from Presidents and Statutes passed by Congress...
GAO Protest Decision-When are Communications with an Agency Not Considered the Forbidden Discussions during Procurement–“The Acid Test” and Price Realism
Clarifications on a procurement are not necessarily in violation of FAR Part 15--The Acid Test as Well as the Agency's Duty to Conduct Price Realism Clarifications or Negotiations--Clarifications Found Cherokee CRC, LLC, a small business, protested the issuance of an order by the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), to Walga Ross Group JV (WRG), another...
American Bar Association-Federal Procurement Panel-Featuring John Klein and Christine V. Williams-Annapolis-March 9-12, 2022
The 28th Annual Federal Procurement Institute In-Person Conference from March 9-12, 2022, will occur at the GRADUATE HOTEL • ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND. This ABA Procurement Conference brings experts together from all fields of government procurement. Agency and recognized legal experts present and are available for questions and answers during the sessions. The sessions include category...
Small Business Size Protest on Control, Small Business Investment Companies, and Present Realization of Unexercised Options
In December of 2021, the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), decided during a protest whether or not a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) owned enough unexercised options (unexercised voting stock or equivalent) of a small business to become affiliated with that small business. In its decision, OHA found that even if the unexercised options were presently exercised (13 CFR...
Buy Indian Act and Set-Aside Procurements–Final Rule from Department of Health and Human Services
The Federal Register published the Final Rule on the Buy Indian Act regarding federal procurement as and Indian Economic Enterprise (IEE) and its counterpart for IEEs that are small (ISBEE). The Agency promulgating the rule is the Department of Health and Human Services, which provides the Indian Health Services (IHS) with authority to set-aside procurements for Indian-owned and controlled...