Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – October 8, 2019

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. FALSE CLAIMS ACT / GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS LAW Buyer Beware: More Stringent Standards for Government Contractors Under the Buy American Act on the Horizon, October 4, 2019, Jackie Unger President Trump has made “buy American and hire American” a key goal for his administration. To that end, the President has signed three executive orders to impose stricter enforcement of the Buy American Act, the latest of which was issued . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – October 2, 2019

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. CYBERSECURITY & DATA PRIVACY Start Preparing Now for DoD’s Upcoming Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), September 27, 2019, Jon Williams and Emily Rouleau For a while now, we have been writing about the increasing impact of cybersecurity on the government contracting world, which, as Jon wrote, has become the “fourth pillar” of Department of Defense (DoD) acquisitions. The latest evidence of this was discussed by our colleague, Dave . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – September 25, 2019

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. FALSE CLAIMS ACT Small Businesses and the False Claims Act (FCA): Are More FCA Cases Against Small Businesses on the Horizon? September 19, 2019, Timothy Valley On August 20, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached a $20 million settlement with Luke Hillier (Hillier), the majority owner and former CEO of a Virginia-based defense contractor, ADS, Inc. (ADS), to resolve “allegations that he . . . Read More

BLOG: Small Businesses and the FCA: Are More FCA Cases Against Small Businesses on the Horizon?

On August 20, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had reached a $20 million settlement with Luke Hillier (Hillier), the majority owner and former CEO of a Virginia-based defense contractor, ADS, Inc. (ADS), to resolve “allegations that he violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by fraudulently obtaining federal set-aside contracts reserved for small businesses that his company was ineligible to receive . . . .” The resolution of the claims against Hillier follows ADS’s payment of a . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – September 19, 2019

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. NATIVE AMERICAN LAW Key Ruling on Native American Sovereign Immunity Stands—for Now, September 13, 2019, Paul Mengel The Fourth Circuit case Williams v. Big Picture Loans is being hailed as a major victory for Native American sovereign immunity rights. For entities owned by Native American tribes, the case stands as an important ruling for determining arm-of-the-tribe sovereign immunity. The case may be appealed to the Supreme Court. [Read . . . Read More

BLOG: Protégé Subcontract Revenues from Mentor Hold No Basis for Economic Dependence

An important benefit of a mentor-protégé agreement (MPA) is that no determination of affiliation may be found between a protégé and its mentor solely because of assistance provided under the agreement. A recent decision of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), Avar Consulting, Inc.,[1] upheld a size determination which found that a protégé was not affiliated with its SBA-approved mentor through economic dependence, even though the revenues it received from the mentor constituted over 70% of the . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – September 4, 2019

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS & ADVISORY SERVICES Small Business Administration – SBA issued a rule extending the 504 Loan Program Rural Initiative Pilot Program (504 Rural Pilot) through September 30, 2021. The 504 Rural Pilot authorizes Certified Development Companies to make 504 loans for projects in rural counties located in their SBA Region. Read more here. Congressional Research Service – CRS has released a report examining the SBA’s veteran . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – August 26, 2019

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link. SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS & ADVISORY SERVICES GAO Defers to SBA on When Runway Extension Act Applies, August 20, 2019, Emily Rouleau Last year, Congress passed—and President Trump signed—the Small Business Runway Extension Act (the “Runway Extension Act” or the “Act”), which changed the time period for determining a company’s size based on average annual receipts from the previous three years to the previous five years. This summer, the . . . Read More

Weekly Update for Government Contractors and Commercial Businesses – August 19, 2019

If you have questions concerning the content below, please visit this link.  SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS & ADVISORY SERVICES   General Services Administration – According to Law360, GSA is seeking up to $20 billion worth of information technology services from disadvantaged small businesses and has asked for feedback before issuing a final solicitation. The Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resource for Services (STARS III) deal would be an indefinite-delivery, indefinite quantity contract open to small businesses eligible for the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) . . . Read More