Overpaying for any product is something that most, if not all, consumers try to avoid when making a purchase. This is especially true for the vast majority of American drivers who are required to buy car insurance policies in order to comply with state laws. Since the cost of automobile coverage is an unavoidable expense for most auto owners, it’s in the best interest of drivers to do what they can to get the lowest premiums. By shopping and comparing rates, products, and companies, motorists increase their chances of finding the cheapest prices available for the desired product.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

Guest Post By: Kristen Bradley:  The U.S. boasts a huge contract bond market as federal, state and local government agencies all utilize contract bond law to regulate professionals who work in the construction industry. Inevitably, some contracting firms find themselves unable to qualify for these bonds because they do not have the financial stability needed to back them up. This denies them access to working on publicly funded construction projects.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

By: Edward T. DeLisle:  Pursuant to the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (CDA), every claim on a federal construction project that is in excess of $100,000 must be certified. The reasoning behind this policy is simple: the government wants to discourage the submission of questionable and/or inflated claims. As such, for each claim in excess of the threshold amount, a contractor must append the following language to its claim:

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

By: Michael H. Payne: The Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of 2009 (Public Law 110-417) was enacted on October 14, 2008. Section 872 of the Act required the development and maintenance of an information system that contains specific information on the integrity and performance of covered Federal agency contractors and grantees. The Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (“FAPIIS”) was developed to address these requirements. FAPIIS is a distinct application that is accessed through the Past Performance Information System (PPIRS) and is available to federal acquisition professionals for their use in award and responsibility determinations. FAPIIS provides users access to integrity and performance information from the FAPIIS reporting module in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), proceedings information from the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database, and suspension/disbarment information from the Excluded Parties List system (EPLS). (Past performance information on construction contracts is stored in the Construction Contractor Appraisal Support System “CCASS”).

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

By: Michael H. Payne:  The GAO requires, as provided in 4 CFR 21.2, that:  (a)(1) Protests based upon alleged improprieties in a solicitation which are apparent prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals shall be filed prior to bid opening or the time set for receipt of initial proposals. In procurements where proposals are requested, alleged improprieties which do not exist in the initial solicitation but which are subsequently incorporated into the solicitation must be protested not later than the next closing time for receipt of proposals following the incorporation.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

By: Michael H. Payne: The growth of contracting by negotiation or “best value” procurement, has had a chilling effect on the submission of claims by construction contractors. There seems to be a growing fear that claims are frowned upon by contracting officers and that they will be counted against a contractor during future proposal evaluations. This fear, in my opinion, is misplaced provided that the claims are not frivolous and are technically and legally supported.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

By: Edward T. DeLisle:  Senator Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday that is designed to combat fraud and abuse in the world of small business contracting. As we have reported, the General Accounting Office (GAO) has issued a number of reports over the last several years detailing the existence of fraud in the HUBZone, Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and 8(a) programs. These reports have generated much discussion about the need to revamp the system and, in certain circumstances, talk has led to action. The implementation of the current SDVOSB verification system is but one example of the government’s response to the current state of affairs. S. 633, entitled the “Small Business Contracting Fraud Prevention Act of 2011” (Fraud Prevention Act), is designed to take the government’s ability to respond to fraud and abuse in small business contracting to a new level.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

As part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 (the 2008 Act), Congress provided the General Accounting Office (GAO) with the authority to hear protests involving certain task and delivery order contracts emanating from both defense and civilian agencies. At the time, this authority was limited to a period of three years, meaning that it was set to expire later this year. A few months ago, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (the 2011 Act). As part of that Act, Congress partially extended the GAO’s authority. It permitted the GAO to continue hearing task and delivery order protests for contracts in excess of $10 million, but only for those contracts issued by Department of Defense agencies. For a reason not readily apparent, Congress failed to extend the GAO’s authority over civilian agencies. A bill has emerged in the Senate to address this omission.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

For those who regularly read our blog, you know that we have followed the government’s recent concern about fraud and abuse in the federal procurement process.  The GAO has issued reports that recite such abuse relative to the 8(a), HUBZone and SDVOSB programs.  As those reports indicate, companies have been awarded set-aside contracts through those programs, but were not qualified to receive them.  In certain circumstances, the apparent fraud was so blatant that the hubris, which certainly existed to think such abuses would go unnoticed, puts Charlie Sheen to shame.  Yet, as the GAO reports state, even when the abuses were uncovered, many of these contractors continued to receive government awards.  It appears that some contractors performing work overseas in places like Iraq and Afghanistan may also be receiving awards that they do not deserve.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

The U.S. Small Business Administration published a package of final rules on February 11, 2011, that will revise the regulations of its 8(a) Business Development program to better ensure that the benefits flow to the intended recipients and help prevent waste, fraud and abuse. The rules were published in The Federal Register and will become effective on March 14, 2011.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

Join the Federal Construction Group of Cohen, Seglias as it presents, “Unraveling the Mysteries of Federal Construction Contracting,“ at two different locations.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

As of Friday, February 4, 2011, women-owned small businesses could begin taking steps to participate in a new federal contracting program just for them. The new Women-Owned Small Business (“WOSB”) Federal Contract Program (the “Program”) will be fully implemented over the next several months, with the first contracts expected to be let during the fourth quarter of this year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

Over the last several years, the scrutiny over federal small business programs has grown. That scrutiny has led to changes in policy and legislation designed to curb potential fraud in the procurement process. Because these changes have been implemented in such a short period of time, however, it is not unusual for the government to issue solicitations for small business set-aside contracts that are confusing, or even contradictory. In Commandeer Construction Company, Inc., B-405771, December 29, 2011, that is precisely what occurred resulting in a successful protest.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

A decision was issued by the United States Court of Federal Claims on December 20, 2011, in Martin Construction Co. v. United States, a case involving a Corps of Engineers construction project in North Dakota. Martin was represented by Michael Payne and Joseph Hackenbracht, of Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, and the case involved a termination for default by the Omaha District of the Corps on a multi-million dollar project involving the construction of a marina. The termination occurred because the Contracting Officer concluded that Martin was at fault for failing to complete the project by the required contract completion date. Martin had argued that the Corps’ design of the cofferdam (temporary dam), which was critical to the construction of the marina, was defective and that the contractor was effectively prevented from completing the marina according to the original schedule. The Court agreed that there was a defective design and found that the Corps’ designer had grossly underestimated the amount of water that would flow through the cofferdam.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook

A protest that challenges the source selection decision on a negotiated, best value, procurement is not easy to win. Numerous decisions of the GAO and the United States Court of Federal Claims have held that procurement officials are entitled to substantial deference. In a recent decision by the Court of Federal Claims, however, the Court stated that “such deference is not unlimited.” See Firstline Transportation Security, Inc. v. United States dated September 27, 2011. While the protest did not involve a construction project, and dealt with a Department of Homeland Security contract for airport screening services, the Court’s decision is certainly applicable to procurements for construction.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share on Facebook