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Government Contracts
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May 25, 2012
Sen. Seeks Keen Eye On KBR's Use Of Indemnity In Iraq Suits
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has asked the U.S. Department of Defense to step up its oversight of defense contractor KBR Inc., which Wyden said is wasting taxpayer money in an effort to drag out lawsuits over soldiers' alleged exposure to toxic chemicals in Iraq.
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May 25, 2012
Senate Confirms 2 Top Procurement Officials
The U.S. Senate confirmed two top procurement officials late Thursday, voting in support of President Barack Obama's nominees for administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
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May 25, 2012
Judge Backs EPA's 1st Ship Engine Air Pollution Deal
A federal judge has backed a settlement the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brokered with units of EnPro Industries Inc. and General Dynamics Corp. resolving allegations the firms made and installed engines for U.S. Navy ships that didn't meet environmental standards — a deal heralded as an agency first.
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May 25, 2012
GSA Exec Departs As Spending Scandal Inquiry Continues
Jeff Neely, the U.S. General Services Administration regional commissioner who touched off a huge public-spending scandal after planning an $823,000 Las Vegas conference for GSA employees, is no longer employed by the agency, a spokesman said Friday.
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May 25, 2012
Texas Duo Indicted In $19M Medicare, Medicaid Fraud
Federal prosecutors said Thursday they've indicted two Houston-area men suspected of orchestrating a $19 million Medicare and Medicaid scam made possible through kickbacks to patient recruiters and a laundry list of medically unnecessary procedures.
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May 24, 2012
Senate Committee Passes $631B Defense Budget
A U.S. Senate panel on Thursday unanimously approved a $631.4 billion defense budget for 2013 that emphasizes greater energy independence, supports additional high-definition intelligence and surveillance activities and aims to limit contractor use and pay.
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May 24, 2012
CMS Failed To Recoup Medicare Overpayments, Audit Says
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services failed in recent years to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments, but the shortcomings might largely result from legislative factors outside the agency's control, according to a government audit released Thursday.
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May 24, 2012
LA's $890M Railcar Contract Award Meets Buy America Regs
The Federal Transit Authority on Tuesday told the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that its $890 million contract with a Japanese firm for the manufacture of up to 235 light-railcars met Buy America requirements, over the objections of labor and economic advisory groups.
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May 24, 2012
Lawmakers Blast DOD, Contractor Over $1B Billing Dispute
A billing battle over $1 billion escalated Thursday as a pair of lawmakers demanded documents related to a private contract for food supplies to troops in Afghanistan.
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May 24, 2012
Security Firm Says Ex-Exec Helping Rival Nab Army Contract
Security firm International Biometric Group LLC on Monday sued rival Intrepid Solutions and Services Inc. and a former executive who switched companies, claiming he plans to use confidential information to help Intrepid snag a military intelligence contract, violating his IBG employment contract.
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May 23, 2012
GOP Rails Against $20M Contract To Promote Health Reform
Senate Republicans upbraided the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this week over its signing of a $20 million public relations contract to promote the federal health care reform law, saying the contract may have violated a recent ban on publicity and propaganda spending.
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May 23, 2012
VA Budget Is Exempt From Automatic Cuts, GAO Says
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs spending, including spending on military health care, is exempt from sequestration, a process of automatic budget cuts set to kick in in January, according to a Monday legal opinion by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
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May 23, 2012
White House Orders Gov't Agencies To Take Data Mobile
The White House on Wednesday ordered all major federal agencies to jump on the mobile Internet bandwagon within the next year, and wants to pull in private-sector help in order to make that happen.
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May 23, 2012
Northrop Faces $2.4M Suit Over Army Software License
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. told a Virginia federal court on Tuesday in a $2.4 million dispute that it was following a direct order from the U.S. Army when it ended a software licensing agreement with subcontractor CRGT Inc. without stopping the Army from using the software.
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May 23, 2012
US Says Seedco Scammed $8M In NYC Job Assistance Funds
The U.S. on Tuesday intervened in an employee whistleblower suit accusing nonprofit Structured Employment Economic Development Corp. of fraudulently collecting over $8 million in federal funds for job placement assistance to unemployed and underemployed New York City residents that was never provided.
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May 22, 2012
Pentagon Aims To Speed Closure Of Contingency Contracts
The U.S. Department of Defense issued a final rule Tuesday aimed at speeding up the administration of contingency contracts, following government reports that criticized the military's slow pace of closing out contracts in Iraq.
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May 22, 2012
DOD Contractors Under Fire In Counterfeit Parts Report
Chinese counterfeit electronic components have found their way into critical weapons and aircraft, including the Air Force's largest cargo plane, according to a U.S. Senate report Monday that criticized defense contractors' efforts to fight counterfeiters.
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May 22, 2012
Contractor Cut From NYC Subway Cellphone Deal Wants $12M
Transit Technologies Group LLC hit Transit Wireless LLC with an $11.5 million suit Thursday in New York state court, saying it was forced out of a partnership to implement a $115 million contract to provide cellphone service in New York City subway stations.
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May 22, 2012
NASA Contractor's Launch Kicks Off Commercial Space Race
NASA contractor Space Exploration Technologies Corp. launched the first commercial space flight to the International Space Station on Tuesday, a significant milestone in NASA's quest to open up outer space to private companies.
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May 22, 2012
Fox Insurance's $3M Award Over Lost CMS Contract Stands
A Georgia federal judge on Monday upheld a $3.3 million arbitration award for Fox Insurance Co., stemming from the company's battle with a pharmacy benefit manager that caused the insurer to lose its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services prescription drug plan contract.
Expert Analysis
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Contractor Campaign Contributions Post-Citizens United
There is now at least one case — Wagner v. Federal Election Commission — that stands for the proposition that the total ban on federal contractor political campaign contributions will survive post-Citizens United. In a nutshell, the District of Columbia district court probably got it right in Wagner, say Barbara Duncombe and Casie Hollis of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.
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Counterfeit Parts Report — A Guide For Contractors, DOD
The Senate Armed Services Committee's report on counterfeit parts is dramatic and powerful evidence that strong measures are needed at many levels of the U.S. Department of Defense supply chain to reduce vulnerability to counterfeit parts. It gives all companies in the defense supply chain a lot to study and much to learn from, say Robert Metzger and Jeffery Chiow of Rogers Joseph O’Donnell PC.
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How SBIR/STTR Regulation Will Impact Investment Firms
The Small Business Administration recently issued a proposed rule amending the regulations that govern the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, highlighting new risks and opportunities for investors in small business concerns that are established to capture SBIR/STTR funding, say attorneys with Arnold & Porter LLP.
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Expanding False Claims Liability In Ga.
The recently enacted Georgia Taxpayer Protection False Claims Act broadens liability for state false claims in order to reach non-Medicaid claims. In several substantive areas, Georgia’s Medicaid and non-Medicaid FCAs differ on key elements related to a state false claims civil action, say attorneys with King & Spalding LLP.
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Best Practices For Corporate Social Responsibility
As with many industries, the legal services industry has adapted to the demand for sustainability practices. An effective Corporate Social Responsibility program will manifest itself in all strategic planning, from best firm employee practices and environmental sustainability to providing legal services, recruiting and retention of employees, business development, marketing and philanthropy, says Howard Dakoff of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.
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The Challenge Of Challenging In-Sourcing Decisions
The U.S. Department of Defense has been taking steps to shift more work from contractors to DOD personnel. That has led to contractor challenges to such in-sourcing decisions. That, in turn, has created questions about how and where to challenge the government’s in-sourcing decisions, say Ken Weckstein and Amy Walborn of Brown Rudnick LLP.
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Hiring Incumbent Employees On Government Contracts
The U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. General Services Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have issued a proposed rule protecting service employees from termination by successor contractors and subcontractors — a change that would significantly limit a new contractor's discretion in making hiring decisions, say Rick Vacura and Susan Borschel of Morrison & Foerster LLP.
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Case Study: Sandager V. Dell Marketing
In recent years, False Claims Act cases brought by opportunistic qui tam relators who lack any inside information regarding the companies they sue have been dismissed either because they merely mimic the allegations of a previously filed case or do not plead their allegations of fraud with sufficient particularity. A recent example of this trend is U.S. ex rel. Sandager v. Dell Marketing LP, say attorneys with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.
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FCA Suits: A Growing Concern In Trade Compliance
A new trend in False Claims Act suits is emerging. Increasingly, international trade compliance lapses are serving as the basis for FCA suits. Steps should be taken to protect companies against this growing area of potential liability for international trade activities, say Lisa Crosby, Bob Conlan and Jill Caiazzo of Sidley Austin LLP.
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A Look At Recent Developments In Cybersecurity Policy
As cybersecurity issues continue to garner headlines, more than half a dozen bills that attempt to address network security are pending in Congress, and lawmakers increasingly are singling out China as the most threatening state actor. Operators of “critical infrastructure” should be aware of their potential new legal obligations and privileges under the various bills, say attorneys with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.