Category: Brian S. Gocial

Report on the State of Competition within the Defense Industrial Base

Brian S. Gocial, Sara N. Gerber, and Tjasse L. Fritz

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As the federal government prepares to roll out infrastructure grants and contracts in amounts not seen since the New Deal and the defense industrial base (“DIB”) gears up to support billions in new spending to support Ukraine, a new Department of Defense (“DoD”) report raises serious concerns about the state of competition within the DIB. The report recently released by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment analyzes the state of competition within the DIB and concluded that it can be summarized in one word: poor. The report discusses the causes for the lack of competition and makes recommendations for improving the solicitation process to increase competition, inspire innovation, reduce prices, and improve quality.

Consolidation

Foremost among the causes for the lack of competition identified by the report is consolidation of the DIB. Of 51 aerospace and defense prime contractors in the 1990s only five exist today. Although the report failed to find significant correlation between this consolidation and increased pricing, the consolidation raises additional concerns for DoD, such as national security, mission risk, and strategic technology innovation. The report notes that “having only a single source or a small number of sources for a defense need can pose mission risk and, particularly in cases where the existing dominant supplier or suppliers are influenced by an adversary nation, pose significant national security risks.” The report recommends that when a merger is likely to harm one of these interests, DoD work closely with the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice to take structural or behavioral measures deemed necessary, up to and including blocking the merger.

Continue reading “Report on the State of Competition within the Defense Industrial Base”

New White House Guidance Details Infrastructure Spending Priorities 

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Brian S. Gocial

With the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”), America is preparing for a flood of infrastructure spending not seen since the New Deal. Indeed, the IIJA allocates funding to over 350 distinct programs across more than a dozen federal departments and agencies. Attention now turns to the federal agencies, and state and local officials who are responsible for implementing these new programs. To that end, the Biden administration recently released A Guidebook to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments, and Other Partners to assist state, local, and tribal leaders to “know what to apply for, who to contact, and how to get ready to rebuild.”

Notably this is only the first version of this guidance and interested parties should continue to monitor the guidance in the coming weeks to stay up to date on the latest deadlines and details. In addition, the Biden administration released an accompanying data file on Build.gov that allows users to quickly sort programs funded under the law by fields like agency, amount, eligible recipient, or program name.

Continue reading “New White House Guidance Details Infrastructure Spending Priorities “

The Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate: What You Need to Know

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WATCH WEBINAR RECORDING
DOWNLOAD THE WEBINAR MATERIALS

Brian S. Gocial, Stephanie M. Harden, and Frederick G. (“Gus”) Sandstrom

Stephanie Harden's Headshot Photo
Gus Sandstrom's headshot photo

Blank Rome LLP and the National Defense Industrial Association (“NDIA”) Delaware Valley Chapter are pleased to present this new live webinar on Monday, December 6, 2021, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. EST.

The rules and guidance around the federal contractor COVID-19 vaccine mandate are changing by the day. Please join Blank Rome’s Government Contracts and Labor & Employment attorneys for timely analysis of what federal contractors need to be prepared, including an in-depth discussion of:

  • Latest guidance: What do prime contractors need to know to comply? 
  • Which of my employees are covered by the mandate? 
  • Does the mandate apply to subcontractors? 
  • How do I deal with exemption requests? 
  • What should I do if my workforce is not fully vaccinated?

PRESENTERS

ABOUT NDIA

The National Defense Industrial Association drives strategic dialogue in national security by identifying key issues and leveraging the knowledge and experience of its military, government, industry, and academic members to address them. You can learn more about them on their website.

QUESTIONS? Please contact Alena Leon, Business Development Consultant.

Implementation Guidance for Section 3610 of the CARES Act

Brian S. Gocial and Dominique L. Casimir

As we summarized on March 31, 2020, CARES Act Section 3610 throws an immediate lifeline to qualifying firms whose workforce has been displaced by coronavirus COVID-19 shutdowns. On April 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense (“DOD”) issued Class Deviation 2020-O0013 authorizing contracting officers to immediately use a new cost principle, DFARS 231.205-79, to implement section 3610; and on April 9, 2020, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense issued Implementation Guidance for Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and Frequently Asked Questions. This blog post summarizes the new Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (“DFARS”) clause and guidance.

What is the purpose of CARES Act Section 3610 and DFARS 231.205-79?

Deviation 2020-O0013 establishes a new cost principle that will allow recovery of employee leave costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic where appropriate. The Class Deviation recognizes that “contractors are struggling to maintain a mission-ready workforce due to work site closures, personnel quarantines, and state and local restrictions on movement related to the COVID-19 pandemic that cannot be resolved through remote work.” To that end, contracting officers are instructed to use DFARS 231.205-79 “to appropriately balance flexibilities and limitations” and are directed to “consider the immediacy of the specific circumstances of the contractor involved and respond accordingly. The survival of many of the businesses the CARES Act is designed to assist may depend on this efficiency.” Continue reading “Implementation Guidance for Section 3610 of the CARES Act”

What Contractors Should Know about DOJ’s Revised Guidance on Evaluations of Corporate Compliance

Brian S. Gocial and Stephanie M. Harden

Stephanie Harden's Headshot Photo

As government contractors know well, a robust compliance program can be critical—both in preventing, detecting, and resolving compliance problems and in working with agencies and/or the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to resolve compliance issues when they arise. Though DOJ has previously issued guidance on how it evaluates corporate compliance programs, on April 30, 2019, it greatly expanded upon its earlier guidance with a lengthy new guidance document. The document is notable for its emphasis not just on the design of compliance programs, but also on their effectiveness in practice. The document is a useful benchmark for contractors to evaluate their compliance programs, as well as to demonstrate their affirmative responsibility to agencies when facing agency-level investigations.

The guidance document focuses on three central questions:

    1. Is the corporation’s compliance program well designed?
    2. Is the corporation’s compliance program implemented effectively?
    3. Does the compliance program actually work in practice?

The following outline provides a summary of the various factors DOJ discusses in connection with each of these questions—and more information on each topic can be found here.

Contractors should assess how their own compliance programs measure up against these factors: Continue reading “What Contractors Should Know about DOJ’s Revised Guidance on Evaluations of Corporate Compliance”

OFPP Promotes Debriefings in Recent Guidance (Our Takeaway: Always Ask for One)

Brian S. Gocial

golcialbOn January 5, 2017, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (“OFPP”) issued a “myth-busting” memorandum to Chief Acquisition Officers, Senior Procurement Executives, and Chief Information Officers in the federal government addressing common myths related to government debriefings. The memorandum, titled “Myth-busting 3: Further Improving Industry Communication with Effective Debriefings,” is a continuation of the OFPP initiative first launched in February 2011 to debunk misconceptions about communications with the industry during federal government acquisitions and to assist agencies with adopting best acquisition practices. Continue reading “OFPP Promotes Debriefings in Recent Guidance (Our Takeaway: Always Ask for One)”

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