Redstone Government Consulting Blog (54)

Recently, there has been much discussion around comments made by Katie Arrington, the special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition for Cyber in the Office of the Under Secretary of Acquisition and Sustainment in DoD.  She made the following statement before a roomful of vendors at the PSC meeting in Arlington, VA.

Both the ITAR and the EAR regulate Deemed Exports: releasing or otherwise transferring controlled technical data to a foreign person in the United States. So how does this impact hiring foreign nationals to work on ITAR/EAR projects? Hiring foreign nationals presents an opportunity for a deemed export and therefore possible export compliance implications.

Both the EAR and the ITAR regulate Deemed Exports. But what exactly is a Deemed Export and how is it different from a traditional export?

How would you feel if you had unlimited access to all the resources Redstone Government Consulting had to offer?  Relief?  Security?  Control?  Protected?  Re-focused?

The topic of accounting system adequacy seems to be a recurring issue for many in the government contracting community.  Earlier this month in the ongoing “process of elimination”, GAO weighed in again on what is NOT considered a determination of accounting system adequacy.  In Shivoy B-413104.36, GAO rightfully denied a protest for unequal treatment in eliminating a proposed offeror due to lack of verification of a proposed subcontractor’s accounting system as adequate.

On December 18, 2018 the Administrative Judge, in ASBCA No. 61583, denied the contractor’s appeal and granted the Government’s request for summary judgement related to the contractor’s claim that it was entitled to a penalty waiver because the contractor did not demonstrate that it “had adequate policies, training, controls, and review systems, and that it inadvertently incorporated the [unallowable cost]” in its incurred cost proposals. This decision serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining adequate policies and procedures.

FAR Part 31.205 -1 – Public Relations and Advertising Costs

“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” (American Marketing Association)

“Advertising is the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements.” (Merriam-Webster)

“Public relations (PR) is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” (Public Relations Society of America (PRSA))

Slowly is the word that always describes Government change, and acquisition process change is no exception.  Some of you will remember that the 2017 NDAA required DCAA to reduce the backlog of DoD incurred cost submissions and suspend work for other Departments.  But how many of you remember that it also created an Advisory Panel on Streamlining and Codifying Acquisition Regulations, better known as the Section 809 Panel? 

A recent DoD-IG (Department of Defense-Inspector General Report (DODIG-2019-070) has unfortunately reinforced DCAA’s audit interpretations of the reasonableness of contractor compensation (reference to FAR 31.205-6(b)). The IG (apparently with help from DCAA) reviewed ACO (Contracting Officer) actions to resolve/disposition DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency) advisory audit reports which included assertions that contractors had claimed unreasonable compensation (primarily for contractor executives). 

• RFP for 8(a) On Ramp can be found here: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=31402bd0ff9188c41e8ec213e8375fc1&tab=core&_cview=1
• RFP for Small Business Pools 1, 3 and 4 can be found here: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=9f4b11d2c577b7ae6c5fc4ceae0320de

Key Dates (Subject to Change. Always check FBO/solicitation for latest info):