Government Contracting Blog

Last week the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provided guidance to federal contractors regarding payment for contractors that have been impacted by coronavirus. Contractors that have received stop work orders or other delays may now be eligible for continued payment under OMB Memorandum M-20-18 and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). Section 3610 of the CARES Act, which we covered in a previous blog, provides further clarification under the following section of the act entitled “Federal Contractor Authority.” This section of the act states that Contracting Officers have the granted authority to continue paying contractors in order to maintain employment for contractor personnel, even if the contract is subject to a stop work order or other delay. 

On Friday, March 27th, President Trump signed a historic $2 Trillion Dollar Coronavirus aid package into law. This legislation, otherwise known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), will provide emergency relief to several groups including individuals, small businesses, large corporations, public health facilities, state and local governments, and education institutions. The CARES Act provides the largest emergency stimulus package in United States history as a result of bipartisan legislation negotiated by Democrats and Republicans to provide an immediate response to the growing COVID-19 crisis sweeping the nation.

The first case of Coronavirus in West Virginia occurred on Tuesday, March 17th, meaning the virus has now impacted all 50 states. With the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 climbing in the United States, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday afternoon that his administration is ramping up its response to the virus through invoking the Defense Product Act. President Trump said the following in response to invoking the Defense Product Act, “It can do a lot of good things, if we need it, and we will have it all completed, signing it in just a little while.”

As the Coronavirus continues to surge, federal, state, and local governments are working to respond in a timely manner to reach those most susceptible to the disease and slow the spread. While social distancing is something that we all can do as individuals to respond to the crisis, it’s important to note how federal contractors come into the mix. We’ve mentioned how the General Services Administration can prepare for the pandemic and how contractors can best come to the aid of state and local governments through the Disaster Purchasing Program. Now that the military is starting to be called to contain the coronavirus, it’s crucial to consider how defense contracts will play the situation surrounding COVID-19. Enter DPAS. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) is used to prioritize national defense-related contracts/orders throughout the U.S. supply chain in order to support military, energy, homeland security, emergency preparedness, and critical infrastructure requirements. We’ve broken down DPAS to show you how it applies to you as a defense contractor.

As part of Winvale's guest blogger series, Benjamin Brooks, Vice President of Beryllium InfoSec Collaborative, is sharing his top 5 cyber security measures government contractors need to know. Winvale partnered with Beryllium to host a recent webinar, Managing Cyber Security Requirements in Today's Federal Market.  When you think "contractor with the US Government," what do you think of?  Bureaucracy? Guaranteed steady revenue? Those are the most popular responses, because after-all, we are in business to make money, right? But how many people reading this think of “cyber security” as one of the ideas surrounding contracting with the United States Government?

On August 13, 2019, a new interim rule instituted by GSA went into law that will have a direct effect on many GSA Contact Schedule holders. The new law will implement section 889 (a)(1)(A) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019. The specific wording of the law, via Acquisition.gov, states: