Government Contracts: A Comprehensive Guide to Federal Procurement

103 questions on government contracts, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Can a bidder correct a mistake in a sealed bid?
• Can a company still self-certify its socioeconomic status?
• Can a contract modification be protested as an improper sole-source award?
• Can a contractor challenge a termination for convenience as improper?
• Can a contractor defend an FCA case by pointing to a reasonable reading of an ambiguous requirement?
• Can a contractor raise a new theory of entitlement for the first time in litigation?
• Can a contractor stop work while it disputes payment with the government?
• Can you protest the award of a task order?
• Does buying commercially mean a contractor escapes federal regulation?
• Does the Christian doctrine ever help the contractor?
• Do federal contractors still have affirmative action obligations under Executive Order 11246?
• How can a subcontractor recover from the federal government?
• How does a contractor defend against debarment?
• How does a protest at the Court of Federal Claims differ from GAO?
• How does negotiated procurement under FAR Part 15 work?
• How does past performance affect future federal awards?
• How does the Buy American Act work in federal procurement?
• How does the GSA Multiple Award Schedule work?
• How does the Trade Agreements Act change the Buy American analysis?
• How do government contract data rights work, and how are they lost?
• How is a company with no federal past performance evaluated?
• How is a federal government contract different from an ordinary commercial contract?
• How is small business size determined for federal contracting?
• Is a quotation under FAR Part 13 a binding offer?
• Is the FAR the only rulebook for a federal contract?
• Is the sum certain requirement jurisdictional?
• Should a contractor appeal to a board of contract appeals or the Court of Federal Claims?
• What are certified cost or pricing data and when must they be submitted?
• What are simplified acquisition procedures?
• What are the deadlines for filing a bid protest at GAO?
• What are the deadlines for filing and deciding a CDA claim?
• What are the exceptions to the certified cost or pricing data requirement?
• What are the limitations on subcontracting for a set-aside contract?
• What are the main federal small business contracting programs?
• What are the requirements for a valid claim under the Contract Disputes Act?
• What are the seven exceptions to full and open competition?
• What are the three bid protest forums?
• What are the three types of organizational conflict of interest?
• What can a contractor do when a technical lead without contracting authority directs extra work?
• What can a contractor recover when the government terminates for convenience?
• What counts as credible evidence triggering the mandatory disclosure obligation?
• What cybersecurity requirements apply to federal contractors?
• What did Kingdomware Technologies v. United States decide?
• What does a contractor need before it can accept a cost-reimbursement contract?
• What does Section 889 prohibit, and why does Part B catch contractors by surprise?
• What does the Changes clause let the government do?
• What does the Competition in Contracting Act require?
• What does the Service Contract Act require of federal services contractors?
• What do the Limitation of Cost and Limitation of Funds clauses require?
• What four tests must a cost pass to be allowable under FAR Part 31?
• What happens to a contractor that inflates a claim against the government?
• What happens when a small business is found nonresponsible?
• What is a commercial product acquisition under FAR Part 12 and why does it matter?
• What is a constructive change, and what must a contractor prove?
• What is a Justification and Approval, and why is it useful to a protester?
• What is an equitable adjustment and how is it measured?
• What is an IDIQ contract and what makes it binding?
• What is a responsibility determination and can it be protested?
• What is CMMC and where does it stand?
• What is corrective action in a bid protest and why can it disappoint?
• What is implied certification liability under Escobar?
• What is suspension and debarment, and how long does it last?
• What is the Anti-Deficiency Act and why does it matter to contractors?
• What is the Berry Amendment?
• What is the Blue & Gold waiver rule?
• What is the Christian doctrine?
• What is the CICA automatic stay and how do you get it?
• What is the difference between a best-value tradeoff and LPTA?
• What is the difference between an REA and a claim under the Contract Disputes Act?
• What is the difference between clarifications, communications, and discussions?
• What is the difference between price reasonableness, price realism, and cost realism?
• What is the difference between responsiveness and responsibility in sealed bidding?
• What is the fair opportunity rule for task orders?
• What is the Federal Acquisition Regulation and where is it codified?
• What is the government's duty to disclose superior knowledge?
• What is the most common cause of defective pricing exposure?
• What is the remedy for a wrongful termination for default?
• What is the risk of adding open-market items to a GSA Schedule order?
• What is the rule of two in federal small business contracting?
• What is the Spearin doctrine?
• What makes discussions meaningful, and when are they unlawful?
• What makes the False Claims Act so formidable against federal contractors?
• What mistakes most often sink a contractor's change claim?
• What must a federal contractor disclose about its own misconduct?
• What must the government prove in a defective pricing case?
• What must the government prove to terminate a contract for default?
• What penalties apply for charging expressly unallowable costs?
• What question does every federal contract type answer?
• What remedies can GAO award in a bid protest?
• What special considerations apply to tribally owned and Alaska Native Corporation contractors?
• What wage laws apply to federal construction contracts?
• When is a source selection decision most vulnerable to protest?
• When must a large prime contractor submit a small business subcontracting plan?
• Where do you file a size protest or a NAICS code challenge?
• Which costs are unallowable on federal contracts?
• Which sections of a federal solicitation matter most?
• Who can legally bind the United States in a contract?
• Why are the costs of preparing an REA treated differently from the costs of a claim?
• Why do cybersecurity self-assessments create False Claims Act risk?
• Why is cost-plus-a-percentage-of-cost contracting illegal?
• Why is the total cost method of proving damages disfavored?
• Why is time-and-materials contracting disfavored?
• Why should you verify FAR dollar thresholds rather than relying on memory?