TDR Wars—Episode V: OIG Strikes Back
Client Alert | 2 min read | 07.28.22
On July 18, the GSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued an Alert Memorandum both broadcasting and criticizing the Federal Acquisition Service’s (FAS) apparent decision to expand the Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) rule to the entire Multiple Award Schedule (MAS). The TDR Pilot Program studied the potential for TDR to reduce the compliance burdens of the MAS program by replacing the various requirements Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contractors must fulfill to ensure the pricing offered to GSA customers is fair and reasonable, including the obligation to make Commercial Sales Practice disclosures and to track commercial pricing and discounts to the negotiated Basis of Award customer under the Price Reductions Clause. The GSA OIG previously criticized the TDR Pilot Program.
In its Alert Memorandum, the OIG highlights two “persistent issues” with the TDR Pilot Program. First, the OIG found that the data underlying the TDR Pilot Program is inconsistent. Specifically, the OIG found (1) a misalignment between TDR product part numbers and product descriptions on the one hand and those part numbers and descriptions in contractors’ MAS contracts on the other; and (2) a lack of standard part numbers for labor categories on professional services contracts that constituted approximately 75.5% of the total FSS sales in 2021. According to the OIG, these inconsistencies render it “almost impossible” to match TDR data to MAS contracts for goods, and standardize TDR data across MAS contracts for services.
Second, the OIG found that contracting personnel never actually used TDR data for pricing decisions during the Pilot Program. As a result, the OIG’s Alert Memorandum expresses concern that GSA is expanding the TDR Pilot Program—and making the underlying data available to all FAS contracting personnel for pricing evaluations—without having observed how contracting personnel use the TDR data, or evaluating the effects of that use.
The OIG’s Alert Memorandum concludes that the TDR Pilot Program places government agencies at further risk of overpaying for products and services when ordering from FAS’ MAS contracts and calls into question the TDR Pilot Program’s continued viability. Nonetheless, the TDR Pilot Program has been well-received by industry, and FAS’ continued support for TDR should be a positive sign for contractors.
Contacts
Insights
Client Alert | 5 min read | 12.12.25
Eleventh Circuit Hears Argument on False Claims Act Qui Tam Constitutionality
On the morning of December 12, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit heard argument in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, et al., No. 24-13581 (11th Cir. 2025). This case concerns the constitutionality of the False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam provisions and a groundbreaking September 2024 opinion in which the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the FCA’s qui tam provisions were unconstitutional under Article II. See United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Fla. Med. Assocs., LLC, 751 F. Supp. 3d 1293 (M.D. Fla. 2024). That decision, penned by District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, was the first success story for a legal theory that has been gaining steam ever since Justices Thomas, Barrett, and Kavanaugh indicated they would be willing to consider arguments about the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., 599 U.S. 419 (2023). In her opinion, Judge Mizelle held (1) qui tam relators are officers of the U.S. who must be appointed under the Appointments Clause; and (2) historical practice treating qui tam and similar relators as less than “officers” for constitutional purposes was not enough to save the qui tam provisions from the fundamental Article II infirmity the court identified. That ruling was appealed and, after full briefing, including by the government and a bevy of amici, the litigants stepped up to the plate this morning for oral argument.
Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.11.25
Director Squires Revamps the Workings of the U.S. Patent Office
Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.10.25
Creativity You Can Use: CJEU Clarifies Copyright for Applied Art
Client Alert | 4 min read | 12.10.25
Federal Court Strikes Down Interior Order Suspending Wind Energy Development
