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Agency's Preclusionary (And Erroneous) "Revolving Door" Advice Provides Pre-Award Bid Protest Standing

Client Alert | 1 min read | 05.09.08

In The CNA Corporation v. United States (April 30, 2008)
the COFC granted standing to a potential bidder arguing that it would be effectively disqualified from a procurement because a key employee, a former NIH scientist, had received an agency ethics opinion finding applicable the life-long representational ban under criminal statute 18 U.S.C. 207(a)(1), thus precluding her from being assigned to the contract. In finding for the protester, the COFC held that (1) the agency's 15-page legal opinion was wrong because it misapplied the definition of "personal and substantial participation" required to trigger the life-long representational ban, and, further, (2) even if the agency's ethics opinion had been correct as to a representational ban, the scope of prohibited "representation" under the statute was not as broad as the agency's interpretation and the protester would have been able to use the former NIH employee as its principal investigator were it awarded the contract.

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Client Alert | 1 min read | 07.08.26

CAS Board Publishes Final Rule Rescinding CAS 404, 408, 409, and 4117

As part of its ongoing effort to conform the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) to generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the CAS Board published a final rule rescinding CAS 408 (Accounting for costs of compensated personal absence) and CAS 411 (Accounting for acquisition costs of material).  The CAS Board also rescinded CAS 404 (Capitalization of tangible assets) and CAS 409 (Depreciation of tangible capital assets) but retained certain requirements of CAS 404 and 409, which will be located in new paragraphs of CAS 405 (Accounting for unallowable costs).  Specifically, the CAS Board retained the requirements currently located at CAS 404-50(d)(1), CAS 409-50(e)(5), CAS 409-50(j)(1), and CAS 409-50(j)(4), which the CAS Board explained are necessary to protect the Government’s interests.  Otherwise, the CAS Board determined that the requirements of CAS 404, 408, 409, and 411 overlapped with GAAP such that GAAP “may be applied reasonably as a substitute for CAS to support contract cost and pricing.”...

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