Clearing The Decks--FAR Council Finally Issues COTS Waivers Mandated By Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.23.09
Six years after the initial advance notice of proposed rulemaking, on January 15, 2009, the FAR Council issued its final rule identifying additional statutory requirements to be waived when the government purchases commercial, off-the-shelf equipment as narrowly defined in the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (commercial items, sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and offered to the government without modification), relieving COTS procurements from compliance with only one statute of significance--the Buy American Act, but significantly not the Trade Agreements Act (applicable to many of the GSA schedule and other contract vehicles under which the government buys COTS items)--and even then the new rule provides only a partial waiver: the item must still be "manufactured" (an undefined term) in the United States, but the origin of the components will no longer be relevant in determining the country of origin for COTS items. Neither this final FAR rule nor a separately published interim DFARS rule (that effectively provided a similar partial waiver) limits or revokes the existing waiver provided as a result of annual authorization act provisions wholly exempting from the Buy American Act information technology products that qualify under the broader definition for commercial items.
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.08.25
DOJ and HHS Launch FCA Working Group: Heightened Enforcement Risk for Health Care Entities
On July 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly announced the formation of a False Claims Act (FCA) Working Group. This new initiative underscores a coordinated federal enforcement strategy focused on identifying and addressing fraud in federally funded health care programs, particularly Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care. The announcement comes days after Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of DOJ’s Criminal Division, announced the results of the “largest coordinated health care fraud takedown in the history of the Department of Justice” and the creation of a “Health Care Fraud Data Fusion Center” comprised of data specialists that will “break down information silos, using coordinated data analysis to enable our investigative teams to quickly identify and dismantle emerging fraud schemes.” Taken together, these announcements demonstrate the DOJ’s effort—in both civil and criminal divisions—to strengthen its collaboration with HHS to investigate and prosecute health care fraud.
Client Alert | 5 min read | 07.08.25
Client Alert | 4 min read | 07.07.25
DOJ Data Security Program Update: Active Enforcement Begins This Week
Client Alert | 9 min read | 07.07.25