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DoD Rescinds IR&D "Technical Interchange" Requirement

Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.04.18

On August 24, 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD), issued a final rule that, effective immediately, removes the requirement in Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 231.205–18(c)(iii)(C)(4) that major contractors conduct a formal discussion (i.e., “technical interchange”) with a DoD technical staffer prior to generating independent research and development (IR&D) costs for IR&D projects initiated in fiscal year 2017 and later, in order for those costs to be allowable. The requirement applied to major contractors, who are defined as contractors whose covered segments allocated a total of more than $11 million in IR&D and bid proposal costs to covered contracts during the preceding fiscal years. The requirement was repealed after a determination by the DoD Regulatory Reform Task Force that the DFARS requirement was unnecessary since the objective of the interchange “can be met through other means.”


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Client Alert | 3 min read | 09.15.25

Senate Finance Committee Looking to Take White River to the Train Station, Confirms DOJ Investigation into Tribal Tax Credits

On August 19, 2025, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (“Senate Finance Committee”) sent Paul Atkins, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a letter calling on the SEC to investigate White River Energy Corp (“White River”). In the letter, the Senate Finance Committee confirmed a criminal investigation into White River related to the sale of so-called “tribal tax credits” that according to both Congress and the IRS, do not exist. The letter further states that White River allegedly earned millions of dollars selling these credits and has not been forthcoming with investors regarding the existence of the criminal investigation. According to the Senate Finance Committee, White River has failed to file financial disclosure documents with the SEC since March 15, 2024, missing six consecutive reporting periods. The letter instructs White River to disclose the existence of the DOJ criminal tax investigation, and calls on the SEC to take action if White River fails to do so....