Industrial Base Sole-Source Award Deficient
Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.04.14
In Coulson Aviation (USA) Inc.; 10 Tanker Air Carrier, LLC; Minden Air Corp. (Mar. 31, 2014), GAO agreed with protesters, including one represented by Crowell & Moring, that the U.S. Forest Service had unlawfully awarded a sole-source contract with a potential value of nearly $500 million. After extensive briefing and a two-day hearing, GAO found that the sole-source award was invalid because the true basis for award had been honoring a settlement agreement promise to award the contract and the Justification & Approval supporting the award both (i) improperly relied on the factually inapplicable "industrial base" exception to the full and open competition requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act and (ii) failed to identify the critical facts relevant to the award.
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Client Alert | 4 min read | 01.07.26
On December 17, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a request for information (RFI) on a proposal designed to help the FDA engage more directly with innovative, venture-backed companies focused on biotechnology, medical devices, AI, and regulatory technology.[i]The RFI includes 19 questions, with responses due by 2:00 p.m. ET on January 18, 2026.
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