Weakened Dollar Causes Further Rise In TAA Thresholds
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.04.10
Effective January 1, 2010, the U.S. Trade Representative has revised upward the contract dollar thresholds at which the Buy American Act restriction is waived for the supply of goods and services or construction material from "designated countries" (i.e., those countries that have signed the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement ("GPA") or other free trade agreement with the U.S.) (74 Fed. Reg. 68907, Dec. 29, 2009). Because the GPA thresholds are expressed in "Special Drawing Rights," the USTR adjusts the thresholds biennially and the U.S. dollar's continued weakness has resulted in the third straight increase, to $203,000 for goods and services and $7,804,000 for construction contracts.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
