Government Contracts Monitor

Congressional Investigations: Responding to Congressional Information Requests

Receipt of a congressional subpoena is a scary moment for any company. In recent years, government contractors have come under congressional scrutiny not faced by commercial contractors.

New “Performance and Integrity” Database to Impose Additional Reporting Requirements on Government Contractors

A proposed regulation would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require government contract offerors with over $10 million in federal grants and contracts to provide information relating to criminal convictions, civil judgments and administrative proceedings directly into a new information system maintained by the government.

Custer Battles Decision Introduces More Uncertainty to Scope of False Claims Act

On April 10th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling in the Custer Battles case clarifying the potential False Claims Act liability of contractors performing contracts in Iraq and elsewhere.

Violation of Price Reduction Clause Leads to Record Settlement by GSA Contractor

NetApp (formerly Network Appliance) has agreed to pay $128 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. §3729 et seq., by failing to offer the Government its best commercial pricing in violation of the terms of its General Services Administration (GSA) schedule contracts. The settlement was finalized April 15, 2009.

DoJ Presses for More Tools to Fight Contract Fraud in Wake of Recession, Stimulus

The Obama Administration’s push for quick returns on the economic stimulus may have an adverse effect: more fraud. 

Congress Amending the False Claims Act to Redress the Impact of the Supreme Court's Ruling in Allison Engine

The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (FERA), (for more information), proposes significant changes to federal criminal law, including amending the  False Claims Act (FCA) to clarify that Congress’ “original intent” was to extend the Act to any false or fraudulent claim for government money or property, whether or not the claim is presented to a government official or employee, whether or not the government has physical custody of the money, and whether or not the defendant specifically intended to defraud the government.