California Government Contracts Attorney Wickwire Gavin Home

1. What is the total value of federal government contracts each year?

The federal government awards about $200 billion of new contracts each year for all kinds of goods, services, construction and supplies. The government contracts for everything it needs: computers, IT services, automobiles, real estate, construction, repairs, office space and everything else required to make the government run.

2. How do I learn about Federal contract opportunities?

Go to www.fedbizopps.gov. Contact agencies to learn of opportunities. Click here for a list of useful sites about Federal procurement agencies.

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of federal government contracts?

The advantages include a huge potential marketing opportunity, an equal opportunity to win contract awards and assurance of payment under contracts. The disadvantages are that the contractor must learn the procedures, laws and regulations that make federal government contracts different from private contracts.

4. How do federal government contracts differ from private contracts?

The major difference is that federal government contracts are governed by statutes and regulations. The goal of these statutes and regulations is to enable the government to obtain goods and the services at fair and reasonable prices through a fair procurement process. Federal government contracts must be awarded through full and open competition, and the government may not unfairly favor one bidder over another.

5. What are the major statutes and regulations governing federal government contracts?

The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act governs civilian agency procurements. The Armed Services Procurement Act governs military procurements. The Contract Disputes Act governs disputes on nearly all government contracts. Protests are governed by provisions in Titles 28 and 31 of the United States Code. The Prompt Payment Act requires the government to make prompt payments to contractors. Other statutes govern labor policies, opportunities for small and disadvantage businesses and other socioeconomic programs.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation ("FAR") provides detailed regulations and contract clauses for procurements by all federal agencies. Additional regulations and contract clauses are contained in the agency supplements to the FAR. The FAR is available in Title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations in Chapter 1; the agency supplements are in Chapters 2 through 57.

6. How can a contractor protest the unfair denial of a contract award?

The statutes and regulations require that all responsible contractors be permitted to compete for award on a fair and equal basis. They also provide for opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses.

A contractor has several options to protest an unfair denial of contract or other government failure to follow applicable statutes and regulations:

1. The contractor may protest directly to the agency under FAR Part 33 and procedures established in the agency's regulations, 48 C.F.R. chapters 2 through 57. This may stop contract performance until the protest is decided.

2. The contractor may file a protest with the General Accounting Office ("GAO"), as provided in the 31 U.S.C.S 3551 et seq. and 4 C.F.R. S 21. A protest filed within 10 calendar days of a contract award generally will stop contract performance until the protest is decided.

3. The contractor may file a lawsuit in the United States Court of Federal Claims challenging government agency violations of statutes and regulations.

7. How can a contractor resolve contract disputes with an agency?

Most contract issues are resolved informally during contract performance, either by contracting personnel or through informal alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Disputes that are not resolved this way must be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer for a final decision. The contractor may appeal the Contracting Officer's final decision by filing a Notice of Appeal with an agency board of contract appeals within ninety days of the Contracting Officer's decision. The contractor may also appeal to the United States Court of Federal Claims by filing a lawsuit within twelve months of the Contracting Officer's decision. A contracting officer's decision that is not appealed becomes final and binding on the parties.

8. When is a contractor entitled to additional payments from the government due to changes in the contract?

The government is entitled to make changes in the work under the contract. If a change increases the contractor's costs, the government must pay the contractor an equitable adjustment for the resulting change. Other contract clauses give the contractor the right to an equitable adjustment in other circumstances as well. Usually, the contractor requests an equitable adjustment by submitting the costs involved and negotiating an equitable adjustment with government personnel. If the parties are unable to reach agreement, the contractor may submit the dispute in writing to the Contracting Officer for a final written decision. If the contractor is not satisfied with the Contracting Officer's decision, it may pursue an appeal as described above.

9. How do subcontracts under federal contracts differ from subcontracts under private contracts?

Many contract provisions require federal government contractors to insert certain clauses into their subcontracts to comply with federal government policies. These are called mandatory "flow-down" provisions because they flow-down requirements of the prime contract to the subcontract. Most of these mandatory flow down provisions concern labor policies, small and disadvantaged business policies and procurement integrity requirements. In addition, federal government contractors should "flow-down" other, non-mandatory provisions, like those concerning changes in work and claims and disputes. The drafting of "flow-down" provisions in subcontracts requires careful thought and analysis, and should not be done merely by repeating provisions in the prime contract. Otherwise, the subcontract provisions may be ambiguous and may not accurately reflect the intentions of parties.

10. Where can I get more information about federal government contracts and contracting opportunities?

Contracting opportunities with federal agencies are advertised on the web at www.fedbizopps.gov. General information about government contract statutes and regulations is available from the Acquisition Reform Network at http://www.arnet.gov. Legal issues about individual contracts should be discussed with an attorney.