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Reflections On The Federal Procurement Landscape, Daniel I. Gordon Jan 2012

Reflections On The Federal Procurement Landscape, Daniel I. Gordon

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This paper, published in the Government Contractor, presents the reflections on the author's service as the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy from 2009 through 2011. The author identifies his three goals for his tenure as Administrator: strengthening the federal acquisition workforce, driving fiscal responsibility in federal acquisition, and rebalancing the relationship with contractors. The author points to reversal of several negative trends, in particular, decline in the size of the federal acquisition workforce during the years 1992-2009, unsustainable annual increases in procurement spending during those years, and an unhealthy overreliance on contractors in performance of key government functions. In each …


A House Of Cards Falls: Why 'Too Big To Debar' Is All Slogan And Little Substance, Jessica Tillipman Jan 2012

A House Of Cards Falls: Why 'Too Big To Debar' Is All Slogan And Little Substance, Jessica Tillipman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

“A House of Cards Falls: Why ‘Too Big to Debar’ is All Slogan and Little Substance” is a critical response to the article, "FCPA Sanctions: Too Big to Debar" by Drury D. Stevenson and Nicholas J. Wagoner, which aptly demonstrates a common, yet fundamentally flawed understanding of the FAR 9.4 suspension and debarment regime. "Too Big to Debar" asserts that when large government contractors violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), they should be “punished” by being debarred from the procurement system. Indeed, despite FAR 9.4’s clear directive to use debarment only for the purpose of protecting the government, not …


Dead Contractors: The Un-Examined Effect Of Surrogates On The Public’S Casualty Sensitivity, Steven L. Schooner, Collin D. Swan Jan 2012

Dead Contractors: The Un-Examined Effect Of Surrogates On The Public’S Casualty Sensitivity, Steven L. Schooner, Collin D. Swan

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Once the nation commits to engage in heavy, sustained military action abroad, particularly including the deployment of ground forces, political support is scrupulously observed and dissected. One of the most graphic factors influencing that support is the number of military soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice on the nation’s behalf. In the modern era, most studies suggest that the public considers the potential and actual casualties in U.S. wars to be an important factor, and an inverse relationship exists between the number of military deaths and public support. Economists have dubbed this the "casualty sensitivity" effect.

This article asserts …


Emerging Policy And Practice Issues (2011), Steven L. Schooner, David J. Berteau Jan 2012

Emerging Policy And Practice Issues (2011), Steven L. Schooner, David J. Berteau

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This paper, presented at the West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (covering 2011), attempts to identify the key trends and issues for 2012 in U.S. federal procurement. It begins from the premise that the most significant emerging issue in government contracting, looking ahead, is the money (or lack of it). As the fiscal belt tightens, the procurement landscape - what the government buys, from whom, and how - will necessarily change. Consistent with prior practice, this chapter offers extensive coverage of the federal procurement spending trend and attempts to predict what lies ahead. It also discusses the proliferation of …


The Wto’S Revised Government Procurement Agreement - An Important Milestone Toward Greater Market Access And Transparency In Global Public Procurement Markets, Robert D. Anderson, Steven L. Schooner, Collin D. Swan Jan 2012

The Wto’S Revised Government Procurement Agreement - An Important Milestone Toward Greater Market Access And Transparency In Global Public Procurement Markets, Robert D. Anderson, Steven L. Schooner, Collin D. Swan

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In December of 2011, the Parties to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) adopted significant revisions to the Agreement. The revised Agreement comprises (a) a much-needed modernization of the text of the Agreement, (b) an expansion of related market-access commitments by the Parties, and (c) a set of Future Work Programs intended to enhance transparency among the Parties and improve the administration of the Agreement. In these unstable economic times, the importance of the GPA and its improvements cannot be overstated.

This article also bemoans the media's misrepresentation of the ongoing process of China's negotiated accession into the …


Affirmatively Inefficient Jurisprudence?: Confusing Contractors’ Rights To Raise Affirmative Defenses With Sovereign Immunity, Steven L. Schooner, Pamela Kovacs Jan 2012

Affirmatively Inefficient Jurisprudence?: Confusing Contractors’ Rights To Raise Affirmative Defenses With Sovereign Immunity, Steven L. Schooner, Pamela Kovacs

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In M. Maropakis Carpentry v. United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upset the commonly understood rules of practice and procedure for government contracts dispute litigation. In what the Supreme Court might view as a drive-by jurisdictional ruling, the court held that a contractor must file its own claim for time extensions before it can defend against a government claim for liquidated damages. Two Court of Federal Claims cases then confirmed fears that the decision would create a significant, disruptive, and disadvantageous change in procedural posture for a large number of contractors defending against government …