On October 16, I am joining Chris Waskowich, CIO of V2 Systems, for an hour-long webinar. We will help you understand what the NIST standards are, how they can impact your current and future DoD work, and most importantly how your company can get into compliance.
I will provide an update on DoD’s recent regulatory and policy updates and the impact of noncompliance, and Chris will provide practical guidance on how to bring your organization into compliance.
Since the beginning of August 2018, the United States has taken multiple actions that will affect U.S. trade with Russia. The actions cover exports to Russia, doing business with Russian partners, and potential Russian investment in the United States. These actions have added to the already challenging landscape of conducting business in and with Russia.
Economic Sanctions in Place Since 2014 Are Expanded Again
The United States has maintained targeted economic sanctions on Russia since 2014. Most of these sanctions are administered by the U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
These sanctions ensnare many prominent Russian individuals and entities. They have also ensnared prominent U.S. companies: see our July 2017 blog post on penalties imposed against Exxon for Russia sanctions violations. For an example of how sanctions have been periodically and consistently extended, see our September 2016 blog post.
Continue Reading Update on Russia: Restrictions Expanded to New Actors, Industries
On September 24, 2018, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a final rule that alters its regulations governing the Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Program. The final rule, “VA Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Verification Guidelines,” will go into effect on October 1, 2018. This new rule brings much awaited clarity and uniformity to the regulations governing the VA’s ownership and control requirements for VOSBs and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs).
Details of the VA VOSB Verification Guidelines
The rule places exclusive authority to implement VOSB verification regulations in the Small Business Administration (SBA), and goes so far as to seek the removal of all references to “ownership” or “control” from VA regulations. Additionally, the rule provides clarification on certain portions of the VA verification process, and outlines the circumstances that will allow a company to qualify as a VOSB or SDVOSB under a surviving spouse or active employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
I will be presenting the topic of “Federal Procurement Protests & Appeals” at the 2018 PDS/SCS GovCon Seminar on Thursday, October 18. This event provides attendees with up-to-date information on compliance and changes in the government contracts industry.
For more information about and to register for the event, please visit the event website.
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Thad McBride provided insight on Tesla Inc.’s recent announcement of potential Saudi Arabian funding to take the company private and how this move could draw scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). “The big question is whether this technology is really sensitive enough and whether if acquired by a non-U.S. company it could have some kind of negative impact on U.S. national security,” Thad explained. Thad noted that this could be possible since the Trump administration has announced possible tariffs on auto imports for national security reasons.
Continue Reading Potential CFIUS Interest in Tesla Privatization
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Thad McBride provided insight for a Bloomberg Law article on how recently enacted reforms related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will spur reviews of more transactions between U.S. companies and foreign investors.
Continue Reading CFIUS Reform and the Likelihood of Increased Filings
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Thad McBride provided insight on the sanctions evasion techniques being used by foreign owners of seemingly legitimate money services businesses (MSBs) to move funds illicitly. The article provides examples of foreign entities – such as those in countries faced with strict U.S. sanctions, such as Iran or North Korea – taking control of MSBs in foreign jurisdictions and then using the ownership status to pass money and convert funds to U.S. dollars. Because entities in sanctioned countries are severely restricted related to the amount of money that can be brought into or moved within the United States, ownership of these MSBs can be a profitable way of avoiding detection.
Continue Reading The Use of Money Services Businesses in Sanctions Evasion
On July 31, 2018, the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee delivered its annual report to Congress on the status of the suspension and debarment system. The report shows a continued high level of activity relative to the last decade and serves as a reminder that exclusion from the federal marketplace continues to be a risk for contractors that do not “cut square corners” with the government.
The FY2017 report shows a modest decrease in the number of suspensions, proposed debarments, and debarments from the last fiscal year, a trend that has continued since the high-water mark set in FY2014. But it also notes that the number of exclusions in FY2017, over 3,000, are almost double those reported when the Committee first began formally tracking the data in FY2009, approximately 1,800.
In a Law360 article published on August 7, Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Thad McBride provided insight on how the Foreign Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) legislation included in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would alter the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) by broadening its authority when reviewing foreign investments in the U.S.
As part of FIRRMA’s effort to broaden CFIUS’s power, the interagency committee will officially have the ability to review foreign investments in U.S. companies that hold personal information of U.S. citizens. While this has been an issue for potential foreign investors in the past (i.e. MoneyGram International Inc.), its formal inclusion in the legislation text takes it to another level.
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Richard Arnholt was quoted in an article regarding a little-known provision allowing the government to continue working with companies excluded from the government marketplace. Companies who have received such waivers include IBM, Boeing and BP along with 19 others to fulfill specific contracts that the government has deemed necessary. Officials distributing these waivers are required to notify the General Services Administration (GSA) which posts the information to the public. Since the law was passed in 1981, 30 waivers have been provided to the GSA. The waivers can be used for companies that otherwise are prohibited from bidding on future contracts or seeking extensions on existing contracts.
Continue Reading Waivers Allow Government to Do Business with Suspended Companies