Made in America, for Real: The Berry Amendment and Domestic Sourcing
On defense work, the Berry Amendment goes further than Buy American: certain clothing, textiles, specialty metals, and foods must be fully made in the United…
4 min read
Government Contracting News & Insights
Contracting intelligence for small and minority-owned businesses, from the TIKC advisory team.
The archive
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Page 5 of 24 · Newest first
Paying Your Crew on a Federal Job? Do Not Trip Over This
On many federal jobs the government sets the lowest wage you can pay, and you sign off on every paycheck. Pay less and sign anyway…
4 min read
Paying Someone to Help You Win a Contract? Read This First
Paying someone a cut to help you win a government contract can be illegal, and you sign a form promising you did not. Here is…
4 min read
One Faked Test Cost a Navy Supplier $10.9 Million
A company that makes steel for Navy ships let a tester change results so weak steel looked like it passed. It is paying about $10.9…
4 min read
The Price You Promised the Government: GSA Schedule Pricing Integrity
A GSA Schedule is a powerful contract vehicle, but it comes with a pricing bargain: honest commercial sales disclosures up front and the Price Reductions…
4 min read
Where Your Product Was Really Made: Buy American and the Trade Agreements Act
When you sell the government a product, you are certifying where it came from. The Buy American Act and the Trade Agreements Act set strict…
4 min read
When Competitors Become Co-Conspirators: Bid Rigging and Collusion
A quiet word with a competitor about who wins which job feels like cooperation. It is a federal antitrust crime. Bid rigging and collusion carry…
4 min read
The Penalty That Can End Your Company: Suspension and Debarment
Suspension and debarment do not fine you, they switch off your ability to win federal work entirely. They turn on a judgment about whether you…
4 min read
The Gift That Became a Crime: Gratuities, Favors, and Bribery
A meal, a round of golf, a small gift to a government official can feel like ordinary relationship building. In federal contracting it can be…
4 min read
Hiring From the Other Side of the Table: The Revolving Door Rules
Hiring a former government official can bring priceless expertise, or a disqualifying conflict. The revolving door rules restrict what former officials may work on, and…
4 min read
The Information You Are Not Allowed to Have: The Procurement Integrity Act
The Procurement Integrity Act polices the information that flows around a competition: bid and proposal data, source-selection information, and the job offers that can quietly…
4 min read
The Set-Aside That Was Performed by the Wrong Company. A $4.8 Million Lesson.
A federal IT contractor and its owner agreed to pay $4.8 million after allegedly paying fees to 8(a) firms to win set-aside work, then doing…
5 min read
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The Briefing
The Briefing is the TIKC weekly federal contracting newsletter covering policy changes, opportunities and practical next steps for small businesses.
- Policy changes worth knowing about
- Opportunities for small and minority-owned firms
- Practical next steps you can act on
