Download CORB QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS and more Exams Social Sciences in PDF only on Docsity!
CORB QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
- Under what circumstances is ratification of an unauthorized commitment permitted? - Answers - If the contract award would have been proper if executed by a warranted PCO, the price can be determined to be fair and reasonable, and there must have been enough of the proper type of funding available to pay for the item both at the time of the commitment and at the time of the ratification. In general, what are the generic procedures for handling ratification actions? - Answers
- Legal review is required. An investigation is required to be completed within 30 days of discovery of the unauthorized commitment explaining
- how and why it occurred,
- how future occurrences will be avoided, and
- describing any corrective actions taken against responsible individuals. Who are the approval authorities for ratifications? - Answers - The ratification approving official for all unauthorized commitments valued at or above $1M is the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE). The ratification approving official for all Non-DISA unauthorized commitments (regardless of amount) and DISA unauthorized commitments valued below $1M is the Head of Contracting Activity (HCA). (DARS 1.602-3(b)(2)) Under 10K is the CCC. What is the purpose of ratification? - Answers - A ratification is the act of approving an unauthorized commitment. What conditions must first be met before ratification? - Answers - Unauthorized commitments may be ratified only when the conditions of FAR 1.602-3(c) are met. o Use of appropriated funds o Provided to or accepted by the Government - received a benefit o Ratification official has the authority to ratify o Resulting contract must otherwise be proper o Price must be fair & reasonable o Funds are available and were available at the time the action occurred o The Contracting Officer recommends payments and legal concurs o It is IAW the requirements and limitations Currently there is a non-Government contractor employee who is working in a unique technical area. A new source selection is planned, and the technical director would like
to make this contractor employee chief of the technical evaluation team. As such, this employee would be a voting member of the source selection board. Is it permissible to have a non-Government contractor employee as chief of the technical evaluation team and a voting member of the source selection board? - Answers - It is not permissible to have a non-Government employee as a voting member of any source selection board. FAR 7.503 states that contracts shall not be used for the performance of inherently governmental functions. Inherently governmental functions include, but not all inclusive: control of criminal investigations or prosecutions, command of military forces, determination of agency policy and application of regulations, determining budget priorities, and direction and control of federal employees, among others. What are Inherently Governmental Functions? - Answers - FAR 7. A function that is so intimately related to the public interest as to mandate performance by government employees. These functions include those activities that require either the exercise of discretion in applying government authority or the making of value judgments in making decisions for the Government. Two categories: o The Act of Governing o Monetary transactions and entitlements Some examples of inherently governmental functions which involve the interpretation and execution of the laws of the U.S. are: - Answers - o To bind the U.S. to take or not to take some action by contract, policy, regulation, authorization, or order o To determine, protect, and advance its economic, political, territorial, property or other interest by military or diplomatic action or criminal judicial proceedings or contract management o To significantly affect the life, liberty, or property of private persons o To commission, appoint, direct or control officers of U.S. employees o To exert ultimate control over the acquisition, use or disposition of U.S. property including the collection, control, or disbursement of federal funds
- You are the Contracting Officer for a follow-on buy source selection. The current effort has had the same Program Manager for over 10 years. She began as the PM while still a Military Officer and then retired and was re-hired as an A&AS employee to continue to manage the program. She has extensive experience on the program and is considered a primary "Go To" person for all Program-related managerial issues. The Program Director fully wants to utilize the PM's experience possible and has proposed that the PM be listed as chief of the technical evaluation team and a voting member of the source selection board. Is it permissible to have a non-Government employee (A&AS contractor) as chief of the technical evaluation team and a voting member of the source selection board? - Answers - It is not permissible to have a non-Government employee as a voting member of any source selection board.
How to rectify an expired option? - Answers - Once the option is expired, there is no contract. The Contracting Officer may have to prepare a J&A depending on the original authorizations and enter into a bilateral agreement with the Contractor to obtain continued performance by the same Contractor. The Contractor is entitled to renegotiate the price. The Contracting Officer can also look at: o Borrowing capacity o Solicit other districts o Resolicit the contract Please define a Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data. - Answers - A Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data certifies that to the best of the company's knowledge, the cost or pricing data submitted were accurate, complete, and current as of the date of agreement on price or, if applicable, an earlier date agreed upon between the parties that is as close as practicable to the date of agreement on price. What is the purpose of a Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data? - Answers - The purpose is to have the company commit as to the accuracy, completeness, and currency of submitted data. If the data is later found to be incorrect or appropriate data was not submitted, the Government reserves the right to a downward contract price adjustment for any monetary damages incurred. What are some of the key things you would expect to see or review before accepting the certificate? - Answers - Key things expected in a Certificate are:
- The certificate is in the format shown in FAR 15.406-2;
- Current as of the date of agreement on price or an earlier agreed upon date;
- Signed by an authorized representative of the company and dated as close as practicable to the date when price negotiations were concluded. What are the exceptions to Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data? - Answers - FAR 15.403-1(b) a. Adequate price competition b. Prices set by law or regulation c. Commercial Item d. Waiver has been granted e. Mod to a contract or subcontract for commercial items What dollar threshold would you require a certificate of current cost or pricing data? - Answers - $750,000 before July 1, 2018 $2 million after July 1, 2018
What are the five (5) TINA Exceptions? - Answers - o Adequate price competition o Price set by law or regulation - very, very RARE!! (An example is prices set by local/regional Government utilities.) o TINA Waiver o Modification to commercial contract or subcontract o Commercial You are a PCO and a new trainee comes to you seeking advice. She says she just had a conversation with a Facility Manager who referred to funds categorized by status as either active, expired, or cancelled (closed). She doesn't understand the differences. Can you explain the differences between the 3 status categories? - Answers - ● Active - appropriation is available for obligation & disbursement ● Expired - Appropriations expire for new obligations at the end of the period for which they were appropriated but are available to adjust previous obligations for a 5-year period (available for disbursement, not new obligations). ● Cancelled or Closed - no longer available for any purpose. Expired appropriations are cancelled at the end of the 5th full fiscal year following expiration. Regarding the availability and life cycle of funds, explain the meaning of the terms "current", "expired" and "cancelled". For what purposes can each of the three phases of funds be used? How many years does the status last for construction (3300) funds, procurement (3010) funds, for R&D (3600) funds, and for O&M (3400) funds? - Answers
- Revolving funds do not expire. Current - The funds are available for obligation. This stage is primarily for obligating or placing funds on contract for a specific purpose. The "current" phase lasts five years for construction (3300) funds, three years for procurement (3010) funds, two years for R&D (3600) funds, and one year for O&M (3400) funds. Expired - The funds are not available for obligation but may be used for adjustments of previously incurred obligations. They may be used to pay existing, unpaid bills on the contract. Funding in this phase remains available for 5 years from the year the appropriation expires, regardless of the appropriation type. No obligations for new requirements can be incurred against expired funds. Cancelled - The funds are no longer available and cease to exist for any purpose. Under PL 101-510 any use of cancelled funds is prohibited and results in a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act. This includes incurring any new obligation or payment against a previous obligation. Obligations or adjustments that would otherwise be chargeable to these years must be charged to current funds. Closed - Once expired, becomes closed and cannot be used for anything or any reason.
First check whether the legal guidance is mandatory or advisory. Check out how much discretion you have. It may be that you were being too strict or literal and what is being directed is within your discretion. Once you determine the legal parameters, if there is still a conflict, discuss it with your supervisor, and possibly others in the chain of command in resolving the issue with higher leadership. The point is you do not have to "go it alone". Worse-case scenario, if all this fails, remember that it is your warrant on the line. It is your obligation to ensure the integrity of the procurement system, and if that means that you won't sign off on something, then that may be the answer. Describe the Anti Deficiency Act (ADA) and list some actions that would constitute a violation of it. What are the potential penalties for a violation of the ADA? - Answers - The Anti Deficiency Act means that Government officials have no authority to obligate or spend funds unless the funding is available prior to the obligation occurring. Some of the violations of the ADA to include the following five (5) are: ● Obligation more than available funds. ● Expenditure more than available funds. ● Involving the Government in a contract or obligation in advance of appropriations. ● Improper augmentation of appropriations. ● Accepting most voluntary services. Administrative discipline including suspension without pay and removal from job, criminal prosecution (if knowing and willful violation) - up to two years imprisonment and $5,000 fine, and the contract may be declared null and void, although the contractor may still be owed compensation. The Project Manager (PM) had difficulty getting funding (stopped work last quarter due to lack of funds). Facing the same situation this quarter. He wants to use procurement funding (3010) to cover the effort for the rest of the year. Previously, the effort was funded with RDT&E funding (3600). As PCO, what issues would you consider before taking action to obligate the procurement funds? - Answers - You cannot pay for RDT&E efforts with Procurement funds. This would be a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA). You would be augmenting the RDT&E appropriation with procurement funds.
- What is the Bona Fide need rule? - Answers - The bona fide needs rule is one of the fundamental principles of appropriations law: A fiscal year appropriation may be obligated only to meet a legitimate, or bona fide, need arising in, or in some cases arising prior to but continuing to exist in, the fiscal year for which the appropriation was made. Bona Fide needs deals with the three basic constraints: time, purpose, and amount.
- Government has a true need for items at a specified time.
- Funds appropriate for that need. For e.g., on 29 September 2020 cannot order 3 palettes of paper because will not be able to use it in 2 days. The need is really FY21. If given a construction example and there's an issue, it's most likely a bona fide need issue. On 3 Sep 08 the CO awarded a contract for computer purchases using FY08 O&M (3400) funds. The computers were to be delivered upon completion of a new building expected sometime early in FY 09, but the contractor could have delivered the computers almost immediately upon contract award. Are there any fiscal issues here? - Answers - Authority: 31 USC 1502(a) "Bona Fide Needs Rule" Yes. O&M (3400) funds are for one year. You cannot cross FYs unless there is an exception. This could be considered a violation of the bona fide need rule. The lead time exception does not apply since the delivery delay is based on the government's request and not the reality of when the contractor could deliver the computers. What does the term "Equitable Adjustment" mean to you? - Answers - The term "equitable adjustment" is construed as a "fair", "reasonable", "just", or "right" arrangement or settlement. In Government contracts, this involves a determination as to an adjustment of the contract price, the period of performance, or both." The definition from the Government Contract Law textbook states: "The concept of "equitable adjustment" is one of the larger unresolved issues in Government contracting. Although the phrase appears expressly or implicitly in the "adjustment clauses" e.g., the determination of what constitutes an equitable adjustment has not been objectively quantified by the regulation. (DFARS 252.2 43 - 7002) You have just received a request for equitable adjustment from your contractor. What do you do? - Answers - First you should notify your attorney that you have received a REA. Then, you will need to determine whether the contractor's request has any merit. If you determine that the request has merit, you may attempt to negotiate a settlement with the contractor, involving your attorney as you deem necessary. If negotiating with the contractor is difficult, and the involvement of your program counsel has not helped, you may refer the case to legal for formal Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Formal ADR can be accomplished either before or after the issuance of a final decision. If you determine that the REA is without merit, you may still attempt to discuss the issues with the contractor prior to issuing a Contracting Officer's Final Decision (COFD). Once a stalemate has occurred and the claim can't be resolved at the Contracting
● Acquisition Plan: A SB Specialist must be given an opportunity to review and comment on all Acquisition Plans and Single Acquisition Management Plans (SAMPs). ASC/BC is a required signature on the coordination page of the plans. How do you determine a prospective contractor to be responsible? Are there any differences in that process for contracts under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) versus contracts exceeding the SAT? If so, what are they? (FAR Part 9 - Contractor Qualifications) - Answers - FAR 9.104-6 states before awarding a contract in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, the Contracting Officer shall review the performance and integrity information available in the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), including FAPIIS information from the System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusions and the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS). SAT purchases do not require pre-award surveys (FAR 9.106). PRE-AWARD Surveys are generally done when the Contracting Officer doesn't have enough information available to decide that the contractor is responsible. PRE-AWARD surveys can be worked with DCMA to gain information. The FAR doesn't state what exactly is required to determine contractors responsible for under SAT purchases, therefore it's at the Contracting Officer's discretion. We often hear that it is the Contracting Officer's responsibility to determine that a contractor is "Responsible and Responsive". In your own words please define what it means for a contractor to be Responsible. - Answers - To be determined RESPONSIBLE, a prospective contractor must - ● Have adequate financial resources to perform the contract or the ability to obtain them ● Be able to comply with the required or proposed delivery or performance schedule, taking into consideration all existing commercial and governmental business commitments ● Have a satisfactory performance record ● Have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics ● Have the necessary organization, experience, accounting and operational controls, and technical skills, or the ability to obtain them ● Have the necessary production, construction, and technical equipment and facilities, or the ability to obtain them ● Be otherwise qualified and eligible to receive an award under applicable laws and regulations ● In other words, capable of performing the work as required In your own words please define what it means for a contractor to be Responsive. - Answers - ● Bids should be filled out, executed, and submitted in accordance with the instructions in the invitation (timeliness is a factor). Any bid that does not conform to the requirements, specifications, or delivery schedule will be rejected. ● In a source selection, the SSA determination of the overall value of each proposal is judged against the source selection evaluation criteria and responsiveness to the government's business, contractual and technical requirements.
● In general, responsiveness deals with the question of whether the contractor has promised to do exactly what the government has requested. Responsibility deals with the question of whether the contractor can or will perform as he has promised. What is a Contracting Officer (KO), what is the authority given to a KO, and what are the responsibilities of a KO? What is the limit of the KO? - Answers - ● A KO is an agent of the Government that safeguards or protects the Government's interests. IAW FAR 1.602-1, a KO has actual authority to enter, administer, or terminate contracts, and make related determinations and findings only to the extent of the authority delegated to them. ● Responsibilities: A KO is responsible for performance of all necessary contract actions, ensuring compliance with terms and conditions, safeguarding Government interest in contractual relationships, ensuring all requirements of law, Executive Orders, and Regulations are met, ensuring sufficient money is available, ensuring contractors receive impartial, fair, and equitable treatment, and consider the advice of specialists. KO's may bind the Government only to the extent of the authority delegated to them. What are the duties of a PCO? - Answers - PCO DUTIES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
- Assist in Formulating Acquisition Strategy
- Formal notification to industry of the proposed acquisition
- Releasing of a draft Request for Proposal for industry comment
- Conducting a pre-solicitation conference
- Ensuring evaluation criteria in the Request for Proposal is consistent with the acquisition strategy
- Release of RFP
- Handling protests
- Contract administration
- Preparation of solicitations and contracts
- Award of the contract
- Communications with potential OFFERORs
- Ensuring consistency of the source selection plan with requirements of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) What are the differences between apparent, implied, and express authority? - Answers - Actual authority is specifically set forth orally or in writing (e.g., warrant, FAR). Implied authority is the reasonable authority necessary to carry out the express grant of authority. It may be inferred from custom, conduct, or writings such as rules/regulations. Implied authority exists in an individual by virtue of duties. QA inspectors authorized to reject work have implied authority to change work through improper rejection.
What are the six elements of a contract? - Answers - - Legal capacity,
- offer,
- acceptance,
- consideration,
- clear terms and
- must not include performance of acts that are illegal. One of your specialists is new to contracting policies and procedures and asks you to explain a "D&F". How would you describe a D&F? FAR Subpart 1.7 - Answers - A Determination and Finding is a special form of written approval by an authorized official that is required by statute or regulation as a prerequisite to taking certain contract actions. The "determination" is a conclusion or decision supported by the "findings.'' The findings are statements of fact or rationale essential to support the determination and must cover each requirement of the statute or regulation. Your mission partner is new to contracting policies and procedures and asks to explain a "D&F". - Answers - ● A prerequisite to taking certain contracting actions. ● The "determination" is a conclusion or decision supported by the "findings". ● Findings are statements of fact or rationale essential to support the determination and must cover each requirement of the statute or regulation. ● Class D&F - authority for a class of contract actions with an expiration date What is the Publicizing and Response Time (FAR 5.203)? - Answers - ● The Contracting Officer (KO) must provide access to pre-solicitation notices through the GPE and must synopsize a proposed contract action before issuing any resulting solicitation. ● The notice of contract action must be published at least 15 days before issuance of a solicitation. Except, for acquisition of commercial items, the KO may: o establish a shorter period for issuance of the solicitation o use the combined synopsis and solicitation procedure ● The KO must establish a solicitation response time that will afford potential OFFERORs a reasonable opportunity to respond depending on the circumstances of the individual acquisition such as complexity, commerciality, availability, and urgency. ● Except for the acquisition of commercial items, agencies shall allow at least a 30-day response time for receipt of bids or proposals from the date of issuance of a solicitation if the acquisition is over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT). ● Agencies must allow at least a 45-day response time for receipt of bids or proposals from the date of publication of the notice for proposed contract actions categorized as research and development (R&D). What are the Justification and Approval (J&A) Posting Requirement? - Answers - In the case of a contract award permitted under 6.302-2 (Unusual and Compelling Urgency), the justification shall be posted within 30 days after contract award. In the case of a brand name justification under 6.302-1(c) (Only One Responsible Source), the justification shall be posted with the solicitation (see 5.102(a) (6)).
The agency shall make publicly available the justification required by 6.303-1 as required by 10 U.S.C. 2304(1) and 41 U.S.C. 3304(f). Except for the circumstances in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the justification shall be made publicly available within 14 days after contract award. · Exception to Fair Opportunity (EFO) FAR Part 16.5 (CHESS, MATOC, Task Order) · Limited Source Justification (LSJ) FAR Part 12 (Commercial or GSA) · Justification and Approval (J&A) FAR Part 6 (Full & Open; not utilizing a vehicle) What are the six exceptions to the Fair Opportunity process (FAR 16.505(b)(2)? - Answers - · Result in Delays. The agency need for the service or supplies is urgent and fair opportunity would result in delays · One Awardee. Only one awardee is qualified because the service or supplies are highly specialized or unique · Follow on. The task or delivery order must be sole source because it is a follow on to an order that is already established · Minimum guarantee. It is necessary to place an order to meet a minimum guarantee · Authorized by statute. For orders exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), a statute authorizes that the service or supplies be purchased from a specified source · Set-Asides. IAW section 1331 of Public Law 111- 240 Describe how the synopsis process can be streamlined when acquiring commercial items? - Answers - The synopsis required by FAR 5.203 and the issuance of the solicitation can be combined into a single document. Therefore, it is not necessary to publicize a separate synopsis 15 days before the issuance of the solicitation. Why does the government synopsize solicitations (FAR Part 5)? - Answers - ● Synopsis of Proposed Contract Actions (Purpose - FAR 5.002) o Increase Competition o Broaden Industry Participation o Improve SB access to acquisition information to obtain contracts & subcontracts ● Over $25K - must synopsize in Governmentwide Point of Entry or GPE (FBO) ● $15K to $25K - display or post in a public place or any electronic means for at least 10 days When are you required to synopsize contract actions (FAR Subpart 5.2)? Discuss both the solicitation as well as contract award. Address the differences (if any) between synopsis and posting a solicitation. Also, address some of the synopsis exceptions. - Answers - ● Contract actions and awards over $25K are required to be synopsized ● A synopsis is just a notice of some sort while a solicitation is the actual RFP, RFQ, or Invitation to Bid ● Some exceptions (FAR 5.202) to synopsis include national security, unusual and compelling urgency, brand name, etc. ● Must post a J&A (redacted) unless it's in the interest of national security
● Publishing formal requests for information (RFI) in appropriate technical or scientific journals or business publications. ● Querying the Government-wide database of contracts and other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple agencies and other Government and commercial databases that provide information relevant to agency acquisitions. ● Participating in interactive, on-line communication among industry, acquisition personnel, and customers. ● Obtaining source lists of similar items from other contracting activities or agencies, trade associations or other sources. ● Reviewing catalogs and other generally available product literature published by manufacturers, distributors, and dealers or available on-line. ● Conducting interchange meetings or holding pre-solicitation conferences to involve potential OFFERORS early in the acquisition process. You have been assigned as the Contracting Officer for a new acquisition and the Program Manager approaches you with a draft sole-source J&A and asks for your review and comment. Upon review you note that no mention of Market Research is made and the PM later confirms that none was accomplished as the mission partner wants to use their "usual" contractor; she also tells you that she isn't really sure why any would be necessary or where to begin the research. What should you do? FAR 10.002 - Answers - You should inform her that Market Research is usually the foundation for sole-source or limited competition and without it (unless one of the other exceptions in 6.302 applies - Only one responsible source, unusual and compelling urgency, international agreement, industrial mobilization, authorized or required by statute, national security or public interest) you cannot process the J&A. You should also ensure that she understands that the Market Research will demonstrate if a commercial item is available, or could be modified, to meet the Government's requirement thereby saving time and money in the development and delivery of the item. You should direct her to FAR Part 10 which provides several avenues of conducting Market Research. You have a requirement for a radio communication system. After some market research your PM thinks there is a commercially available item that the Government could buy and modify to meet our minimum requirement. The PM would like to develop a new item to satisfy the Government's requirement, and he knows he has enough money budgeted to pay for a developmental item. First, does the item that the PM found commercially fit the definition of a commercial item? And secondly, can the Government develop the item? - Answers - The item found in the marketplace may very well fit the definition of a commercial item in FAR 2.101. I would first double check the definition of what a commercial item is. Currently, that definition states that an item can be considered commercial if it is "of a type" of item sold in the commercial marketplace, therefore, depending on the extent of the modifications being performed on the item, it could very likely be considered a commercial item, which is something the Contracting Officer can determine. Secondly, if the item is determined to fit the definition of a
commercial item and satisfies the Government's minimum requirement, the Government cannot develop an item to satisfy the requirement. What are some benefits of competition? - Answers - Benefits of competition: ● Drives cost savings ● Improves quality of the product or service ● Enhances solution and the industrial base ● Promotes fairness and openness leading to public trust ● Prevents waste, fraud, and abuse, because Contractor's know they must perform at a high level or else be replaced ● Increases likelihood of efficiencies and innovations What are some keys of effective competition? - Answers - Keys to Effective Competition (Market Research (MR) Objective): ● Gather information from relevant sources in and outside the organization to support: o Commercial product or service that meet minimum requirement and mission needs o Expand insight into commercial marketplace ● Use results to determine if: o capable sources exist o availability of commercial and/or non-developmental items What are the seven (7) steps to Performance Based Service Acquisition (PBSA)? - Answers - ● Form a team ● Identify the problem ● Examine market ● Develop PWS ● Determine how to measure ● Select Contractor ● Manage Performance What eight (8) items are included in a Source Selection Plan (SSP)? - Answers - ● A brief description of the requirement, including reference to any applicable guidance such as a Program Management Directive (PMD) ● A summary of the acquisition strategy, including when applicable, type of contract anticipated, incentives contemplated, milestone demonstrations intended, special contract clauses, performance metrics ● Source Selection team. Recommended members and advisors by name, position title, company affiliation or by functional area. Identify other Government organizations that will participate in the source selection. ● Pre-solicitation activities. Describe the activities leading up to the release of the solicitation such as market research, draft solicitations, and synopsis. ● Evaluation factors and sub factors. Describe the evaluation factors and sub factors and their relative order of importance by attaching the relevant portions of the instructions to OFFERORS and evaluation criteria (Sections L&M). Describe the evaluation process. ● Schedule of events.
You are a brand-new Contracting Officer and the first question that the PM asks is the following: What are the four most used contract types and what is the order from the riskiest to the government to the least risky? - Answers - The four most common contract types are: Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF), Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF), Fixed Price Incentive Fee (FPIF), and Firm Fixed Price (FFP). The riskiest to the government is CPFF followed by CPIF, FPIF and FFP. Describe "cure notice"(FAR Part 49) and when you would use one as a Contracting Officer? - Answers - If a contract is to be terminated for default (T4D) before delivery date, a "cure notice" is required by the Default clause. Prior to the use of this notice, it must be ascertained that the amount of time equal to or greater than the period of "cure" remains in the contract delivery schedule or any extension to it. If the amount of time remaining in the contract delivery schedule is not sufficient to permit a "cure" period of 10 days or more, the Cure Notice should NOT be issued, instead a "Show Cause Notice" may be issued. What additional liabilities does the contractor incur when a fixed-price contract is terminated for default (in lieu of a termination for convenience) FAR Part 49? - Answers
- ● The Government is not liable for the Contractor's costs on undelivered work and is entitled to the repayment of any advance and progress payments applicable to that work. ● The Contractor is liable to the Government for any excess costs or re-procurement costs incurred in acquiring supplies and services like those terminated for default.
- What can you change using the unilateral right of the "Changes" clause? - Answers - If possible, a mutual or bilateral agreement is recommended. ● Supplies (DMP) o Drawings, designs, or specifications when the supplies to be furnished are to be specially manufactured for the Government in accordance with the drawings, designs, or specifications. o Method of shipment or packing. o Place of delivery ● Services (DTP) o Description of services to be performed. o Time of performance (i.e., hours of the day, days of the week, etc.). o Place of performance of the services. Explain the difference between an OFFEROR'S experience and an OFFEROR'S past performance. - Answers - Experience refers to an OFFEROR having performed similar work before while past performance refers to how well the OFFEROR performed such work.
- A legally binding contract must contain what elements? - Answers - Contract means a mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller to furnish the supplies or services (including construction) and the buyer to pay for them. It includes all types of
commitments that obligate the Government to an expenditure of appropriated funds and that, except as otherwise authorized, are in writing. In addition to bilateral instruments, contracts include (but are not limited to):
- awards and notices of awards.
- job orders or task letters issued under basic ordering agreements.
- letter contracts.
- orders, such as purchase orders, under which the contract becomes effective by written acceptance or performance; and
- bilateral contract modifications.
- Contracts do not include grants and cooperative agreements covered by 31 U.S.C.6301, et seq. For discussion of various types of contracts, see FAR Part 16.
- Why is inspection and acceptance important to the Government? - Answers - The Government inspects tendered supplies or services to insure they are in accordance with contract requirements. These inspections are critical because once the Government accepts a product or service, it cannot revoke this acceptance except in narrowly defined circumstances (FAR Part 46 Quality Assurance). Acceptance also entitles the contractor to payment and is where the title transfers from contractor to Government. Discuss your understanding of SAM (System for Award Management Exclusions) and how and when it is to be utilized. - Answers - SAM is a single repository for contractor information, to include reps and certs and validation, US ownership, active exclusion, delinquent federal debts, geographical location, etc. Unless provided under the exception part of the FAR clause, it is required prior to award.
- You have received competitive proposals in a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) situation. How would you determine the prices to be fair and reasonable? - Answers - Normally, adequate price competition establishes a fair and reasonable price. If there is an outlier you could do a combination of cost and price analysis to determine if there is an issue of unbalanced pricing or an error. Compare the prices with the Independent Government Estimate (IGE).
- You have received competitive proposals in a trade-off situation. You are required to evaluate cost realism as well as the reasonableness of the cost/price. How would you evaluate each of these? - Answers - Normally, adequate price competition establishes a fair and reasonable price. If there is an outlier you could do a combination of cost and price analysis to determine if there is an issue of unbalanced pricing or an error. To determine cost realism, you would independently verify specific cost elements to determine whether the estimated proposed elements are realistic for the work being performed and reflect a clear understanding of the requirements.
- If a contractor is included on the List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Non-procurement Programs, what are the rules on continuation of current contracts
