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Contract Claims and Disputes Resolution Committee Meeting Agenda
Wednesday July 13, 2005
DEFECTIVE PRICING ISSUES & SAIC QUI TAM CASE
The next meeting of the Contract Claims & Dispute Resolution Committee on July 13, 2005 will be a joint meeting with the Accounting Cost & Pricing Committee at Hogan and Hartson LLP, 555 - 13th St, NW. This meeting will feature a Panel Discussion relating to Defective Pricing Issues and United States ex rel. Woodlee v. SAIC, No. SA-02-CA-28-WJ (W.D. Texas).
In the SAIC case, the government alleged that the contractor violated the Truth in Negotiations Act ("TINA") by failing to disclose to the Air Force certain "risk reserve" analyses used in pricing an environmental cleanup contract. TINA-covered contracts require submission to the government certain "cost or pricing data" to support negotiations regarding the contract price, and the contractor must certify that the data submitted are current, accurate, and complete. In response to the Air Force's "Defective Pricing Notice", the Professional Services Council ("PSC") asserted that the Air Force significantly expanded the definition of "cost or pricing data" under TINA. In particular, PSC said that the Air Force sought to require the disclosure of managerial judgments, rather than the solely factual information contemplated by TINA. PSC also objected that the Notice was not clearly limited to SAIC, and that the Air Force was attempting to establish acquisition policy without complying with the procedural requirements for notice and comment rulemaking. In response, Air Force Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracting Charlie Williams assured the PSC that the Notice had no broader application than in the SAIC case. However, a subsequent Supplemental Notice from Steven Shaw, Air Force Deputy General Counsel for Contractor Responsibility, stated that the substantive concerns set out in the Notice "apply to all TINA-covered contract actions with all contractors, not just SAIC." On April 27, 2005, without admitting wrongdoing, Science Applications International Corp. ("SAIC") agreed to pay $2.5 million to resolve the case.
Alan Chvotkin has been a senior vice president of the Professional Services Council since November 2001. He draws on his years of government and private sector procurement and business experience to facilitate congressional and executive branch knowledge of and interest in issues facing PSC's membership. Previously, he was the AT&T vice president, large procurements and state and local government markets. Earlier at AT&T, he was vice president, business management. From 1986 to 1995, he was corporate director of government relations and senior counsel at Sundstrand Corporation.
Rodney A. Grandon is Assistant Deputy General Counsel (Acquisition) in the Office of the General Counsel, Department of the Air Force. In this capacity, he provides advice and assistance concerning acquisition matters to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Program Executive Officers, and to other senior Air Force leaders. Prior to joining the General Counsel's office, Mr. Grandon was a partner at Patton Boggs LLP, a trial attorney with the Army Contract Appeals Division, and an attorney-advisor at the U.S. Army Tank and Automotive Command.
Karen L. Manos is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Howrey LLP and chair of the firm's government contracts practice. Karen has extensive experience on a broad range of government contracts issues, including civil and criminal fraud investigations and litigation, qui tam suits under the False Claims Act, defective pricing, cost allowability, the Cost Accounting Standards, bid protests, suspension and debarment, and corporate compliance programs. Karen is the author of the two-volume book, Government Contract Costs & Pricing, published by Thomson-West in April 2004.
Gregory H. Petkoff is the Deputy Chief, Contracting Operations Division, in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. In this capacity, he helps manage the organization that provides business advice to contracting offices throughout the Air Force and that also works the day to day contracting problems that come to the attention of Headquarters Air Force. He was formerly an Associate General Counsel (Acquisition) in the Office of the General Counsel, Department of the Air Force, where he provided advice and assistance on acquisition, and logistics law issues to senior Air Force managers.
Date: Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Time: 12:00 - 12:30 lunch, 12:30 1:30 program.
Location: Hogan and Hartson LLP, 555 - 13th St, NW
(Concourse level - immediately adjacent to the City Club.)
Lunch will be served at the price of $7.00 per person.
We look forward to seeing you at the meeting. If anyone wishes to participate by telephone, please let us know and we will arrange a dial-in number. In addition, if you know of anyone else who would be interested in participating in the Committee, please let us know so that we may invite them as well.
Please RSVP to Judy Dixon at JADixon@HHLAW.com or (202) 637-7151.
If you can’t make this meeting, the next meeting of the
committee will be held at noon on September 14, 2005 at Hogan and
Hartson, LLP.) PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL NOT HAVE A MEETING IN
AUGUST
For information about joining our Committee, contact one of the Officers above, or send e-mail to pubcontract@abanet.org