Top 7 Gov't Contracting Policy Changes In 2019

Fred Levy is quoted in Law360 regarding the formation of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, a cooperative effort among the U.S. DOJ’s Antitrust Division, in an article highlighting the top government contracts policy changes in 2019. The strike force is indicative of a broader trend in government contracts over roughly the last year: the “criminalization of the procurement process,” according to Mr. Levy. The change comes after years of the DOJ making the civil False Claims Act its tool of choice for combating procurement fraud except in the most egregious cases.

“It creates a lot more risk and a lot more leverage for the government in pursuing its remedies,” he adds. “That includes not only the civil divisions and criminal division of DOJ that act independently, but you also have to interact with the audit agencies ... suspension and debarment officials, and you have to deal with your customers. It’s much more of a balancing act, and it’s a much more difficult process for companies to endure.”