Executive Order 14275: Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement

Under the President’s Executive Order 14275: Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, the government is undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Led by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council), the initiative aims to “return the FAR to its statutory roots,” regulate in plain language, and remove superfluous words and references. On August 27, the FAR Council released its revisions to FAR Part 33, which addresses Bid Protests, Contract Claims and Appeals of Contract Claims. We completed our deep dive into the Subpart 33.2 portion of the rewrite, which addresses claims and appeals. Construction companies that perform government contracts should welcome the changes rather than fear them.

The changes reduce to one sentence the previously confusing and wordy provisions discussing when contractors may seek extraordinary relief under Public Law 85-804. They shorten the provisions describing the government’s preference to resolve disputes informally (via negotiation or ADR), without changing the substance of them. The rewrite refers the reader to the Contract Disputes Act and applicable FAR Part 52 clauses rather than cutting and pasting language from those sources into FAR Part 33.2. The rewrite combines discussion of government claims and contractor claims rather than separating them. Finally, the rewrite replaces “shall” with “must” in most places, including in its references to deadlines and what constitutes the minimum substance of relevant documents. But that’s it. The process for submitting a claim to the Contracting Officer and appealing a Final Decision remains the same, with fewer words and less confusion. We say bravo!