Contractors Face Rising Costs from Gov't Shutdown
Government Contracts attorney Jeremy Burkhart was quoted in a Law360 article on mounting costs for federal contractors as a result of the government shutdown. Although some government contractors are able to continue work, others have faced stop-work orders, stalled negotiations and halted bid protests, which has created issues for scheduling, funding and meeting deadlines. Mr. Burkhart explained that some businesses expected Congress to reach a last-minute deal and thus were caught off guard when October 1 hit and the shutdown actually began. He added that organizations with existing contracts also found government guidance unclear and recommended that clients file agency-level protests to preserve their ability to submit contract proposals while the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) remains closed.
"The first week or two, we had a lot of inquiries from clients where...they were trying to figure out if they were still allowed to perform," he said. "And of course, it was always situation-dependent on what the type of contract was, whether it was currently funded, whether they could do the work without involving government people who were furloughed."