attorney Lori Ann Lange , partner and cochair of Peckar & Abramson ’ s Government Contracting & Infrastructure practice .
In reaction to that financial crisis , former President Barack Obama ’ s administration introduced and oversaw passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 , which included $ 105 billion for infrastructure .
“ It happens every time there ’ s a drop in the commercial market ,” she said . “ And we have been seeing that for the last couple of months — clients who might do a federal project once in a blue moon start seriously chasing federal work .“
Inevitably , she said , interested contractors will contact the firm wanting to know what they have to do in order to qualify for the work or call up and say , “ Hey , I got the contract , now what have I got to do ?”
A new source of bids
The federal government , Lange said , loves to have all the extra bids — at least at first — because all the new competition many times results in lower prices than contracting agencies anticipated . Inevitably , however , some of the contractors new to federal work don ’ t always understand their obligations and create administrative headaches for themselves and the contracting officers .
And there ’ s typically little , if any , help for new federal contractors as they try to sort it all out , barring online information and seminars sponsored by contractor associations and the Small Business Administration , although some contracting offices are more helpful than others , she said .
“ They ’ re leaving it up to the contractor to figure it out ,” Lange said .
Below are some of the most important considerations for contractors to address before they start bidding on publicly funded projects :
1 . Applications
The time to start getting ready is sooner rather than later , said attorney Lisa Colon , partner in Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr ’ s Fort Lauderdale , Florida , office . There are timeconsuming qualification applications that must be completed and then reviewed by the relevant contracting agencies , both state and federal , and depending on the jurisdiction of the project , additional county and city requirements , she said .
2 . Unfamiliar contract language and organization
Even the most seasoned private-sector contractor might experience some confusion when evaluating a government contract , Lange said .
Rather than have all the terms and general conditions laid out , she said , many clauses are incorporated by reference , and it really takes an expert to review them properly .
“ They ’ re used to having a complete document in front of them ,” Lange said .
There is also little chance of negotiating the terms , she said .
“ You may have some negotiation over price , but it ’ s not like a commercial contract where if you don ’ t like a clause in there , you can propose alternate language ,” she said . “ That just doesn ’ t exist in these public contracts .”
APRIL 2021 • DITCHMEN 17