Bona Fide Needs with Arnold & Porter and the PubKGroup

Hosted by Bill Olver

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May 2025

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Arnold & Porter and the PubKGroup present Bona Fide Needs, a monthly podcast addressing the biggest legal issues facing government contractors and their counsel. Hosted by Arnold & Porter’s Mike McGill and PubK’s Bill Olver, Bona Fide Needs covers the breadth of federal contracting, from contract formation to termination, including bid protests and claims, fraud and compliance, cybersecurity matters, and corporate responsibility and governance.

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May 9, 2025Episode 235 min

Ep. 4.02: An Update on False Claims Act Enforcement

The False Claims Act is the government's primary tool for redressing fraud against the United States. A party violates the Act when they knowingly submit a false claim for payment to the government. If a party is found to have violated the False Claims Act, they could be liable for significant treble damages and civil fines. Needless to say, government contractors, who regularly submit claims for payment to the government, must keep up with False Claims Act trends. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Tirzah Lollar and Christian Sheehan of Arnold & Porter examine recent False Claims Act developments. They discuss how the Trump Administration has impacted False Claims Act enforcement, a recent constitutional challenge to the Act's qui tam provision, and they provide an update on the Department of Justice's Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative.

March 16, 2025Episode 142 min

Ep. 4.01: How Are the Trump Administration's Executive Orders Impacting Nonprofits?

The Trump administration has issued over 80 executive orders, directing agencies to freeze funding on contracts and grants. This has resulted in stop work orders and terminations, leaving contractors and grantees in limbo. While these executive orders have affected all contractors and grantees, they have a potentially pernicious effect on nonprofits. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Kristen Ittig and Jim Joseph of Arnold & Porter examine how Trump's executive orders are impacting nonprofit contractors and grantees. Among other things, they discuss the orders that could affect nonprofits, the illegality doctrine, and the potential risks to nonprofits' tax-exempt status.

July 31, 2024Episode 2531 min

Ep. 3.06: The 2025 NDAA -- What Government Contractors Need to Know

Every year Congress must pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA adjusts DoD budget priorities based on what's happening around the world and current military needs. Thus, the NDAA is a guide to the issues that will impact defense contracting in the coming year. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Marne Marotta, Adrienne Jackson, and Sara Linder of Arnold & Porter discuss the status of the 2025 NDAA bills pending in the House and Senate, provisions in the bills that could impact government contractors, and some notable amendments. They also predict where things are headed with each bill over the next few months.

May 20, 2024Episode 2443 min

Ep. 3.05: Is Congress About to Enact a National Data Privacy Law?

Last month, Congress began considering the American Privacy Rights Act, or the APRA. The bill has rare bipartisan support and could pass this year. If Congress enacts the APRA, it will establish the first national privacy and data security standard for the United States. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Ron Lee, Amy Davenport, James Courtney, and Jami Vibbert from Arnold & Porter discuss what’s in the APRA, whether it can pass, and what it means for government contractors.

April 8, 2024Episode 2344 min

Ep. 3.04: Is Your Business Ready for the Corporate Transparency Act?

Enacted in 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act is intended to reduce illicit activity, including tax fraud, money laundering, and the funding of terrorist activity. What does this mean for government contractors? In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, co-host Mike McGill sits down with his Arnold & Porter colleague Naomi Hartman, a partner in the firm's corporate and finance practice group. Mike and Naomi discuss the intention of the CTA, which entities are covered, and what information companies may need to provide the government. Show notes Arnold & Porter: Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting FINCEN: Beneficial Ownership Information

March 19, 2024Episode 2219 min

Ep. 3.03: DOJ's False Claims Act Recoveries for 2023

The Department of Justice has released its report on False Claims Act enforcement for fiscal year 2023. Did recoveries increase? What's the story behind the numbers? In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Pub K Group Managing Editor Bill Olver speaks with Arnold & Porter Partners Tirzah Lollar and Christian Sheehan about DOJ's FCA recoveries, as well as developments following the Supreme Court's decision in Polansky, which raised questions about the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions of the FCA. Show notes DOJ’s FY23 FCA Stats Show Bounce Back From Last Year’s Low With Record Number of Cases Initiated by DOJ | FCA Qui Notes | Blogs | Arnold & Porter (arnoldporter.com)

February 8, 2024Episode 2131 min

Ep. 3.02: The FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act

Each year, Congress takes up the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets out budget and policy priorities for the Department of Defense. This bill is one of very few pieces of legislation that must pass every year. In this episode, defense and policy experts from Arnold and Porter discuss the passage of this year's NDAA and some important policy considerations for defense contractors. The firm's Chuck Blanchard, Adrienne Jackson, and Yuvaraj Sivalingam will discuss: Notable provisions related to contracting and procurement, including new disclosure requirements and small business matters Contracting restrictions on doing business with “covered countries”, including China, Russia, and Iran Language governing supply chain and critical minerals issues Buy America provisions Artificial Intelligence, cyber, and quantum information science and technology directives and investments

January 16, 2024Episode 2030 min

Ep. 3.01: Breaking Down the CMMC Proposed Rule

At the end of December, the Department of Defense published its proposed rule implementing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. This long-anticipated issuance answered many - but not all - of the questions about how the department will implement the program. In this episode of Bona Fide Needs, Arnold and Porter's Ronald Lee and Tom Pettit discuss the proposed rule and address some of those questions contractors may be asking: What should contractors focus on immediately? What did the rule resolve and what was left uncertain? How should subcontractors approach the proposed rule? Can a contractor (or DIDBCAP for Level 3) ever affirm compliance if the contractor IT system is not in full compliance? How can a contractor lose a self-certification or certification assessment? Show Notes Department of Defense Issues CMMC 2.0 Proposed Rule | Advisories | Arnold & Porter (arnoldporter.com) Pub K’s Government Contracts Annual Review 2024

December 20, 2023Episode 1937 min

Ep. 2.12: Hear Our Predictions for 2024!

What's in store for contractors in 2024? Arnold & Porter legal and policy experts pull out their crystal ball to forecast developments in many important topics. Christian Sheehan and Jayce Born on False Claims Act constitutionality Ron Lee on the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification implementing regulations Tom Pettit on a recent proposed rule on cyber incident reporting and information sharing Chuck Blanchard on supply chain regulations and Federal Acquisition Security Council removal orders Stuart Turner on nontraditional bid proposal evaluation processes and how to challenge them Show Notes 1:20 - False Claims Act constitutionality 11:00 - CMMC implementing regulations 17:30 - Proposed rule on cyber incident reporting and information sharing 24:15 - Supply chain regulations and FASC removal orders 28:30 - Nontraditional bid proposal evaluation processes and how to challenge them Pub K’s Government Contracts Annual Review 2024

November 29, 2023Episode 1839 min

Ep. 2.11: What Does Ultima Services Mean for Your Small Business?

In Ultima Services v. the Department of Agriculture, a federal district court held that the Small Business Administration’s reliance on the rebuttable presumption of disadvantage for its 8(a) business development program violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection clause. That decision created a cascade of developments, as SBA froze new 8(a) applications, and then issued clarifying guidance to 8(a) participants. To examine this and other developments, Arnold & Porter partner Mike McGill is joined by Senior Associate Tom Pettit. For additional reading on these topics, please visit Pub K Group online.

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Bona Fide Needs with Arnold &amp; Porter and the PubKGroup