Samantha L. Clark

January 22, 2021, Covington Alert

On January 19, 2021, the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) published an Interim Final Rule to implement provisions of Executive Order 13873, “Executive Order on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain” (May 15, 2019) (the “ICTS Order”).  Unless suspended by the Biden Administration, the Rule will go into effect 60 days ...

November 16, 2020, Covington Alert

On Thursday, November 12, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order (the “Order”) that, beginning on January 11, 2021, will prohibit U.S. persons from transacting in the publicly traded securities of 31 companies that the Department of Defense has identified as “Communist Chinese military companies.” The requirement for the Department of Defense to create ...

November 11, 2020, Global Policy Watch

As we navigate a presidential transition over the coming months, what should we expect in terms of continuity and change when it comes to national security priorities and investments? Regarding policy priorities, there will be several areas of continuity with the Trump administration, with some adjustments to how they are pursued. These include: prioritizing ...

October 6, 2020, Global Policy Watch

On September 29, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) released an interim rule that industry hoped would provide clear guidance with regard to DoD’s implementation of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework.  The vast majority of the rule focuses on DoD’s increased requirements for confirming that contractors are currently in compliance ...

October 6, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

On September 29, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) released an interim rule that industry hoped would provide clear guidance with regard to DoD’s implementation of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework.  The vast majority of the rule focuses on DoD’s increased requirements for confirming that contractors are currently in compliance ...

September 29, 2020, Global Policy Watch

On September 22, 2020, President Trump issued the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (“EO”) establishing requirements aimed at “promoting unity in the Federal workforce,” by prohibiting workplace training on “divisive concepts,” including “race or sex stereotyping” and “race or sex scapegoating” as newly-defined in the EO.  The EO is broadly ...

September 29, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

On September 22, 2020, President Trump issued the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (“EO”) establishing requirements aimed at “promoting unity in the Federal workforce,” by prohibiting workplace training on “divisive concepts,” including “race or sex stereotyping” and “race or sex scapegoating” as newly-defined in the EO.  The EO is broadly ...

September 25, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 22, 2020, President Trump issued the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (“EO”) establishing requirements aimed at “promoting unity in the Federal workforce,” by prohibiting workplace training on “divisive concepts,” including “race or sex stereotyping” and “race or sex scapegoating” as newly-defined in the EO. The EO is broadly ...

September 22, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 15, 2020, the Department of the Treasury, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), published in the Federal Register a final rule (the “Final Rule”) amending the requirement to file with CFIUS certain transactions involving U.S. businesses that produce, design, test, manufacture, fabricate, or develop one or ...

September 9, 2020, Covington Alert

On September 1, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget issued a highly-anticipated interim final rule (“Rule”) implementing the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act. Consistent with the U.S. Government's increasingly sharp focus on supply chain security, the Rule authorizes the Executive Branch to exclude indefinitely “covered articles” (products and ...

August 26, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

On August 13, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released new revisions to its Guidance for Grants and Agreements set forth under 2 CFR (commonly referred to as the Uniform Guidance).  The Uniform Guidance governs the terms of federal funding issued by agencies, including grants, cooperative agreements, federal loans, and non-cash assistance ...

August 20, 2020, Covington Alert

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) released its Annual Report to Congress regarding its review of certain transactions involving foreign investment during 2019. The current Annual Report was released just two and a half months after the previous Annual Report, covering 2018, demonstrating the Committee has ...

August 6, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

(This article was originally published in Law360 and has been modified for this blog.) Companies in a range of industries that contract with the U.S. Government—including aerospace, defense, healthcare, technology, and energy—are actively working to assess whether or not their information technology systems comply with significant new restrictions that will take ...

August 4, 2020, Law360

July 30, 2020, Washington Technology

Samantha Clark appeared on Washington Technology’s Project 38 podcast to discuss how the ban on Chinese technology impacts government contracts.

July 24, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

On July 10, 2020, the interim rule implementing Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. No. 115-232) was released by the U.S. Government’s Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council. Section 889 prohibits the U.S. Government from buying (as of August 2019)—or contracting with an entity that uses...… ...

July 13, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 10, 2020, the U.S. Government's Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) released a prepublication version of the interim rule governing Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. No. 115-232), and added some clarifications to definitions that impact Section 889(a)(1)(A), ...

July 2, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

In recent years, both Congress and the Executive Branch have made it a key priority to mitigate risks across the industrial and innovation supply chains that provide hardware, software, and services to the U.S. government (“USG”).  Five of these initiatives are likely to result in new regulations in 2020, each of which could have a...… Continue Reading The post ...

June 10, 2020, Bloomberg

Samantha Clark spoke with Bloomberg about the threat to government contractors over the Huawei ban. Ms. Clark says, “It’s inevitable to find Huawei prevalent in systems across China, Europe, and Africa. Some companies that might sell products that eventually get bought by the U.S. government’s many links down the line don’t even realize just how much they are ...

June 9, 2020, Global Policy Watch

At the end of last month, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a class deviation to implement Section 2821 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (“FY20 NDAA”), which seeks to reduce dependence on Russian energy by prohibiting the acquisition of energy sourced from inside Russia for DoD’s main operating bases in...… Continue Reading

June 9, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

At the end of last month, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) issued a class deviation to implement Section 2821 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (“FY20 NDAA”), which seeks to reduce dependence on Russian energy by prohibiting the acquisition of energy sourced from inside Russia for DoD’s main operating bases in...… Continue ...

May 21, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 21, 2020, the Department of the Treasury, as chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), published in the Federal Register a proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”) that would amend the requirements to file with CFIUS certain transactions involving U.S. businesses that produce, design, test, manufacture, fabricate, or develop ...

May 19, 2020, Covington Alert

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”) released its Annual Report to Congress regarding foreign acquisitions of, and investments in, U.S. businesses reviewed by CFIUS in 2018. The Committee also released a table reflecting data on the total number of formal reviews (not declarations) in 2019.

May 6, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 1, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on “Securing the United States Bulk-Power System” (the “Order”) that gives the Department of Energy new authorities to block or mitigate certain transactions involving bulk-power system electric equipment designed, developed, manufactured or supplied by a “foreign adversary” based on national security ...

April 29, 2020, Covington Alert

The day we have all been expecting has finally come — CFIUS filing fees are going into effect on May 1, 2020. As discussed in our earlier alert, on March 4, 2020, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) issued a proposed rule regarding CFIUS filing fees, which were authorized under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”). ...

April 22, 2020

WASHINGTON—Covington represented satellite provider Ligado Networks in its successful application for rights to deploy 5G services over its mid-band spectrum. On April 22, the full Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a unanimous decision approving Ligado’s application, finding that it will advance economic and security interests nationwide. The ...

April 14, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

Defense Department leaders and agencies have been granted much-needed flexibility to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.  Last week, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment Ellen Lord delegated approval authority for Other Transaction Agreements (“OTs”) related to the coronavirus response, consistent with Section 13006 of the CARES Act. In an ...

April 6, 2020, Global Policy Watch

Contractors sidelined by facility closures and stay-at-home orders in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic may now have a new pathway to recovering idle labor costs.  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act includes a provision, Section 3610, that provides a new form of relief for contractors facing delays and additional costs as...… ...

April 6, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

Contractors sidelined by facility closures and stay-at-home orders in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic may now have a new pathway to recovering idle labor costs.  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act includes a provision, Section 3610, that provides a new form of relief for contractors facing delays and additional costs as...… ...

March 27, 2020, Covington Alert

The Senate's version of the CARES Act and supplemental appropriations contain provisions important to the Department of Defense and companies who do business in the national security sector.  The supplemental adds $10.5 billion to support defense needs, with a significant portion focused on the Defense Health Program. These appropriations include $415 million ...

March 25, 2020, Law360

Samantha Clark is quoted in Law360 regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s announcement that it obtained coronavirus test kits without relying on the Defense Production Act. Ms. Clark told Law360 she was surprised by the quick turnaround.  “Everyone is on high alert that [the Defense Production Act] could be used and could be used on short notice,” ...

March 24, 2020, Law360

Samantha Clark is quoted in Law360 regarding the confusion some government contractors are facing on whether their business is “essential” after recent policy changes. According to Ms. Clark, to complicate matters even more, some states have implemented their own definitions of "essential," creating potential conflicts with federal guidance and confusion over ...

February 13, 2020, Inside Government Contracts

On January 31, the Department of Defense (“DoD”) released Version 1.0 of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (“CMMC”).  This is the fourth iteration of the CMMC that DoD has publicly released since it issued the first draft in October, and it is intended to be the version that auditors will be trained against, and that...… Continue Reading The post A ...

February 13, 2020, The Kojo Nnamdi Show

Ben Block and Samantha Clark were featured on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU-FM public radio in Washington, sharing their experience representing military families in a lawsuit against a privatized on-base housing company.

January 21, 2020, Global Policy Watch

The new year has already brought significant news for companies that do business with the U.S. government, and for those that trade in materials and technology that represent priorities for national security stakeholders.  Our colleagues in the firm’s CFIUS practice thoughtfully analyzed the regulations implementing the Foreign Investment Risk Review ...

December 3, 2019, Global Policy Watch

On November 27, 2019, the Department of Commerce issued a proposed rule to implement the May 15, 2019 Executive Order entitled “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain.”  Once finalized and effective, the regulations will govern the process and procedures that the Secretary of Commerce will use to determine whether ...

December 2019, Government Contracting Law Report

November 27, 2019, Covington Alert

The Department of Commerce (“the Department”) has issued a proposed rule implementing the May 15, 2019 Executive Order entitled “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain,” which we previously analyzed here. Once finalized and effective, the regulations will govern the process and procedures that the Secretary of Commerce ...

October 18, 2019, National Defense

September 27, 2019, National Defense Magazine

September 11, 2019, Gov Info Security

Susan Cassidy, Samantha Clark, Ryan Burnette, and Ian Brekke are mentioned in Gov Info Security regarding their blog post analyzing the CMMC draft. "The guidance offers no insight into how DOD will determine the CMMC certification level required for each contract solicitation or whether it intends to standardize a process for making such determinations across ...

September 6, 2019, Global Policy Watch

On September 4, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition released Version 0.4 of its draft Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) for public comment.  The CMMC was created in response to growing concerns by Congress and within DoD over the increased presence of cyber threats and intrusions aimed at the Defense Industrial...… ...

September 3, 2019, Global Policy Watch

The FAR Council released an Interim Rule in August implementing part of Section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019.  In this briefing, we highlight points where the Interim Rule provides clarity; definitional issues that remain unresolved; and new procedural requirements that government contractors should track. The ...

August 28, 2019, Covington Alert

On August 23, 2019, President Donald J. Trump tweeted: "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing . . . your companies HOME and making your products in the USA."

June 14, 2019, Government Contracting Law Report

May 16, 2019, Covington Alert

We are writing to provide an update on two important developments in U.S. national security-based regulation of trade: (1) a new, potentially expansive Executive Order on information and communications technology supply into the U.S. market, and (2) the Department of Commerce’s action to add Huawei to the Entity List.

May 8, 2019, Global Policy Watch

The Department of Defense (“DoD” or “the Department”) released its annual report to Congress on the Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) on May 2, 2019. This annual report details DoD’s assessment of Chinese security strategy and military strategy over the next 20 years, with a particular focus on China’s...… ...

January 23, 2019

WASHINGTON—Samantha Clark has joined Covington in its Public Policy, CFIUS, and Government Contracts practices in Washington. Ms. Clark’s arrival follows the recent additions of former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl and Broderick Johnson to the firm’s Public Policy practice. Ms. Clark provides advisory and advocacy support to clients facing policy, political, and ...

2017, Joint Forces Quarterly

2014, 113th Congress, 2nd Session

Law360

Samantha Clark spoke with Law360 to discuss the coronavirus stimulus package that will fund billions of dollars into government contracts intended to fight the coronavirus outbreak. According to Ms. Clark, the stimulus package earmarks $10.5 billion for defense spending and bars the government from transferring money to pay for the President's southern border ...

Westlaw