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CCH Government Contracts Reporter Celebrates 60th Anniversary

A Look Back at History Sheds Light on Broad Impact of Today’s $350 Billion Government Contract Awards Business

(RIVERWOODS, ILL., March 23, 2005) – Whether a veteran-owned small paper supply business or a large, publicly-held aerospace corporation, one thing these enterprises may have in common is the importance of federal contracts to their success. In fact, today, the U.S. government is the world’s biggest customer, awarding approximately $350 billion in contracts for goods and services annually, according to Aaron Broaddus, editorial director for CCH INCORPORATED’s (CCH) government contracts group. CCH is a leading provider of business law information and software (www.cch.com).

In commemoration of this year’s 60th anniversary of the CCH Government Contracts Reporter, well known as the most comprehensive, up-to-date source for all aspects of the laws, regulations and more than 35,000 decisions governing the way in which the U.S. government acquires its goods and services, the CCH government contracts group takes a look back at the government contract business since its first reporter was issued in 1945.

“During World War II, defense suppliers were entering into contracts with the federal government at an unprecedented rate, disputes invariably arose and made their way into the federal courts, and the need for a regulatory system to bring order to the process became very apparent,” said Broaddus. “Analyzing, interpreting, organizing and maintaining the currency of this body of information for contractors and for the government itself became the foundation for the CCH Government Contracts Reporter.”

1945 – CCH Government Contracts Reporter first issues.

1947 – The Armed Services Procurement Act standardizes purchasing methods for all branches of the military.

1949 – The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act standardizes purchasing methods for civilian agencies and creates the General Services Administration; the military branches issue the Armed Services Procurement Regulation.

1963 – The Truth in Negotiations Act enhances the government's ability to negotiate fair prices by ensuring it has the same information available to contractors at the time of negotiations; the Small Business Administration is created to help assure small businesses obtain a fair share of federal procurement contracts.

1978 – The Contracts Disputes Act establishes procedures to be used by contractors and contracting officers to resolve government contracts disputes.

1980 – The Equal Access to Justice Act permits small contractors to recover attorney’s fees and expenses resulting from litigating disputes against the government.

1984 – The Competition in Contracting Act amends existing procurement regulations to enhance competition, grant authority to the Government Accountability Office to hear bid protests and revise other protest procedures; the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is created, replacing the Federal Procurement Regulation, the Defense Acquisition Regulation and the NASA Procurement Regulation.

1990 – The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act requires all federal agencies to adapt policies favoring use of ADR procedures to settle contract claims and disputes.

1994 – The Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act makes significant changes to federal procurement by reducing paperwork, encouraging the acquisition of commercial items, raising the dollar threshold for use of simplified acquisition procedures, promoting electronic commerce, and achieving greater efficiency and uniformity in agency procurement practices.

1996 – The Federal Acquisition Reform Act provides government-wide acquisition reform, including repeal of the Brooks Act, reduction in GAO's time for issuing bid protest decisions, revision of the Procurement Integrity Act and elimination of numerous regulatory certification requirements.

1997 – The fully searchable, interactive online version of the CCH Government Contracts Reporter is introduced and delivered via the CCH Internet Research NetWork platform.

2004 – The Department of Homeland Security is created, combining and restructuring 22 federal agencies and issues its own FAR supplement, named the Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation; the Department of Defense begins transformation of the DOD FAR Supplement (DFARS) with the creation of a companion document called Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI).

While the Federal Acquisition Regulation applies to all federal agencies, there are hundreds or even thousands of additional rules, regulations and court decisions any business may need to know to successfully bid on and perform federal contracts. For example, in working with a branch of the armed forces, a contractor also needs to follow DFARS, and now the companion PGI, as well as the rules specific to that branch, such as Army or Navy.

“It can get very complicated very quickly. The rules change quite a bit over time as does the case law which is a very important part of the legal framework that contractors and attorneys need to be familiar with,” said Broaddus. “Part of what makes the Government Contracts Reporter such a valuable resource for people who do business with the federal government are the explanations, headnotes and report letters written by CCH's expert staff. These help both the novice and expert navigate their way through the process.”

About CCH Government Contracts Reporter

For 60 years, CCH has provided both large and small businesses, government employees, attorneys and other professionals the information they need when engaged in contract work for the federal government via the CCH Government Contracts Reporter.

First published as the War Law Service, from 1939 to 1945 in response to the advent of World War II, the CCH Government Contracts Reporter continues to provide complete coverage of the expanding rules that govern the acquisition of government contracts. Today, delivered online via the CCH Internet Research NetWork, the CCH Government Contracts Reporter provides unmatched electronic search capabilities and instant access to the full range of procurement laws, regulations, statues and cases , including more than 35,000 decisions, required by those involved in the federal contracting area. For more information or to order call 1-800-449-6435 or visit the CCH online store at http://onlinestore.cch.com/business.

About CCH INCORPORATED

CCH INCORPORATED, headquartered in Riverwoods, Ill., was founded in 1913 and has served more than four generations of business professionals and their clients. CCH is a Wolters Kluwer company (www.wolterskluwer.com) and, with Aspen Publishers, is part of the Wolters Kluwer Legal unit.

Wolters Kluwer is a leading multinational publisher and information services company. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2004) of €3.3 billion, employs approximately 18,400 people worldwide and maintains operations across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its depositary receipts of shares are quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices.

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