Whistleblower

When the government wants to buy some extra stealth bombers, it cannot simply solicit the best bid from a number of different companies. Highly specialized weapons systems often must be purchased from the single company that already makes them, known as a "sole-source supplier."

The problem for the government is to ensure that it pays a fair price since it cannot put out the contract for competitive bids. TINA requires the contractor to truthfully disclose all relevant information about its costs to the government in sole-source contract negotiations. That way, the government can make an informed decision about what price is fair to pay for the product. Companies sometimes are tempted, however, to hold back relevant information, or to deliberately inflate their projected costs to get a higher price. If such conduct is deliberate, it can form the basis for a False Claims Act case.