Oracle Corp. will pay $199.5 million to settle allegations that it overcharged the government on its GSA schedule contract. The Justice Department said it is the largest False Claims Act settlement GSA has ever obtained.

The company did not admit wrongdoing.

Justice said Oracle violated the price reduction clause in its schedule contract by not offering the government the same discounts it offered to other customers, and made false statements to GSA about its sales practices and discounts.

A former Oracle employee blew the whistle on the company. He stands to receive $40 million from the settlement.

Repeal of the contractor withholding rule moved one step forward when the House Ways and Means Committee approved the bill on Oct. 13. The rule requires federal, state and local governments to withhold 3% of payments to contractors as a down payment on their federal income taxes.

House Republican leaders have said the repeal bill, H.R. 674, will be brought to the floor for a vote this fall.

Annual training on privacy issues would be required for some contractor employees under a proposed amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

The proposed rule aims to standardize privacy training throughout the government to protect personal information in government files. Training would be required for employees who require access to a government system of records, handle personally identifiable information, or design, develop, maintain, or operate a system of records on behalf of the federal government.

The FAR councils estimated that about 1,500 small contractors would be covered by the rule.

The rule is FAR case 2010-013 in the Oct. 14 Federal Register. Comments are due Dec. 13.

Now, barely relevant trivia. The Los Angeles Times reported these examples of military contractors’ influence on civilian fashion.

Ray-Ban sunglasses: developed for U.S. Army pilots in the 1920s by Bausch & Lomb, originally called Anti-Glare goggles.

Khaki trousers: used for British Army uniforms in India in the 1840s, popularized in the United States by servicemen who brought them home from World War II.

Allen Edmonds shoes: The Wisconsin company supplied dress shoes to the Army and Navy in World War II, and veterans became loyal customers.

Hart Schaffner Marx: A tailor of made-to-measure suits in Chicago, the company became one of the largest suppliers of military uniforms and claims to have introduced off-the-rack suits in short, medium and long sizes.

Trench coats: Englishman Thomas Burberry invented the water-repellent gabardine fabric for military coats. The style caught on in civilian life when women began wearing them after World War II.