Know What You’re Signing Up For—The Miller Act Is Now Part of Your Federal Government Construction Project

One of the biggest differences between federal government and commercial contracting is that certain clauses may be incorporated by reference (and hence controlling) in a federal contract even if the clause was not expressly included in the contract by the parties.  In a departure from the general principle that contracts should only reflect the bargain made by the parties, and hence courts should not read provisions into a contract that are not there, federal government contracts take a different approach because of the public policy considerations that underlie every federal contract that ultimately is being performed on behalf of the taxpayer.  In this regard, when it comes to government contracts, the courts will on occasion apply the so-called Christian doctrine (taken from L.