We previously wrote about President Trump’s February Executive Order identifying deregulation as a top administration priority (here and here). That Executive Order, 14219 (the “Deregulation EO”), directed all executive...more
The Supreme Court recently issued a ruling with significant impacts for federal contractors and grantees looking to challenge terminations of their contracts and grants in U.S. district courts. Terminated contractors and...more
On April 9, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (“EO”) titled Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base. This EO seeks to overhaul many aspects of defense acquisition...more
Federal courts continue to grapple with challenges to President Trump’s executive orders (“EOs”) related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”), particularly EO 14151, Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs...more
One of the more attention-grabbing aspects of Executive Order (“EO”) 14173, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” is the specter of False Claims Act (“FCA”) liability for federal contractors...more
What does DMSMS mean?
DMSMS stands for Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages. It is the loss or impending loss of manufacturers or suppliers of items, raw materials, or software. In other words, DMSMS...more
Uncertainty for companies when making business decisions is a new norm. Tariffs aren’t going to be the only thing that is on again and off again. The same is happening with directives governing diversity, equity, and...more
Amidst the flurry of Executive Orders (“EOs”) that tends to accompany any new administration, one EO may have flown under the radar. But for the regulated community—which, these days, includes most businesses in some form or...more
On February 26, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (“EO”) that states that it “commences a transformation in Federal spending on contracts, grants, and loans to ensure Government spending is transparent and...more
In the four weeks since President Trump issued Executive Order (“EO”) 14151 (“Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing”) and EO 14173 (“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based...more
On February 18, 2025, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) announced that it issued GSA Class Deviation CD-2025-04 (“the GSA Class Deviation”) effective February 15, 2025, to implement Executive Order (“EO”) 14173...more
On January 21, 2025, President Trump signed two Executive Orders (“EOs”) taking aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) within federal agencies and the federal contractor workforce: Ending Illegal Discrimination And...more
Introduction -
On January 3, 2025, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) published a long-awaited final rule to update suspension and debarment procedures. 90 Fed. Reg. 507. The final rule takes...more
The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced its statistics for False Claims Act (“FCA”) FY 2023 settlements and judgments. DOJ recovered $2.68 billion in FY 2023; as usual, the majority of these...more
Introduction The United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars annually on government contracts, grants, and other forms of federal assistance. Although most entities that receive these awards are good business...more
Receiving a Notice of Proposed Debarment from a federal agency Suspending and Debarring Official (“SDO”) is an alarming moment for any government contractor. It means the government believes there is a basis to question...more
The federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) is one of the United States’ most effective tools to detect and prevent fraud against the Government. One reason the FCA is so effective is that it encourages the employees of an...more
The Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee (“ISDC”) has released its annual Section 873 Report to Congress for FY2020. The data in this report provides a big picture view of trends in suspension and debarment. Here’s...more
On Tuesday evening, the Trump administration surprised the federal contracting community by issuing an Executive Order (“EO”) titled “Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping” that will ban federal contractors from conducting...more
As we summarized on March 31, 2020, CARES Act Section 3610 throws an immediate lifeline to qualifying firms whose workforce has been displaced by coronavirus COVID-19 shutdowns. On April 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of...more
The Department of Defense’s (“DoD”) Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment issued Guidance on March 10, 2020, addressing internal and external communications in response to the coronavirus...more
Contractors are well aware that being suspended or debarred renders them ineligible for federal contracts and subcontracts. Many contractors may believe that suspension and debarment are not realistic risks for them if they...more