President Donald Trump issued an executive order on federal procurement titled "Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement" on April 15, 2025 (the April 15 EO), directing that the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) be...more
4/21/2025
/ Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Government Agencies ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
OMB ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
President Donald Trump on April 9, 2025, signed three executive orders (EOs) focused on accelerating defense procurement, improving foreign defense sales between the U.S. and its allies and revitalizing American maritime...more
4/14/2025
/ Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
National Security ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
Earlier this year, the FAR Council issued a proposed rule to implement the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Program as it relates to federal contracts. The proposed rule is "just one element of a larger strategy to...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or the Department) has published statistics on False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments for fiscal year (FY) 2024, a year in which the Department saw the highest number of qui tam...more
2/5/2025
/ Cybersecurity ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
PHI ,
Qui Tam ,
Whistleblowers
The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Final Rule, which takes effect on Jan. 16, 2025, makes a range of substantive changes to the regulatory regime for small business contractors. Holland & Knight previously...more
1/16/2025
/ 8(a) Program ,
Acquisitions ,
Business Ownership ,
Compliance ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Minority Shareholders ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Small Business
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on Dec. 17, 2024, issued a Final Rule that substantially changes the effect of recertifications of size and socioeconomic status under set-aside contracts following the merger or...more
1/14/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Compliance ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
Government Agencies ,
Mergers ,
Multiple Award Contracts ,
Recertification ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SBA ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on Oct. 25, 2024, issued a proposed rule aimed at increasing small business participation in multiple award contracts (MACs) by expanding the application of the Rule of Two to...more
10/28/2024
/ COFC ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
GAO ,
MACs ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
SBA ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business
In this episode of "Regulatory Phishing," government contracts and litigation attorneys Eric Crusius and Kelsey Hayes discuss a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit that was brought under the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative....more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on Aug. 23, 2024, issued a Proposed Rule that significantly changes the effect of recertifications of size and socioeconomic status under set-aside contracts following a merger or...more
9/25/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Certification Requirements ,
Certifications ,
Comment Period ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
MACs ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Mergers ,
NPRM ,
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
SAM ,
SBA ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business
Late last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its complaint-in-intervention in a qui tam lawsuit against the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), alleging that the university failed to meet certain...more
8/28/2024
/ Compliance ,
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DFARS ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fraud ,
Implied Certification ,
Internal Controls ,
Invoices ,
NIST ,
Qui Tam ,
Security and Privacy Controls ,
Universities ,
US Air Force ,
Whistleblowers
On July 22, 2024, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a Notice of Tribal Consultations (Notice) in the Federal Register related to a forthcoming proposed rulemaking affecting a number of SBA's small...more
7/24/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Business Development ,
Consultation ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
HUBZone ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Native American Issues ,
NPRM ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Small Business ,
Tribal Governments ,
WOSB
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) has published statistics on False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments for fiscal year (FY) 2023, noting that this was the highest number of settlements and judgments...more
The Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) released a joint notice on Oct. 5, 2023, providing clarifying guidance to agencies on facility security clearances for joint ventures in the National Industrial Security...more
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council on Oct. 3, 2023, issued two proposed rules to partially implement President Biden's Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity. The first proposed rule imposes...more
10/5/2023
/ Cloud Computing ,
Comment Period ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data-Sharing ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Information Sharing ,
Information Technology ,
NIST ,
Proposed Rules ,
Security and Privacy Controls
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) continues to navigate the impact of the injunction entered in Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., No. 2:20-CV-00041-DCLC-CRW, 2023 WL 463348 (E.D. Tenn. July 19, 2023)...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced on Aug. 21, 2023, that it was extending its moratorium on the application of the "bona fide office" requirements for construction contracts under its 8(a) Business...more
As announced by U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law John Klein in an Aug. 17, 2023, webinar, SBA has issued a press release and interim guidance regarding its implementation...more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has finalized a proposed rule authorizing the acquisition of commercial products and services using general solicitation competitive procedures known as a "commercial solutions opening"...more
8/18/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Innovative Technology ,
Manufacturers ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
Supply Chain
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee ruled on July 19, 2023, in Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Dep't of Agric. that the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture's...more
7/25/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Affirmative Action ,
Due Process ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Minorities ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Statutory Authority ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
USDA
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued its final rule on April 27, 2023, implementing several changes to the ownership and control requirements for the 8(a) Business Development program. The final rule also...more
5/31/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Business Development ,
Certification Requirements ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
SBA ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
WOSB
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule on June 6, 2022, making significant changes to its methodology for calculating the size of certain businesses. The rule becomes effective July 6, 2022....more
The White House has announced key government-wide initiatives for the coming year that are focused on long-term domestic supply chain resilience. On the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden's Executive Order (EO) 14017...more
To what extent does a completed or imminent corporate transaction affect a government contractor's ability to compete for award of an opportunity in its pipeline? What steps can a contractor take to prevent a contemplated...more
The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), published its Final Rule governing implementation of the Buy Indian Act (87 FR 2067) on Jan. 13, 2022. These Buy Indian...more
President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs through Federal Sustainability on Dec. 8, 2021, emphasizing the federal government's role and initiative "[a]s the single largest...more
12/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Electricity ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Green Cars ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
Sustainability