On September 10, the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) issued an opinion in Zolon PCS II, LLC v. United States, holding that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA or Agency) unreasonably issued a deviation from FAR...more
The Department of Defense (DoD) has long searched for ways to foster innovation in the defense industrial base by harnessing US comparative advantages like our capital markets and American technological innovation...more
On August 9, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a proposed rule that seeks to amend and update the Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR) to align health IT procurement requirements....more
On August 15, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a proposed rule to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to incorporate contractual requirements related to the proposed Cybersecurity...more
In a recent decision, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) affirmed a Small Business Administration (SBA) Area Office’s size determination and held that procedural deficiencies in a contractor’s Joint Venture Agreement...more
6/27/2024
/ Addendums ,
Appeals ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
NAICS ,
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) ,
Operating Agreements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Required Documentation ,
SBA ,
Small Business
On June 6, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule that, effective August 5, 2024, implements a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (2024 NDAA), which eliminates the...more
On May 3, the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that would prohibit executive...more
5/21/2024
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
NASA ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Waivers
On May 2, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a class deviation to DFARS 252.204-7012 “to provide industry time for a more deliberate transition upon the forthcoming release of [National Institute of Standards and...more
5/9/2024
/ Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Contractors ,
New Regulations ,
NIST ,
Reporting Requirements
On April 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s ruling denying a bid from two outdoor recreation companies asking for a preliminary injunction on a 2021 Department of Labor (DOL) rule...more
On April 22, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) promulgated a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement an...more
On March 22, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest challenging an agency decision finding the protester ineligible for award under both the Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986...more
On March 12, the Department of Defense (DOD) promulgated a final rule that expands the eligibility criteria for the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Cybersecurity Program, a voluntary initiative aimed at bolstering the DIB’s...more
On March 6, the Federal Circuit held that a software company sufficiently established jurisdiction under the Contract Dispute Act (CDA) where its end-user license agreement (EULA) was incorporated into another contractor’s...more
On January 29, the Biden administration announced several policy initiatives aimed at addressing pay transparency and equity, including a proposed rule issued by the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services...more
2/16/2024
/ Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (FPASA) ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
NASA ,
OFPP ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Transparency ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Wage and Hour
On December 26, the Department of Defense (DoD) published its long-awaited Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program proposed rule, which places comprehensive cybersecurity and information security...more
1/3/2024
/ Certification Requirements ,
Comment Period ,
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) ,
DCMA ,
Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
NIST ,
Proposed Rules
On November 17, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule, implementing Section 874 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), clarifying that certain DoD-unique statutes and Defense Federal Acquisition...more
On October 5, the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) issued a joint notice (Joint Notice) with the Small Business Association (SBA) and in coordination with the Department of Defense (DOD) clarifying that the...more
On October 26, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sent its annual bid protest report to Congress, which reflected a dramatic increase in protests filed following four straight years of decline.
The report provides...more
The health of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) has been brought to the fore as the United States responds to wars in Ukraine and Israel. Unfortunately, according to the National Defense Industrial Association’s “Vital Signs”...more
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which aims to curb illicit financial activities like money laundering and other fraudulent activities, will go into effect on January 1, 2024. Consequentially, many types of businesses,...more
10/20/2023
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Small Business ,
Smaller Reporting Companies
On September 21, the Biden administration approved recommendations from the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG), directing federal agencies to consider the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases...more
On September 29, the Small Business Administration (SBA) reopened its Certify portal to new applicants seeking admittance into the SBA 8(a) program....more
The July 19 Ultima ruling threw the 8(a) program into tumult after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee found the program’s rebuttable presumption mechanism, used to find social disadvantage, in...more
Whether through the vaccine mandate, minimum wage increase, emissions disclosure rules, or now with Buy America (BA) rules, the Biden administration has long used the government contracting community to advance its domestic...more
On July 19, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee ruled in favor of Ultima Services Corporation, prompting the pause of new 8(a) applications and necessitating a reorganization of the program’s...more
8/24/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Eligibility ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Contractors ,
Interim Guidance ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Race Discrimination ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Women-Owned Businesses ,
WOSB