Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contractors not presently participating in transactional data reporting (TDR) will now have to do so and come into compliance with the TDR rule soon after their MAS contract's Special Item...more
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
As Holland & Knight previously discussed, the Trump Administration issued an executive order (EO) on Feb. 26, 2025, implementing the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) "cost efficiency initiative" that (among...more
4/4/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Contract Termination ,
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Grants ,
Grants ,
Mitigation ,
Popular ,
Strategic Planning ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a new initiative on March 24, 2025, that put its Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contractors on notice that it is making "major changes" to "improve the effectiveness of...more
The Trump Administration issued an executive order (EO) on Feb. 26, 2025, implementing the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) "cost efficiency initiative" that seeks to transform federal spending on contracts,...more
3/5/2025
/ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Grants ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Government Agencies ,
Grants ,
OMB ,
Policy Updates
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. Government Accountability Office (GAO) 2024 Annual Report (Report) on bid protests provides a comprehensive overview of the trends, statistics and key issues in government procurement challenges over fiscal year (FY)...more
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
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
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo upended decades of precedent that required courts to defer to agencies' interpretations of statutes. This, known as the Chevron doctrine, allowed for...more
7/11/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Auer Deference ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tucker Act
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued its annual report to Congress on bid protests for Fiscal Year 2023....more
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
As in prior years, the upcoming end of the federal fiscal year will be marked by a flurry of contract and task order awards, as federal agencies busily obligate remaining fiscal year 2023 appropriated funds while still...more
Effective June 2, 2023, all federal contracts and solicitations are required to include a new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause: FAR 52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application. This clause implements...more
The 8(a) Program is in a state of uncertainty as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) requires participants who relied on the presumption of social disadvantage to enter the program to obtain SBA approval of personal...more
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council published three final rules on Aug. 11, 2021, amending the FAR to implement changes mandated by various National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs) and to homogenize the FAR...more
8/13/2021
/ Administrative Procedure ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
NDAA ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors ,
Women-Owned Businesses
On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden issued a comprehensive Executive Order (EO) on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity that promises sweeping changes in federal contracts for information technology (IT), cloud services and...more
5/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Information Technology ,
National Security ,
NIST ,
OMB ,
Software ,
Supply Chain
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to spread throughout the United States, many government contractors are faced with unknown questions about continuing performance on contracts. Given the fast-moving situation,...more
With the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading outside of China at an ever-increasing rate, government contractors should prepare for possible service and payment interruptions. In addition, the administration is considering...more
3/2/2020
/ Contract Terms ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defense Production Act ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Prime Contractor ,
Public Contracts ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Subcontractors ,
Supply Chain
Veteran-Owned Business Priority -
In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court surprised many by hearing a bid protest concerning the application of the "Rule of Two" for veteran-owned small businesses in procurements run by the U.S....more
2/26/2020
/ Administrative Reconsideration ,
Bid Protests ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
Kingdomware Techs. Inc. v United States ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) ,
Prime Contractor ,
Rule of Two ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
Veterans ,
VOSB
After a year of uncertainty, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued its long-awaited final rule implementing the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018. The final rule, which becomes effective on January...more
'Tis the season to be jolly, but federal contractors should exercise caution when interacting with employees of the agencies they serve to keep the season bright – and ethical. Here are some key points to remember before...more
On November 27, 2019, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a proposed rule to amend the Defense Federal Regulation Supplement (DFARS) regarding the Treatment of Certain Items as Commercial Items (DFARS Case 2019-D029). The...more