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
The Trump Administration is in the midst of reviewing prior administrations' spending priorities and federal government contracts and has begun announcing a variety of actions to suspend and/or terminate pending and awarded...more
2/6/2025
/ Bid Protests ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Popular ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Prompt Payment ,
Risk Management ,
Stop Work Orders
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
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
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. 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. 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 United States is likely just weeks away from the federal government reaching the maximum debt ceiling. The U.S. Department of the Treasury is not permitted to expend funds beyond the current debt limit (because it has no...more
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its annual Bid Protest Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2022 on Nov. 1, 2022. The annual report is a requirement of the Competition in Contracting Act and an...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
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has issued a request for information (RFI) seeking information from industry, and in particular small and...more
9/28/2021
/ 8(a) Program ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
HUBZone ,
NAICS ,
Request For Information ,
SDVOSB ,
Small Business ,
USCIS ,
WOSB
In a bid protest decision released on Aug. 27, 2021, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has resolved a long-simmering question regarding joint ventures and facility clearances. Specifically, in InfoPoint, LLC,...more
9/2/2021
/ Bid Protests ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
GAO ,
General Solicitation ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
National Industrial Security Program (NISP) ,
NDAA ,
SAM ,
SBA ,
US Air Force
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
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule on Oct. 16, 2020, consolidating its Mentor-Protégé programs and making several potentially significant changes to other aspects of SBA's government contracting...more
11/3/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Mergers ,
Multiple Award Contracts ,
NAICS ,
NDAA ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
Tribal Corporations ,
WOSB
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has released additional information relative to implementation of Section 3610 of the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. ...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act, which was signed into law on March 28, contains a provision aimed at contractors and provides the potential for compensation due to facility closures or...more
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
On March 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order invoking and delegating the authorities of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to...more
Federal contractors, grantees and cooperative agreement holders performing work overseas face enormous and broad-ranging challenges related to their work and the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These include...more
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
On November 5, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a message to which everyone in the government contracting, federal grant and program funding worlds should pay attention to by announcing the creation of a "Procurement...more
11/13/2019
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Bid Rigging ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
DOJ Strike Force ,
FBI ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan
It's been ten years since the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) was amended to require government contractors to have a business ethics and compliance program – that's right, it's a requirement in every government contract...more
6/17/2019
/ Amended Regulation ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Chief Ethics and Compliance Officers (CECO) ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Ethics ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Internal Controls ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors