The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council is undertaking a systematic approach to revising the FARs. On Friday, June 27, 2025, a revision to FAR Part 6, Competition Requirements was issued.
Here is the redline showing the additions and deletions to FAR Part 6.
Notably, the FAR Council’s revision to FAR Part 6 eliminates most, but not all, of the cross-references in FAR Part 6 to small business set aside programs under FAR Part 19.
The FAR Council does not provide a detailed explanation for why it is removing references to specific small business programs, such as the 8(a) Program or HUBZone Program. Instead, in its “Change Summary,” the FAR Council only states:
CO retains discretion to set aside solicitations to allow only small business concerns to compete. The prescriptions around socioeconomic concerns have been removed from FAR part 6.
Additionally, with respect to “types of other than full and open competition,” the FAR Council states:
- Discretionary consideration for contracting officers to set aside acquisitions for small business concerns, various socioeconomic categories, and local firms during a major disaster or emergency. The consideration now also includes Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
- Discretionary consideration for contracting officers to contract from only one responsible source when no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.
As such, the revisions recognize the continuing availability of small business set asides and sole source awards.
The provisions that were removed are largely boilerplate, using the same language:
“To fulfill statutory requirements related to [socio-economic program], contracting officers may limit competition to eligible [socio-economic status] participants (see [applicable FAR Part 19 clause]).” FAR 6.203(a) continues to recognize that procurements may be set aside for small businesses.
Thus, while specific cross-references to FAR Part 19 have been removed, that is consistent with how the FAR Council has been streamlining other parts of the FAR and does not eliminate FAR Part 19 or its directives/guidance.
It is almost important to note that the revised FAR 6.103-5 now states:
6.103-5Authorized or required by statute.
(a)Authority. 10 U.S.C. 3204(a)(5) or 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(5).
(b)Authorized or required by statute. Agencies may contract without providing for full and open competition when—
(1)A statute expressly authorizes or requires that the acquisition be made through another agency or from a specified source; or
(2)The agency’s need is for a brand-name commercial product for authorized resale (e.g., commercial products for resale through commissaries). This authority does not include other uses of brand name descriptions that generally preclude full and open competition and are required to be addressed in accordance with 6.103-1(d).
(c)Application. This authority may be used when statutes expressly authorize or require that acquisition be made from a specified source or through another agency. Examples include, but are not limited to:
(1)Sole-source awards of certain socio-economic small business concerns (see 15 U.S.C. chapter 14A); and
(2)Sole-source awards under the SBIR or STTR programs for Phase III (see 15 U.S.C. 638(r)(4)) or Phase II, when directly following a competitively awarded initial Phase II award (see 15 U.S.C. 638(ff)).
(d)Limitations.
(1)Do not use this authority when a provision of law requires an agency to award a new contract to a specified non-Federal Government entity unless the provision of law specifically—
(i)Identifies the entity involved; and
(ii)States that award to that entity must be made despite the merit-based selection procedures in 10 U.S.C. 3201(e) for armed services acquisitions or 41 U.S.C. 3105 for civilian agency acquisitions.
(2)This limitation does not apply—
(i)When the work provided for in the contract continues the work performed by the specified entity under a preceding contract; or
(ii)To any contract requiring the National Academy of Sciences to investigate, examine, or experiment upon any subject of science or art of significance to an executive agency and to report on those matters to the Congress or any agency of the Federal Government.
(e)With the exception of sole-source 8(a) contracts over $25 million (section 811 of Public Law 111-84, 41 U.S.C. 3304 note), contracts awarded using this authority do not require written justifications and approvals described in 6.104. (bolded and underlined added).
As such, while the revisions remove specific references to the 8(a) program and HUBZone, the new version does acknowledge the ability to make sole source awards as permitted under the 8(a) program.
That being said, there is concern over the repeated use by the FAR Council’s of the words “discretion” and “discretionary” in relation to small business set asides, which could be read as the FAR Council’s view that all small business set asides are entirely discretionary. That view could result in the elimination of the Rule of Two for small business set asides when FAR Part 19 is revised. The “Rule of Two,” contained in 13 C.F.R. § 125.2(f) and 48 C.F.R. § 19.502-2, requires acquisitions that exceed the Simplified Acquisition Threshold ($250,000 as of 2024) to be set aside for small business concerns whenever there is reasonable expectation that offers will be obtained from at least two responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of fair market prices, quality, and delivery. Therefore, while these revisions to FAR Part 6 do not directly impact small business set asides, they presage a more direct impact on the Rule of 2.
In addition to rewriting of FAR Part 6, the FAR Council also released a “practitioner album” for FAR Part 6. While much of the language in the “practitioner album” is general in scope, there is a section that focuses on “Fusion Procurement,” which is described as an “[o]pportunity to integrate requirements into a single, comprehensive solicitation, that streamlines the procurement process and encourages broader vendor participation.” The “practitioner album” references the Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations for more information on Fusion Procurement.
The Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations describes Fusion Procurement as follows:
It also states that “Fusion Procurement” “supports portfolio management” and will benefit small businesses because it “includes multiple requirements into a single solicitation, thus reducing the probability of missing a requirement issued by the government and increasing strategic participation in the acquisition by the small business community.”
As such, the FAR Council’s emphasis on Fusion Procurement appears to be an emphasis on portfolio management and could result in the use of larger contracts that are more difficult for small businesses to win because they cannot meet all of the requirements included in the contract.
