Federal Small Business Programs—A Primer for Government Contractors
Exit Strategies for GOVCONs with Set Aside Contracts: 2021 Insights and Lessons Learned from Business Owners and Advisors
SBA’s Final Rule on SBA’s MP Program, Joint Ventures, Affiliation and 8(a) Regulations
SBA’s Final Rule on Mentor-Protégé Programs: Key Changes for Government Contractors
Growth Strategies for Small Businesses Moving to Mid-Tier
Exiting From the Valley of the Shadow of Death: Successful Growth Strategies for Small Businesses...
SBA’s New WOSB / EDWOSB Certification Requirement and 8(a) Economic Disadvantage Criteria Revisions
On Wednesday, August 27, 2025, the Department of Defense (“DoD”), General Services Administration, and NASA issued a final rule increasing certain acquisition-related thresholds. Effective October 1, 2025, the increased...more
President Donald Trump’s stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is taking further shape and is likely to cause challenges for individuals and companies in the government contracting space....more
Historically, the Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program is designed to help socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses compete in the federal marketplace by providing access to...more
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler recently announced a comprehensive audit of the 8(a) Business Development (BD) program. While the full scope and implications are still unfolding, it’s crucial for participants, applicants,...more
On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it will conduct a full-scale audit of its 8(a) Business Development Program to restore integrity and transparency. Contractors participating in the...more
SBA Orders Full-Scale Audit of 8(a) Program: What You Should Do to Prepare - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced an “immediate and full-scale audit” of its 8(a) business development program. The...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced an “immediate and full-scale audit” of its 8(a) business development program. The announcement stems from a “years-long fraud and bribery scheme involving a...more
WHAT: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a “full-scale” audit of the 8(a) program after a former United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contracting officer and three 8(a) business...more
On June 27, 2025, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), Kelly Loeffler, announced that she is directing an “immediate and full-scale audit of the agency’s 8(a) Business Development Program.”...more
Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Loeffler has announced that she has ordered the SBA Office of General Contracting and Business Development to begin a full scale audit of the SBA’s Section 8(a) Business...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on June 27, 2025, announced a comprehensive, full-scale audit of its 8(a) Business Development Program (8(a) Program), marking a significant escalation in federal oversight of...more
In KL3, LLC v. United States, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, No. 24-2028 (June 2, 2025, reissued June 12, 2025), KL3 challenged the Department of Defense’s award of two sole-source contracts under the SBA’s 8(a) program,...more
On Friday, June 13, 2025, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) held a Tribal Consultation in Anchorage, Alaska. The SBA’s stated purpose for the consultation was to solicit comments and testimony from Alaska Native...more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims recently issued a significant opinion in Gemini Tech Servs., LLC v. United States, holding that the Army’s failure to follow required procedures under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)...more
Federal government agencies propound small business contracting goals that guide other agencies with regard to how much of their contracting dollars should be awarded to small businesses. The SBA conducts an annual review and...more
We continue our discussion of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) recent final rule on various small business programs. We previously discussed SBA’s changes to the effect of recertifications under multiple award...more
On January 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.” The order states that it ends “all discriminatory and illegal preferences,...more
As many of you know, federal contracting programs aimed at leveling the playing field for diverse and women-owned businesses have been under legal attack. An incredible number of small businesses rely heavily on these...more
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
Earlier this month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision dismissing a challenge to the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program. You can read a copy of the...more
As PilieroMazza outlined on December 17, 2024, the Small Business Administration (SBA) recently issued its highly-anticipated final rule (Rule) in response to its August 2024 proposed rule and the hundreds of public comments....more
The Small Business Administration (SBA) published earlier this month one of the most significant rule changes in recent history. We previously addressed the new M&A and long-term recertification rules....more
As PilieroMazza has been reporting, the Small Business Administration (SBA) recently issued its much-anticipated final rule, which updates and clarifies many regulations that impact small businesses. The revised regulations...more
On December 17, the Small Business Administration issued a final rule that makes significant changes to the agency’s small business 8(a) and HUBZone programs. These generally extend the changes the SBA initially proposed in...more
Beyond their immediate purpose of resolving procurement disputes, bid protest decisions of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims are valuable in two other ways. First, these rulings...more