The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has finalized a significant change to how small businesses establish social disadvantage for purposes of the 8(a) Business Development Program. Effective September 10, 2026, SBA will eliminate the longstanding regulatory presumption that members of certain racial and ethnic groups are socially disadvantaged and replace it with a single standard available to applicants regardless of race. The rule also eliminates the existing narrative-based test for establishing individual social disadvantage, which SBA has applied to all individually owned applicants since the Ultima decision.
Continue Reading SBA Finalizes New Social Disadvantage Standard for 8(a) Program
Procurement Fraud Enforcement Trends Continue Into 2026
As procurement fraud enforcement continues to be a priority for the Department of Justice and other federal agencies, we take a look back at significant 2025 enforcement developments affecting government contractors, grant recipients and participants in federal programs in our 2025 Procurement Fraud Review.
Continue Reading Procurement Fraud Enforcement Trends Continue Into 2026SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Brings New Opportunities and New Diligence Expectations
After a brief lapse, Congress has reauthorized the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs through Fiscal Year 2031. President Trump signed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, S. 3971, into law on April 13, 2026. The legislation restores certainty to two of the federal government’s most important funding programs for small business research and development, but it is not a clean extension. The reauthorization makes several meaningful changes to the way agencies will evaluate applicants, manage Phase II and Phase III awards, and screen foreign investment risk.
Continue Reading SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Brings New Opportunities and New Diligence ExpectationsPresident Trump Issues Executive Order Targeting “DEI” Practices by Federal Contractors
On March 26, President Trump issued a new Executive Order (EO), Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors, that seeks to prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from engaging in what the EO defines as “racially discriminatory DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] activities.”
Continue Reading President Trump Issues Executive Order Targeting “DEI” Practices by Federal ContractorsGAO: Conversion Did Not Void Procurement Eligibility
In the matter of L3Harris Technologies Integrated Systems L.P., the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied a protest filed by L3Harris challenging the U.S. Army’s award to Sierra Nevada Company, LLC for the Army’s HADES (High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation Systems) aircraft effort.
Continue Reading GAO: Conversion Did Not Void Procurement EligibilityBid Protest Minute: Pricing Narratives Won’t Save You If Rates Look Unrealistic, GAO Says
In T3i, Inc., the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied T3i’s protest after the Air Force excluded T3i’s low-priced, technically acceptable proposal because the agency found 25 of T3i’s 129 unburdened (gross) hourly labor rates unrealistically low. GAO held that the Air Force’s price realism review was reasonable and consistent with the solicitation, and it rejected T3i’s claim that the Air Force had to rely on T3i’s pricing narrative in the realism analysis.
Continue Reading Bid Protest Minute: Pricing Narratives Won’t Save You If Rates Look Unrealistic, GAO SaysBid Protest Minute: GAO Rejects “Should Have Received More Strengths” Protest in $64M Army Task Order Competition
On January 14, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied a protest filed by Strategic Resources, Inc. (SRI) after the Army issued a task order to360 Patriot Enterprises, LLC (Patriot) for Army National Guard military funeral honors and survivor outreach services.
Continue Reading Bid Protest Minute: GAO Rejects “Should Have Received More Strengths” Protest in $64M Army Task Order CompetitionExecutive Order Links Defense Contractor Payouts and Incentives to Production and Delivery Performance
On January 7, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting,” aimed at reshaping how certain defense contractors allocate capital. The goal is to push defense contractors to focus less on stock buybacks, dividends, and executive pay tied to short-term financial results, and more on delivering on time and investing in production capacity for critical defense programs.
Continue Reading Executive Order Links Defense Contractor Payouts and Incentives to Production and Delivery PerformanceSupreme Court Leaves “Interested Party” Limits Intact in Percipient.ai, Reinforcing Bid Protest Standing at COFC
On January 12, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Percipient.ai’s (Percipient) petition for certiorari, leaving in place an en banc Federal Circuit decision that restricts who qualifies as an “interested party” eligible to bring a bid protest at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC).
Continue Reading Supreme Court Leaves “Interested Party” Limits Intact in Percipient.ai, Reinforcing Bid Protest Standing at COFCD.C. District Court Dismisses Challenge to a “Buy America” Waiver for Brightline West High-Speed Rail Project
A federal district court in Washington, D.C. recently dismissed a lawsuit brought by Alstom seeking to overturn a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) waiver that allows Siemens to supply certain foreign-made components for the Brightline West high-speed rail project between Las Vegas and Southern California.
Continue Reading D.C. District Court Dismisses Challenge to a “Buy America” Waiver for Brightline West High-Speed Rail Project