Government Contracts

On April 27, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule which, effective May 30, will make a number of changes to the SBA regulations impacting small businesses. The regulations, finalizing the proposed rule issued on September 9, 2022, provide new penalties for noncompliance with the limitations on subcontracting rule, updated joint venture (JV) and size requirements, and changes to the ostensible subcontractor rule. This post dissects the regulations and highlights a few noteworthy changes below.

Continue Reading Final Rule Makes Host of Changes to SBA Regulations

We will join Chuck Jenkins, CEO of CWU, Inc., to present a panel titled “Preventing a Potential Protest/Handling a Federal Contract Protest Once it is Filed” for the FPTAC at the University of South Florida on June 8, 2023.

Continue Reading Preventing a Potential Protest/Handling a Federal Contract Protest Once it is Filed

On May 10, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its initial public draft of SP 800-171, Revision 3, a set of updated guidelines aimed at helping organizations better handle confidential unclassified information (CUI) that resides on non-federal systems.

Continue Reading NIST Releases Public Draft of Revised Guidelines Aimed at Helping Contractors Protect Sensitive Information

On May 1, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force (SFWTF) issued an update that the Biden administration plans to end COVID-19 vaccination mandates established under Executive Orders (EO) 14042 on Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors and EO 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees.  

Continue Reading Safer Federal Workforce Task Force Effectively Halts Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate

The government continues to prioritize fraud involving government contractors, as the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) most recent annual report on civil fraud recovery shows.

Although the majority of government recoveries are related to the healthcare industry, the government still recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in 2022 alone not related to the healthcare industry. Government

On March 22, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a proposed rule that would amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DFARS) to require certain contractors to provide the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) with relevant export authorizations (i.e., export licenses, exemptions, or exceptions). Currently, contractors are only required to make their export authorizations available for DCMA personnel to review at the contractor’s site. This rule would change that by shifting the burden to federal contractors.
Continue Reading Department of Defense to Require Contractors Proactively Provide DCMA with Export Authorizations

On August 9, 2022, the CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law allocating $52.7 billion in funding to the semiconductor industry. The legislation represents a historic investment in a critical industry and is designed to drive innovation and global economic competitiveness.

Continue Reading First CHIPS Opportunity Lays Out Requirements and Application Process 

On December 19, 2022, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a proposed rule that would amend the SBA regulations to implement Section 870 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2020. Section 870 makes noteworthy changes to the requirements a federal contractor must adhere to when attempting to obtain subcontracting credit for lower-tier subcontracts. 

Continue Reading SBA Proposed Rule Permits Prime Contractors to Receive Subcontracting Credit from Any Tier

I am looking forward to participating in a webinar titled, “Federal Government Contracts: New SBA Certification Program for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses” hosted by Strafford on February 28, 2023, from 1:00 pm-2:30 pm EST. Our panel will guide counsel on navigating the SBA certification program for VOSBs and SDVOSBs effective Jan. 1, 2023. We will review eligibility requirements, crucial certification procedures, and compliance obligations for entities and joint ventures. The panel will also offer certification best practices for receiving future set-aside or sole-source federal government contracts.

Continue Reading [WEBINAR] Federal Government Contracts: New SBA Certification Program for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses