Contracting with the federal government requires companies to operate under heightened ethical and compliance standards. At the same time, competitive intelligence and strategic business development efforts are often critical to remaining competitive in the government marketplace. Understanding where the legal and ethical boundaries exist under procurement law, however, is not always intuitive.
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Happy Friday and happy June! We’ve received a lot of rain in our neck of the woods recently, so everything is looking green and lush before the heat of summer sets in. There’s the steady hum of lawn mowers as everyone tries to get the grass mowed in between rain showers and the gardens are growing nicely so far. While the cloudy days and frequent storms can be a little inconvenient at times, it’s hard to complain when everything is looking this beautiful. We’re looking forward to all that June has in store. We hope you have a great weekend.
In federal government contracting news this week, catch up on stories related to more contractor transparency, a potential statutory addition for the small business rule of two, and cybersecurity updates.
Continue reading…In September 2024, following a temporary application and system pause, SBA switched over to a new, streamlined and unified application portal. Now, applications for the SBA’s 8(a) Program, HUBZone Program, Veteran-Owned Programs, and Woman-Owned Programs all go through MySBACertifications.Gov. Unlike prior portals and procedures, through this one, those eligible have the option to apply for multiple SBA small business contracting programs simultaneously. But the question is, what are the potential risks and benefits of doing so?
Continue reading…In October 2025, the SBA suspended an 8(a) Program contractor called ATI Government Solutions, LLC (ATI) after suspension under the FAR. ATI appealed the 8(a) suspension, and the decision shows that SBA must still support its actions with adequate evidence, and reasonable argument linked to that evidence. OHA remanded the suspension matter for more documentation from SBA.
Continue reading…We have noted in past posts that, in some cases, it may make sense to protest a solicitation evaluation or award decision at GAO simply to get a stay on the award. This is because, if you meet certain deadlines, a stay of award and performance is automatically placed on the procurement for the duration of the protest. Now, there are circumstances in which an agency can override this stay, but the burden is on the agency to show such an override is necessary. The Federal Circuit confirmed this is the case in Life Science Logistics, LLC v. United States, 172 F.4th 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2026), in which an agency tried to get the higher burden for a preliminary injunction placed on GAO protesters. This decision suggests that agencies may think more carefully about attempting overrides of stays going forward.
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Happy Friday! We hope you had a great week and are finishing the month of May strong. I was recently in Chicago for a family trip. Based on how much people were enjoying the weekend in Chicago, it’s clear that Memorial Day is the kickoff to summer. Summer plans are in full swing, but the news for federal contractors is also busy.
This week in federal government contracting news, there were updates on AI reporting, cybersecurity compliance, and an update to the classified information review process.
Even if we don’t want to admit it, we all simply click “accept” on all those different terms and conditions for software, despite not actually reading the actual terms. GAO in a recent decision reminded agencies and contractors to not let that habit happen when you read the terms of a procurement. In that recent GAO decision, there was a long history of protests, which resulted in an amendment to the solicitation. At first glance, the amendment and proposal revision restrictions tied to it may have made sense, but upon protest, GAO found the limitations on proposal revisions were improper, due to the amendment impacting more than the one factor which was open for revisions.
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