Author Archives: Nicole Pottroff

SmallGovCon Week in Review: June 22-26, 2026

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Happy Friday! With June wrapping up, we’ve officially reached the halfway point of the year. Mid-year is the perfect time for federal government contractors to focus on the goals ahead and prepare for new opportunities in the months to come. Here’s to finishing June strong and carrying that momentum into a productive and successful second half of 2026! We hope you have a wonderful weekend.

This week in federal government contracting news, a good chunk of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (aka “FAR 2.0” or the “RFO”) makes its way into formal rulemaking procedures, NASA expands total awards and introduces thousands of new awardees for SEWP (Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement)–NASA’s premier Government-Wide Acquisition Contract, the White House accelerates the governmentwide shift to post-quantum cryptography and stirs up some controversy with a no-bid contract award for its Reflecting Pool renovations, and GAO identifies some anticipated procurement challenges of cloud computing and also, reflects on 2025’s FraudNet Activity Report. But that’s certainly not all. Take a look at this week’s articles for more on these and other happenings in the federal procurement landscape this week.

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GovCon FAQs: What Costs Can I Exclude From Limitations on Subcontracting Calculations?

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If your small business performs federal government contracts, chances are, you’ve already calculated your small business’s compliance with the applicable limitation on subcontracting (LoS) a time or two. But whether you’re new to the LoS equation–or you’ve long since mastered that math–knowing which costs you can exclude from your calculations is vital. Indeed, such can impact everything from the accuracy of a bidder’s regulatory compliance representations and certifications to a contractor’s critical contract performance and subcontracting decisions. In fact, under current SBA affiliation regulations, LoS compliance can even provide a defense to certain contract-specific findings of affiliation. But calculating LoS compliance and determining exactly which costs to include and exclude on a given contract is not always easy or straightforward. And that’s why we so frequently get this question and break down the answer in this article.

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GovCon FAQs: Should I Apply Simultaneously for All SBA Statuses I’m Eligible For?

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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?

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 18-22, 2026

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This Memorial Day, we take time to reflect on the extraordinary courage and sacrifice of those who gave their lives serving our country. Their selfless dedication to protecting our freedoms and defending our nation will always be remembered with the utmost gratitude and respect. We further wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all veterans and military families who have carried the burdens of service with strength and honor. It is because of those sacrifices we are able to enjoy the liberties and opportunities we too often take for granted. Today, we honor their legacy, remember the fallen, and express our deepest appreciation to those who have served and continue to serve our nation with pride.

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Back to Basics: The Government’s SBIR Program

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There are many federal contracting opportunities specifically designed to support and benefit small businesses. Most people are already familiar with small business set-aside competitions and direct awards, SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program, and SBA’s socioeconomic small business contracting programs (i.e., the SDVOSB/VOSB, WOSB/EDWOSB, HUBZone, and 8(a) Programs). But there is still another–albeit less well-known–government contracting program that offers significant benefits to small businesses, particularly those in field of research-and-development (R&D). Indeed, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program provides federal funding to small business for their R&D endeavors, helping them grow promising technological innovations into full-fledged revenue cornerstones for small businesses and major contributors to government efficiency and progress.

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The “Once 8(a), Always 8(a)–or HUBZone, SDVOSB, or WOSB” Rule, Where Are We Now?

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For better or for worse, these federal procurement “times they are a-changin’.” One obvious source of recent change is the shiny new FAR 2.0, a.k.a. the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO). With the government’s widespread implementation of the RFO and its many procurement rule and procedure updates, we at SmallGovCon have tried to cover as much as possible. But we’re talking about an essential rewrite of the decades-longstanding procurement playbook here. So unsurprisingly, there’s still a lot to go. One recent change well-worth some deeper discussion is the RFO’s updated “Once 8(a), Always 8(a)” Rule–which I’ve aptly deemed the “Once 8(a), Always 8(a)–or HUBZone, SDVOSB, or WOSB” Rule. As the SBA’s “Once 8(a), Always 8(a)” Rule remains unchanged, this RFO update has the potential for significant impacts on small business federal contracting, as well as some implementation conflicts–or confusion at the least.

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RES 2026 Conference: Rising Together, Las Vegas, NV, March 23-26, 2026

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The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) is Rising Together for the 2026 Reservation Economic Summit. The event features tribal leaders, members of Congress, federal agency representatives, state and local officials, and top CEOs on a national platform.

Our very own federal government contracts attorney and SmallGovCon contributor, Nicole Pottroff, is scheduled to be a panelist on the topic of Navigating the New Regulatory Landscape for Native-Owned Federal Contractors, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 3:30 p.m.-4:20 p.m. – Milano Ballroom II, Caesars Palace. This panel will discuss ways organizations can navigate the changing regulatory rules in federal government contracting. If you are planning on attending this conference, please stop by and say hello to Nicole. Please use this link for more information about the conference and registration.