SmallGovCon Week in Review: June 9-13, 2025

Another work week in the books. Hope you had a great one. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there and hope they have a relaxing weekend!

This week in federal government contracting included stories about DoD fraud, DOGE cost-savings, and GSA centralizing additional work.

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Webinar! SBA & DoD Mentor-Protégé Program, June 24, 2025, 10:00-11:30am MDT, hosted by Texas El Paso APEX Accelerators

Touted as a “game-changer” when it was first introduced in 2016, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s All Small Mentor-Protégé Program isn’t new anymore. Known now as simply the “SBA Mentor-Protégé Program,” it is still extremely useful for large and small contractors alike.

Government contracts attorneys John Holtz and Stephanie Ellis of Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC will explain the ins and outs of the SBA Mentor-Protégé Program, covering the program’s eligibility requirements, its potential benefits (including the ability to form special mentor-protégé joint ventures), the application process, and common misconceptions and pitfalls. Additionally,they will provide an introduction to the even older DoD Mentor-Protégé Program, which set the stage for the SBA’s program, and compare the two programs.

Register here.

FAR Council Removes Rule on Small Business Orders

A couple FAR notices have removed proposed SBA rules relating to orders on multiple award contracts. This withdrawal seems to have the affect of decreasing the overall application of the small business Rule of Two, as discussed here. However, it only impacts the application of the rule of two to orders under multiple award contracts that were not restricted to small businesses. So, it’s impact is relatively narrow.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: June 3-6, 2025

Happy Friday! Hope you are ready for a great weekend! Lots going on the federal government contracting world this week. This included updates on the FAR overhaul, as well as budget cuts at SBA that could leave SCORE and other programs in trouble if budget cuts go through.

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COFC: Ostensible Subcontractor Rule for General Construction Still Looks at all Circumstances 

As frequent SmallGovCon readers know, the Small Business Administration’s ostensible subcontractor rule can be tricky to navigate. The rule requires contractors not to rely too heavily on a subcontractor in the performance of a contract set aside under an SBA socioeconomic program, but what constitutes relying too heavily can be confusing for small business contractors. Without a clear measure of how reliant is too reliant, businesses have to worry that they may be denied an award or even worse, lose one in a post-award protest. In a recent decision, Daniels Building Company, Inc. v. United States, 24-1787, 175 Fed. Cl. 767 (2025), the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) provided potentially helpful insight into what SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) and the Court of Federal Claims will consider when determining whether a prime contractor is “unusually reliant” on its subcontractor. 

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 26-30, 2025

Happy Friday! The sun is shining here in the Midwest and after several days of rain, June is upon us. Time to get the lawn mower started this weekend. We hope you have some fun plans for the summer, other than mowing the lawn, with friends and family.

This week in federal government news, catch up on a potential small business rule of two statute, additional contract-cutting, and GSA becoming a central contracting power player.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 19-23, 2025

Happy Friday, SmallGovCon readers! Hope you had a great week and have some nice plans for the long weekend. Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season. To all those that served and or on active duty, thank you for your service! Have a wonderful weekend.

This week in federal government contracting news, there are updates on an increase in government buying, cutting costs for large software vendors, and the federal budget.

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