Happy Friday, Readers. We have been in the midst of a heatwave here in Kansas with temperatures at 100 degrees and the humidity at 91%. Whew! We are very grateful for air conditioning during the dog days of summer. Here’s an interesting fact. The ancient Romans called the hottest, most humid days of summer “diēs caniculārēs” or “dog days.” The name came about because they associated the hottest days of summer with the star Sirius. Sirius was known as the “Dog Star” because it was the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog).

There was a lot of news and announcements in Federal government contracting this week such as several executive orders and proposed rules impacting federal government contractors related to the Buy American Act and boosting federal competition, and the U.S. Small Business Administration has an update on successfully awarding over $7.5 billion in Shuttered Venue Operators Grants (SVOGs) as well as announcing the opening of the paycheck protection program direct forgiveness portal.

Here’s hoping that the weather is cooler in your neck of the woods. Stay cool and have a great weekend!

Happy Friday, Readers. Can you believe we are heading into the home stretch of July already? We hope you are able to get in some R&R around this time of year. But it was also an important week in the Federal government contracting arena.

Some of the big stories included more oversight from Labor, rules on increasing wages for workers, and increasing opportunities for veterans. You can read more about that and other contracting news in the articles below. Have a great weekend!