For years, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has run a program for Small Business Investment Companies (or SBICs) to, in part, allow for “low-cost, government-backed capital that you can use to increase private investments in U.S. small businesses.” For small business federal contractors, there is also an affiliation benefit that applies to SBICs. But, we have often heard from clients and others that it is not straightforward to work with an SBIC. Today, we look at a rule recently proposed by SBA that aims to make the SBIC program more flexible and easier to work with, entitled “Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Regulatory Amendments.”
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TAA Can Apply to Small Business Set-Aside: COC Clarifies Trade Agreements Act and Buy American Act Applicability
The Trade Agreements Act (TAA) and Buy American Act (BAA) are among the most complex regulatory systems in federal contracting. There’s been a lot of confusion from both contractors and agencies on when they apply to a procurement and how. We have written on the BAA and TAA in the past. Recently, the Court of Federal Claims issued a decision discussing how the two laws interact, and showed that how they apply depends significantly on the circumstances of the procurement, providing some clarification on a past GAO decision we wrote on as well (which held that the TAA is inapplicable to small business set-asides). We will explore that here.
Continue readingGovCon FAQs: Can I Ask the Government to Participate in ADR?
Why yes, yes you can! In fact, there is a little known provision of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) that speaks directly to a contractor’s right to request government participation in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for any contracting “issue in controversy.” And as long as the four essential elements of ADR stated therein are met, a contracting officer must either agree to such ADR or provide a written explanation with cited statutory or legal authority for rejecting the request.
Continue readingBack to Basics: Brand Name or Equal
In some circumstances, it is in the best interest of the government customer to require a specific item made by a specific manufacturer. Though it doesn’t use this technique often, the government can achieve this by soliciting the contract using a “brand name or equal” basis. But the government can’t just decide that it wants a Hoover over a Bissel vacuum. No, there is a process that must be followed, and circumstances must warrant such a requirement.
Continue readingA Wobbly Bike: Some Initial Thoughts on FAR 2.0
In recent months, the revamping of the FAR has been a big topic of discussion for federal contractors and those who work with them. This project is referred to as FAR 2.0 or the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul or simply RFO. An executive order got the ball rolling, setting forth the mandate to create FAR 2.0 within 180 days from April 15, 2025, which puts the deadline as October 12, 2025.
The GSA has described its goals with the FAR overhaul by using some interesting metaphors. It says the FAR overhaul will be like a renovation of an old apartment building, taking things down to the studs while preserving the structural integrity of the original design. GSA acknowledged the inevitable growing pains for this adaption process using another metaphor—the “wobbly” phase of learning to ride a bike. As noted in the GSA post: “Let’s be honest—there will be an adjustment period, and it might be uncomfortable. This discomfort is normal. In fact, it’s a necessary part of growth. Remember learning to ride a bicycle? The wobbly phase was frustrating but essential to eventually riding with confidence.”
In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the proposed new parts (and missing old parts) that will be present in the proposed FAR revision. The idea behind this overhaul is to get the FAR back to its statutory roots, simplify the procurement process, and make things easier for all participants in the federal acquisition system. Those awaiting this update are, however, understandably anxious about what this means for a process that, while complicated, is familiar to them. We’ll dig into the motivating concepts and functions of the overhaul process itself, and then give some examples of proposed updated language to give readers a sense of what’s to come.
Continue readingEnd of the Bona Fide Place of Business Moratorium
SBA requires that, for 8(a) Program construction contract set-asides, the contractor must have a “a bona fide place of business in the applicable geographic area.” 13 C.F.R. § 124.501. In 2021, SBA suspended the enforcement of this requirement in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 17, 2025, SBA announced that this moratorium is coming to an end. In this post, we’ll look at the rule and what the end of this moratorium means for 8(a) construction contractors.
Continue readingBack to Basics: Terminations
The word “termination” in nearly every context elicits concern. And in federal contracting, such concern may often be warranted. Some terminations are no big deal, resulting in a federal contract–or even just part of one–being ended a bit early for convenience of the government. But other terminations, based on alleged default or deemed “for cause,” can have significant negative impacts (especially on small and disadvantaged businesses). So, one thing remains consistent across the board for federal contract terminations: it is crucial to understand the type of termination you are issued, its legal implications, and your rights and options for resolution. This article provides a general overview of terminations. Future posts will dive in deeper to contractor termination rights and options and settlement proposals.
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