Happy Friday, blog readers, and welcome to the week in review. Recent legislative and agency initiatives are shaping the landscape for federal contracting, cybersecurity, and support for veterans and small businesses, this week. A bipartisan Senate bill seeks to mandate cybersecurity vulnerability disclosures by contractors, enhancing national security. In parallel, the Pentagon’s release of key Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) contracting rules aims to fortify the defense supply chain against cyber threats.

On the small business front, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are collaborating to promote veteran entrepreneurship, while various committees and task forces are actively addressing regulatory fairness and development support for veteran-owned businesses. These efforts, coupled with the General Services Administration’s (GSA) celebration of the Inflation Reduction Act’s two-year anniversary, underscore the federal government’s commitment to fostering a robust, secure, and inclusive economic environment. You can read more about those topics in the articles below. Have a great weekend!

• Empower through Mentoring – Strengthening the Department of Energy’s Small Business Supply Chain
• Bipartisan Senate Bill Seeks Mandatory Contractor Cyber Vulnerability Disclosure
• Legislation calling for federal hiring managers to focus more on a job candidate’s skills advances to the next step in the Senate
• GSA celebrates two-year anniversary of Inflation Reduction Act as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda
• SBA and Dept. of Veterans Affairs Join Forces to Promote Veteran Entrepreneurship
• Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs
• Meeting of the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development
• Annual Meeting of the Regional Small Business; Regulatory Fairness Boards
• National Regulatory Fairness Hearing
• California Man Indicted for Unlawfully Exporting Aircraft Components to Iran
• Federal court blocks Southern California logistics company’s retaliation against workers, interference with federal investigation
• Pentagon releases key CMMC contracting rules