SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 13-17, 2025

Hello, SmallGovCon readers! It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another Week in Review.

SmallGovCon attorney-author Gregory Weber recently traveled to Oklahoma City this week to attend the ICBS Conference Accelerating Success in Contracting, where he gave a presentation on one of our most requested topics—Legal Updates. A big thank you to the Oklahoma APEX for hosting this event and to everyone who stopped by to connect with Greg!

In other news, SmallGovCon contributor and attorney Annie Birney was recently quoted in a Washington Technology article (see list below) discussing the risks of using AI to draft bid protests—and why that’s not the best route. As always, if you’re facing a bid protest or need legal assistance on a federal government contracting matter, our team is here to help.

Below, we’ve rounded up some insightful articles on the government shutdown and other key issues in federal contracting. Have a great weekend!

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Finalized Increases to Micro-Purchase, Simplified Acquisition, and Other Thresholds

Last year, we noted that the FAR Council (DoD, GSA, and NASA) issued a proposed rule to adjust the statutory acquisition thresholds for inflation. Under 41 U.S.C. § 1908, the federal government must adjust these thresholds every five years to account for inflation. Effective October 1, 2025, the updated thresholds have gone into effect. In this post, we’ll look at the new thresholds.

The finalized rule, issued on August 27, 2025, mostly matches the proposed rule from 2024, although there are some differences.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 6-10, 2025

Hello, SmallGovCon Readers! It’s been a busy — and bumpy — time in the world of government contracting with the ongoing government shutdown. Still, there are some bright spots: the Senate finally confirmed a new OFPP administrator for the first time since 2019, and the GSA rolled out the first OASIS+ awardees — a big deal for future contracting opportunities. At the same time, the DOJ is cracking down on cyber compliance, recently handing out a $4.6 million fine. And the federal CIO is asking vendors to lead with their best pricing to help keep things moving. Bottom line: things are shifting fast, and contractors should stay flexible. We shall see what next week brings.

You can read more about these topics in the articles below. Have a great weekend.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 29-October 3, 2025

It’s Friday and time for another week in review. Well, as we all know, this week’s news is all about the government shut down and the impact on federal government contracting. The days ahead remain uncertain, but the impacts of the shutdown are already rippling across the federal landscape. Until this is resolved, hang in there, Contractors, and please continue to visit SmallGovCon for more information and updates.

You can read more about this topic in the articles we have provided below. Have a safe weekend.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 22-26, 2025

Hello, SmallGovCon Readers! It’s Friday and time for another week in review.

A potential government shutdown is prominent in this week’s headlines and poses some challenges for federal contractors. As negotiations in Congress drag on, contractors are faced with a lot of uncertainty. You can read more about this and strategies to deal with the government shutdown in articles below.

Please check out the blog from our SmallGovCon contributor Nicole Pottroff for some best practices for federal contractors:

Strategies for Dealing with a Government Shutdown

Have a great weekend!

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 15-19, 2025

Happy Friday. Federal contracting is seeing a lot of movement lately. Contractors, as usual, must stay flexible as the federal acquisition world and rules keep shifting. With regulatory updates rolling out and fresh talk of bid protest reforms, contractors have a lot to keep up with. Luckily, we have summarized these updates for you!

You can read more about what is happening in federal government contracting this week, in the articles below, including a bipartisan bill on price gouging by contractors and talks of a a potential shutdown.

Have a great weekend!

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A Refresher on How the Small Business Rule of Two Generally Works

We have talked a good deal about the Small Business Rule of Two (not to be confused with the separate VA rule of two for veteran-owned businesses) over the years. The (very) general gist of the rule is this: If the procurement is above the simplified acquisition threshold, the agency must set it aside for small businesses if two or more small businesses can perform the work at fair prices. If the agency has a reasonable expectation that two or more SDVOSB/VOSBs, EDWOSBs/WOSBs, 8(a) participants, or HUBZone participants can perform work under a procurement, the agency must consider setting aside the procurement for that particular category (i.e., if it believes two or more 8(a) participants can perform the work, it can set aside the procurement for 8(a) participants). However, it appears there remains a good deal of confusion about what the Rule of Two requires, as opposed to what it simply permits. In a recent GAO protest, a contractor learned this the hard way, and today, we’ll explore that decision.

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