SmallGovCon Week in Review: April 4-8, 2022

Happy Friday, Readers! Our hometown Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA National Basketball Championship and it’s an understatement to say that we are very excited about it here in Lawrence, Kansas. Thousands of people took to the streets in downtown Lawrence on Monday night to celebrate the win and the energy was incredible! What a fun ride!

There were several announcements by the SBA this week concerning adding more industries that are eligible for the Women-Owned Business Federal Contract Program as well as expanding the standards to increase eligibility for federal contracting and loan programs. You can read more about that along with other news in the article below. Have a great weekend!

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: March 28-April 1, 2022

Happy April 1st, everyone! In honor of April Fools’ Day, here are some noteworthy pranks over the years. In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees. In 1985, Sports Illustrated writer George Plimpton tricked many readers when he ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour. And in 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. 

So be careful out there, readers, and don’t be fooled! But it’s no joke that there have been some important federal contracting updates this week, including a bipartisan bill introduced in Congress that would tighten contractor oversight related to conflicts of interest and increasing use of large sole-source 8(a) awards. Have a great weekend!

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: March 21-25, 2022

Happy Friday, Readers. It’s been an exciting March Madness so far and we are looking forward to our hometown Kansas Jayhawks basketball game later today. There have been some major upsets and we are hoping the Jayhawks can hang in there on the road to the championship. Fingers and toes are crossed.

This week in federal contracting there were several announcements such as the Senate passing a 2022 Federal spending bill and the Department of Labor Announcing a Proposed Rule for Modifying Procedures to Identify, Remedy Discrimination in Federal Contracting. You can read more about these announcements and a few other noteworthy articles below. Have a great weekend!

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: March 14-18, 2022

Happy Friday! We hope you were able to get out an enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day festivities this week and the start of March Madness. As the hometown of the #1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks, we are especially excited about the NCAA tournament. We have our brackets locked in and are hoping for another fun ride!

It was also a big week in Federal Government contracting! For one, the Whitehouse and SBA released statements on advancing economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in Federal contracting by promoting pay equity and transparency. Also, a major DoD IT contract award is facing a bid protest.

You can read those articles and more below. Have a great weekend!

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: March 7-11, 2022

If March is supposed to come in like a lion and leave like a lamb, we are certainly still in the lion stage this week, with another winter snow storm that arrived here yesterday. No worries, however, because next week the lamb arrives with 70 degree weather and we are ready for it. Hopefully, this will be winter’s last gasp as warmer temperatures are sure to follow and we spring forward into daylight savings time.

There was a lot happening in federal government contracting news this week, such as the new Buy American Act final rule and updates on more cybersecurity requirements being considered for government agencies. We have included those and some additional articles that we hope you will find informative.

Have a great weekend!

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: February 28- March 4, 2022

Hello, Readers. As we move into spring, we at SmallGovCon have been observing the optimism of nature as winter releases its grip. Small green plant shoots are pushing their way up towards the sunshine and the trees are preparing to bud as our temperatures warm up. The birds are getting involved as well. There’s no doubt that they are enjoying the warmer weather and looking forward to spring, too. Hope you are able to observe equally inspiring things in your neck of the woods.

As usual there was a lot of news in federal government contracting, this week including articles on the future of federal government contracting, cybersecurity bills, and news on GSA multiple award contracts. Have a great weekend!

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: February 14-18, 2022

Happy Friday, Readers! We hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and a very productive week. Another winter storm blew in on Thursday and we received 7 inches of snow. But do you know what we say in Kansas? “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute. ” By Monday we will reach a temperature of almost 70 degrees! The weather in Kansas can change on a dime.

We put together some informative articles on federal government contracting news. Enjoy and stay warm or cool or anywhere in between in your part of the world. We’ll be doing the same here. I just wonder if I’ll need a heavy coat or a light jacket? Best to be prepared and keep both handy. Have a great weekend.

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