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Blogs

SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: December 8-12, 2025

It’s time for another edition of the SmallGovCon week in review. We hope that all of our readers had a productive week. For many (myself included), this week is the time for holiday concerts and performances, including the fabled Nutcracker performance. The Lawrence Arts Center does a Kansas-themed performance that is well-loved by all who watch. There is a grand holiday party and then a dream sequence that takes up the latter part of the ballet. I imagine some 8(a) contractors are wishing the c
SmallGovCon.com

Back to Basics: Covenant Against Contingent Fees

Federal contractors are generally familiar with the many FAR provisions listed in a solicitation or contract. So, it can be tempting to simply gloss over these pages of the solicitation, absentmindedly checking off the right box or signing off on the required representations without familiarizing yourself with each provision–or the consequences that come if each is violated. But naturally, we don’t recommend a cursory review. And one important FAR provision contractors should definitely familiar
SmallGovCon.com

BREAKING: SBA Launches an End of Year 8(a) Program Audit

8(a) Program participants received an early holiday surprise from the SBA’s 8(a) Program this past week. A mass request was sent out to 8(a) Program participants and some graduates requesting extensive (mostly financial) internal documentation so that the SBA could audit the program for any potential fraud, waste, or abuse. While the need to protect taxpayer funds and the 8(a) Program are fundamentally important, such a sudden wide ranging document request came as a surprise to many across feder
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: December 1-5, 2025

Happy Friday and happy December! We hope you had a nice Thanksgiving with friends and family. We all enjoyed our Thanksgiving break and it left us energized for winter and the holiday season. The holiday lights are up here in downtown Lawrence, Kansas and everything is looking very festive. As we start the final month of the year we hope you can enjoy the sights and sounds of the season. Have a great weekend! This week in federal government contracting news included updates on the federal wo
SmallGovCon.com

FAR 2.0 Update: Part 15 – Contracting By Negotiation

As most federal contractors have heard, the Federal Acquisition Regulation is undergoing a major overhaul. FAR 2.0, commonly referred to as the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (or just the “RFO”), is the responsibility of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council). Initiated by Executive Order 14275, the new FAR 2.0 process has been going quickly, with lots of proposed revisions. Our earlier posts regarding the RFO can be found her
SmallGovCon.com

Happy Thanksgiving from SmallGovCon!

As we dive into another Thanksgiving season, we wanted to say thank you to all of our wonderful readers who make SmallGovCon such a nice place to write for. We love receiving your comments and questions. Whether you’ve been here for years or just stumbled in recently, we appreciate you. We hope your day is filled with good food, good company, and good cheer. Happy Thanksgiving! The post Happy Thanksgiving from SmallGovCon! first appeared on SmallGovCon - Government Contracts Law Blog.View the f
SmallGovCon.com

GovCon FAQs: How Can I Maximize Use of Teammates to Perform Larger Government Contracts?

Most federal contractors are well-aware of the potential benefits of using one of the FAR-prescribed teaming options to perform government contracts. But one question we get a lot from small business federal contractors is how to most effectively utilize those teaming options (i.e., how to maximize team participation) on larger government contracts within the bounds and limitations of the law. And luckily, we’ve got a formula for that. By way of brief background, FAR 9.601 gives federal
SmallGovCon.com

Govology Webinar! The 2025 Government Contracting Year-End-Review, December 11, 2025

In what has certainly become one of our most popular and anticipated annual webinars, federal government contracts attorneys, Nicole Pottroff and Shane McCall of Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC, will break down some of the most significant 2025 legal developments impacting federal government contractors. In this webinar, they will cover some of the revolutionary (as well as some not-so-revolutionary) revisions to the FAR (via the anxiously awaited FAR 2.0), noteworthy updates to SBA’s small busines
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: Nov. 17-21, 2025

It’s time for the SmallGovCon Week in Review. As you head in to your weekend and look forward to Thanksgiving, it’s time to catch up on the latest in federal contracting news. Have a great weekend and enjoy some crisp fall weather. This week in federal government contracting saw the NDAA rounding into form, changes to space contracting, and updates for how AI can be used in the federal space. Space Force to finalize 15-year force design this year, with release expected in 2026
SmallGovCon.com

2026 NDAA: DoD CPARS Changes Coming

Both the Senate and House, as part of the draft 2026 National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA), have proposed nearly identical ideas on overhauling the Department of Defense’s Contractor Performance Assessment Report System (CPARS) processes. While both NDAAs have passed, and therefore require reconciliation in a committee, their ideas are extremely similar and signal a coming change in CPARS processes for defense contractors. One big change is to focus on specific negative performance events u
SmallGovCon.com

Overview of Recent Updates to Cybersecurity Requirements Under the CMMC Program (Part 2)

Not long ago, we discussed the basics of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program at DFARS subpart 204.75. Of course, with such a large new system as the CMMC Program, there is more to it than what we reviewed there. In this second set of posts, we will dive deeper into the requirements and procedures of the CMMC Program implemented by DoD back in September 2025, among other items. We will explore what the general rules on what systems are covered by the CMMC Program, when t
SmallGovCon.com

OHA Says: Compliance with SBA Joint Venture Requirements is Determined at the Time of Final Proposal Revisions

Navigating the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations can sometimes feel like navigating through a room filled with laser tripwires. One wrong decision or misstep could result in the company’s disqualification. A company might make a decision relying on its understanding of one SBA regulation, unaware of the application of an entirely different SBA regulation. While a miscalculation in complying with the regulations doesn’t trigger the same disasters shown in an action-packed spy m
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: Nov. 10-14, 2025

Happy Friday! It’s been another eventful stretch across the federal landscape, as agencies continue navigating everything from sweeping acquisition updates to the lingering aftershocks of the longest government shutdown on record. In other news, SBA has cleared its VetCert backlog for SDVOSB companies. Check out the articles below for the full rundown and enjoy your weekend! SBA Clears VetCert Program Backlog to Put Veteran Entrepreneurs First Pentagon keen to recruit fresh acquisit
SmallGovCon.com

OHA Finds Totality of the Circumstances Affiliation Based on Loans and Close Oversight of Operations

Long-time SmallGovCon readers are probably aware of the thorny issues presented by an SBA finding of affiliation. When set aside contracts are dependent on a small business size status, an allegation of affiliation with a large business can be a crisis for a small business contractor. SBA’s affiliation doctrine is large and complex (so much so that we have an entire handbook dedicated to the subject).  But there is one catch-all affiliation provision that is perhaps the murkiest area of all, mea
SmallGovCon.com

Happy Veterans Day From SmallGovCon

Today, on Veterans Day, we at SmallGovCon take a moment to honor the brave men and women who’ve served our country. We salute those who’ve worn the uniform and their families who’ve stood beside them. Both today and whenever we have the chance. Because this is a legal blog, we also want to remind you of the federal government’s program for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. Those benefits are available to those with disabled status based on their service, and those who work at
SmallGovCon.com

GAO to Federal Agency: You Must Show Your Work When it Comes to Evaluation Documentation

The gears of protest resolution at the General Accountability Office have ground to a halt due to the government shutdown but not so long ago, those protest gears were turning. And during that time, GAO sustained the protest of Island Peer Review Organization, Inc., d/b/a IPRO, B-417298.2, 2025 CPD ¶ 218 (Sept. 2025) due to an agency’s insufficient documentation of an evaluation process. What makes this one especially interesting is that getting a sustain on a protest based on inadequate documen
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: Nov. 3-7, 2025

I recently attended the NAPEX Fall conference in DC this past week. I was able to speak on the topic of The FAR Overhaul and Legal Updates for 2025. It was a great presentation with some insightful questions. Thanks to all the wonderful Apex Accelerator folks for saying hi to me. It’s Friday and time for another week in review. This week was full of updates about the effects of the government shutdown. In other news, OPM is pushing to boost tech expertise and the DoD is looking to streamlin
SmallGovCon.com

DOT Issues Guidance on Impact of Removal of Presumed Disadvantage

As discussed in a previous post on SmallGovCon, the Department of Transportation (DOT) recently issued a interim final rule removing certain presumptions of disadvantage from its eligibility requirements for the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program. As part of that change, DBE Program participants and applicants will have to submit new narratives discussing their social disadvantage. The DOT has released further guidance on the changes felt by the interim final rule, including impacts
SmallGovCon.com

Webinar Announcement: Regulatory Updates in Government Contracting, Nov. 18, 2025

In this webinar, hosted by the El Paso Texas APEX Accelerators, government contracting attorneys and authors Shane McCall and John Holtz will discuss the most important legal developments for federal contractors in 2025. Specifically, they will discuss the many FAR changes, important new small business rules and processing for various SBA certifications, recent cases pertinent to federal contractors, and more. This presentation will help federal contractors stay up to date on current federal reg
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 27-31, 2025

Happy Halloween! We hope you have the candy purchased and are ready for the trick or treaters. And speaking of scary things, another week of the government shutdown which is creating a lot of uncertainty about when agreement can be reached. One data point: all shut downs in the past have ended. But these stories illustrate how it has created a ripple effect for federal contractors and government personnel. Our very own SmallGovCon contributor, Nicole Pottroff, was interviewed about the
SmallGovCon.com

OHA: Contractor Learns from Earlier OHA Decision to Show Me the Money on Ostensible Subcontracting Issue

Compliance with the ostensible subcontractor rule is essential for companies seeking small business and socioeconomic set-asides. Yet many contractors learn the hard way that there is a difference between simply claiming compliance and proving it. Earlier this year, we blogged on an SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) decision (here) that examined whether a subcontractor was an ostensible subcontractor or not. Ultimately, the awardee failed to sufficiently demonstrate that its subcontr
SmallGovCon.com

Overview of Recent Updates to Cybersecurity Requirements Under the CMMC Program (Part 1)

On September 10, 2025, the Department of Defense (As all the documents we address use the Department of Defense naming, we will go by that to prevent confusion.) (DoD) implemented the acquisition rules for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program at DFARS subpart 204.75. This follows the federal government’s institution of the CMMC program last year (We explored this a bit with a review of the proposed rules some time before that and noted that initial rules have been in place sinc
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 20-24, 2025

October and November always seem to be a popular conference season in the federal contracting world. Last week attorney-author Greg Weber was in Oklahoma. This week saw Nicole Pottroff visit the GovCon Kansas City 2025 to present on the topic of the Top 21 Legal Mistakes in Federal Government Contracting. It was a great event with a lot of enthusiastic attendees and interesting questions. Thanks to the organizers including the Missouri APEX Accelerator for inviting us to present! While news

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