In contrast to the recent influx of terminations in the broader government contracting and federal grants space, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has not yet started to issue wide-ranging programmatic or sweeping...more
5/5/2025
/ Clean Energy ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Projects ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Government Agencies ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Pending Litigation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Renewable Energy ,
Trump Administration
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on federal procurement titled "Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement" on April 15, 2025 (the April 15 EO), directing that the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) be...more
4/21/2025
/ Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Government Agencies ,
National Security ,
NDAA ,
OMB ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
President Donald Trump on April 9, 2025, signed three executive orders (EOs) focused on accelerating defense procurement, improving foreign defense sales between the U.S. and its allies and revitalizing American maritime...more
4/14/2025
/ Defense Contracts ,
Defense Sector ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
National Security ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
Federal grantees facing the termination of their grants by the new administration have challenged those terminations by filing suits under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in federal district courts. In about a half a...more
4/10/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Contract Disputes ,
Court of Federal Claims ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Government Agencies ,
Grants ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Jurisdiction ,
Pending Litigation ,
SCOTUS ,
TRO ,
Tucker Act
As Holland & Knight previously discussed, the Trump Administration issued an executive order (EO) on Feb. 26, 2025, implementing the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) "cost efficiency initiative" that (among...more
4/4/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Contract Termination ,
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Grants ,
Grants ,
Mitigation ,
Popular ,
Strategic Planning ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced a new initiative on March 24, 2025, that put its Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contractors on notice that it is making "major changes" to "improve the effectiveness of...more
The Trump Administration on March 20, 2025, issued an executive order titled "Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement" (the EO), which will result in a major change in the landscape of...more
The Trump Administration issued an executive order (EO) on Feb. 26, 2025, implementing the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) "cost efficiency initiative" that seeks to transform federal spending on contracts,...more
3/5/2025
/ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Grants ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Government Agencies ,
Grants ,
OMB ,
Policy Updates
The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Final Rule, which takes effect on Jan. 16, 2025, makes a range of substantive changes to the regulatory regime for small business contractors. Holland & Knight previously...more
1/16/2025
/ 8(a) Program ,
Acquisitions ,
Business Ownership ,
Compliance ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Minority Shareholders ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Small Business
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on Dec. 17, 2024, issued a Final Rule that substantially changes the effect of recertifications of size and socioeconomic status under set-aside contracts following the merger or...more
1/14/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Compliance ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
Government Agencies ,
Mergers ,
Multiple Award Contracts ,
Recertification ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SBA ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) 2024 Annual Report (Report) on bid protests provides a comprehensive overview of the trends, statistics and key issues in government procurement challenges over fiscal year (FY)...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on Oct. 25, 2024, issued a proposed rule aimed at increasing small business participation in multiple award contracts (MACs) by expanding the application of the Rule of Two to...more
10/28/2024
/ COFC ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
GAO ,
MACs ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
SBA ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on Aug. 23, 2024, issued a Proposed Rule that significantly changes the effect of recertifications of size and socioeconomic status under set-aside contracts following a merger or...more
9/25/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Certification Requirements ,
Certifications ,
Comment Period ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) ,
MACs ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Mergers ,
NPRM ,
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
SAM ,
SBA ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo upended decades of precedent that required courts to defer to agencies' interpretations of statutes. This, known as the Chevron doctrine, allowed for...more
7/11/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Auer Deference ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Agencies ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tucker Act
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued its annual report to Congress on bid protests for Fiscal Year 2023....more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) continues to navigate the impact of the injunction entered in Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., No. 2:20-CV-00041-DCLC-CRW, 2023 WL 463348 (E.D. Tenn. July 19, 2023)...more
As in prior years, the upcoming end of the federal fiscal year will be marked by a flurry of contract and task order awards, as federal agencies busily obligate remaining fiscal year 2023 appropriated funds while still...more
Effective June 2, 2023, all federal contracts and solicitations are required to include a new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause: FAR 52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application. This clause implements...more
The 8(a) Program is in a state of uncertainty as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) requires participants who relied on the presumption of social disadvantage to enter the program to obtain SBA approval of personal...more
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the federal government has committed to funding more than $1 trillion for projects involving construction, manufacturing and energy initiatives. Much of this funding will be...more
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council published three final rules on Aug. 11, 2021, amending the FAR to implement changes mandated by various National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs) and to homogenize the FAR...more
8/13/2021
/ Administrative Procedure ,
DFARS ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Final Rules ,
HUBZone ,
NDAA ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Set-Aside Contracts ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors ,
Women-Owned Businesses
On May 12, 2021, President Joe Biden issued a comprehensive Executive Order (EO) on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity that promises sweeping changes in federal contracts for information technology (IT), cloud services and...more
5/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Information Technology ,
National Security ,
NIST ,
OMB ,
Software ,
Supply Chain
Whenever a new president takes office, particularly when there is a switch in party control of the executive branch, change comes soon after. The first day of the Biden Administration was no exception, with a flurry of new...more
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) are intended for small businesses to support ongoing...more
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak continues to spread throughout the United States, many government contractors are faced with unknown questions about continuing performance on contracts. Given the fast-moving situation,...more