A $15 minimum hourly wage for federal contractors goes into effect for all new covered contracts as well as for contract extensions, renewals and other actions starting on Jan. 30, under a final rule from the Labor Dept. in November.  …

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and its sibling, the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, are federal initiatives that provide over $2 billion in grants and contracts each  year to small and start-up companies to develop new or …

In light of the Sixth Circuit’s decision, OSHA has updated its website, indicating that OSHA’s implementation of the ETS is resumed. However, to account for the uncertainty created by the stay and provide employers with sufficient time to come into compliance, OSHA …

The SBA proposes to amend its regulations to implement new provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021 that provides small business contractors with new tools to establish past performance when bidding on prime contracts for …

The U.S. Small Business Administration issued a proposal to modify two of the methods it uses to determine which businesses qualify as a small business for government contracts and SBA’s loan and investment programs.  The proposed modifications would extend the averaging period for …

The Defense Department is significantly scaling back a program it rolled out last year to validate the cybersecurity of its suppliers through third-party audits and is halting its implementation until the changes are official. The program was supposed to be …

Knowledge is the best defense. Be alert to any such communications you receive – or anything similar – and think carefully before responding to anything that looks like it is coming from the System for Award Management or a government …

The Department of the Interior (DOI) seeks to improve its procurement process to better engage with underserved communities. We are interested in your feedback on the barriers that small businesses face with respect to contracting opportunities as well as your …

The sole source thresholds for the major socioeconomic preference programs would increase significantly under the House-passed version of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The House version of the 2022 NDAA includes an amendment that would raise the sole source caps for …

The Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration recently published a final rule that amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to better explain how contracting officers should evaluate “good faith efforts” on the part of prime contractors …

The General Services Administration (GSA) Integrated Award Environment (IAE) is seeking input from the federal assistance community regarding registering in SAM.gov. As we anticipate more assistance registrants because of COVID-related federal aid, we want to improve the experience for those registrants. …

On September 9, 2021, the Biden Administration announced sweeping updates to its national strategy to combat COVID-19. The updates come less than a month after the Food and Drug Administration fully approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and as the country continues …

The Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) have been around since 1985, and on September 15, 2021, we are celebrating National PTAC Day. PTACs were created to increase the number of businesses of all sizes, large and small, that work with …

The DoD issued a federal register notice [ https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2021-19352/barriers-facing-small-businesses-in-contracting-with-the-department-of-defense ] requesting comments and information from small businesses that are part of the defense supply chain or are interested in becoming a part of it as well as comments on barriers …

The Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership has teamed up again with the University of Alaska Anchorage College of Engineering to offer free assistance to manufacturers for 3-6 weeks. This opportunity is available to a limited number of local manufacturers. If you …

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has once again updated its HUBZone FAQs—this time with welcome changes for HUBZone firms with principal offices located in Redesignated Areas and / or Qualified Disaster Areas (QDA). The latest FAQs, available here, state that they …

On July 28, the Biden Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that makes changes to the implementation of the Buy American Act. In January, President Biden signed the Executive Order (EO) 14005, Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All …

The changes that have been made regarding Filed Permanent Regulations: Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development relate mainly to handymen, specialty and mechanical contractors in the industry.  Many of the changes are general language clean up.  However, surety bond …

On July 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it is seeking public comment on a proposed rule which would require federal contractors to pay a $15.00 per hour minimum wage by January 30, 2022. The rule would implement President …

Government contracting officials receive detailed training on the FAR. So do employees of some large contractors. But for many others in government contracting, particularly small businesses, there is no formal FAR training. For them, the FAR can seem overwhelming, even …